EU carbon rules / Regulations / Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive
WEEE producer responsibility and collection targets; registration procedures set by Member States (as amended by 2024/884, adjusting producers' recycling cost responsibility)
This regulation applies to:
Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment; amended by Directive (EU) 2024/884 (producer responsibility for the collection costs of photovoltaic panels and open-scope EEE is not retroactive). The source is the site excerpt and the official EUR-Lex text.
The following provisions define its scope:
Article 1 — Subject matter
This Directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use in accordance with Articles 1 and 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
Article 2(1)(b) — Scope (scope)
from 15 August 2018, subject to paragraphs 3 and 4, to all EEE. All EEE shall be classified within the categories set out in Annex III. Annex IV contains a non-exhaustive list of EEE which falls within the categories set out in Annex III (open scope).
Article 2(3)(a)–(c) — Scope (exclusions)
3. This Directive shall not apply to any of the following EEE: (a) equipment which is necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes; (b) equipment which is specifically designed and installed as part of another type of equipment that is excluded from or does not fall within the scope of this Directive, which can fulfil its function only if it is part of that equipment; (c) filament bulbs.
| Duty | Trigger | Evidence | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEE producers register and finance take-back Producers must register in the Member State of sale, finance the collection and treatment of waste equipment and meet recovery targets. | Placing equipment covered by the WEEE Directive on the market in a Member State | Producer registration number, take-back contracts and declarations | Registration before placing on the market |
| Foreign producers generally must appoint an authorised representative The Directive requires Member States to organise take-back. Registration numbers such as German EAR and French IDU are national market access procedures, not a uniform number in the Directive itself. | Producers not established in the Member State of sale | Appointment of an authorised representative and national registration evidence | Before first placing on the market |
Article 1 — Subject matter
This Directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use in accordance with Articles 1 and 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
Article 2(1)(b) — Scope (scope)
from 15 August 2018, subject to paragraphs 3 and 4, to all EEE. All EEE shall be classified within the categories set out in Annex III. Annex IV contains a non-exhaustive list of EEE which falls within the categories set out in Annex III (open scope).
Article 2(3)(a)–(c) — Scope (exclusions)
3. This Directive shall not apply to any of the following EEE: (a) equipment which is necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes; (b) equipment which is specifically designed and installed as part of another type of equipment that is excluded from or does not fall within the scope of this Directive, which can fulfil its function only if it is part of that equipment; (c) filament bulbs.
Article 12(1) — Financing in respect of WEEE from private households
Member States shall ensure that producers provide at least for the financing of the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE from private households that has been deposited at collection facilities set up under Article 5(2).