WEEE Directive enters transposition phase

Europe – Adopted by the European Commission on June 7 and published just this week, the EU’€™s revised Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is now officially in force. EU member states will have until February 2014 to transpose the directive into national law.

The legislation is designed to ensure the creation of collection schemes allowing consumers to return their used e-waste free of charge. The aim is to boost the eventual recycling and/or reuse of such products, as currently only one third of the EU’€™s electrical and electronic waste is reported as separately collected and appropriately treated. The proposals also seek to reduce administrative burdens, strengthening coherency with newer policies.

The European Commission has suggested the introduction of mandatory collection targets equal to 65% of the average weight of WEEE placed on the market over the last two years. Those member states with a high consumption of electrical and electronic equipment will have collection targets appropriate to this level, it has been noted; meanwhile, those with low consumption levels will have their targets modified accordingly.