International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

20.0 Producer Responsibility, WEEE -
International
20.1 Outline of Policy
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is currently one of the fastestgrowing
waste streams, increasing at a rate three times that of average municipal
waste growth. 421 In the EU, the WEEE directive (2002/96/EC) has been implemented
with the purpose of, as a first priority, the prevention of WEEE, and in addition the reuse,
recycling and recovery of WEEE, thereby reducing the need for its disposal. By
applying a ‘cradle to grave’ approach to EEE products, it also seeks to improve the
environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of electrical and
electronic equipment, in particular those operators directly involved in the treatment
of WEEE. As a companion to the WEEE Directive, Directive 2002/95/EC on the
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) also aims to minimise the use of certain
hazardous materials in newly-produced EEE, both to increase the profitability of
recycling WEEE, and to minimise the release of hazardous substances into the
environment by controlling the disposal route of older EEE at the end of its life.
Producers of EEE must provide evidence that the concentrations of hazardous
materials are below defined levels. The six key restricted substances are lead,
cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and
polybrominated diphenyl.
The EU WEEE regulations apply to the categories of electrical and electronic
equipment listed below, with sub-categories being the business-to-consumer (B2C)
stream (which ends up pre-dominantly in the householder waste stream) and the
business-to-business (B2B) stream:
376
� Category 1 - Large household appliances;
� Category 2 - Small household appliances;
� Category 3 - IT & telecoms equipment;
� Category 4 - Consumer equipment;
� Category 5 - Lighting equipment;
� Category 6 - Electrical & electronic tools;
� Category 7 - Toys, leisure & sports equipment;
� Category 8 - Medical devices;
� Category 9 - Monitoring & control equipment; and
421 CIWM (2008) Are You WEEE Aware?, The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, September
2008 Issue, pp. 31-32.
29/09/09