legislation-profile
legislation-profile
Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (Text with EEA relevance)
Scope
This Directive shall apply to electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) as follows: (a) from 13 August 2012 to 14 August 2018 (transitional period), subject to paragraph 3, to EEE falling within the categories set out in Annex I. Annex II contains an indicative list of EEE which falls within the categories set out in Annex I; (b) 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).
Exemptions
This Directive shall not apply to any of the following EEE (Article 2, point 3): (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 In addition to the equipment specified in paragraph 3, from 15 August 2018, this Directive shall not apply to the following EEE (Article 3, point 4): (a) equipment designed to be sent into space; (b) large-scale stationary industrial tools; (c) large-scale fixed installations, except any equipment which is not specifically designed and installed as part of those installations; (d) means of transport for persons or goods, excluding electric two-wheel vehicles which are not type-approved; (e) non-road mobile machinery made available exclusively for professional use; (f) equipment specifically designed solely for the purposes of research and development that is only made available on a business-to-business basis; (g) medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, where such devices are expected to be infective prior to end of life, and active implantable medical devices.
Regulatory activities
Article 9 - Permits (1) Member States shall ensure that any establishment or undertaking carrying out treatment operations obtains a permit from the competent authorities in compliance with Article 23 of Directive 2008/98/EC. (2) Exemptions from permit requirements, conditions for exemptions and registration shall be in compliance, respectively, with Articles 24, 25 and 26 of Directive 2008/98/EC. (3) Member States shall ensure that the permit or the registration referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 includes all the conditions that are necessary for compliance with the requirements of Article 8(2), (3) and (5) and for the achievement of the recovery targets set out in Article 11. Article 11 - Recovery targets Regarding all WEEE separately collected in accordance with Article 5 and sent for treatment in accordance with Articles 8, 9 and 10, Member States shall ensure that producers meet the minimum targets set out in Annex V. Article 12 - 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) as follows: (a) for WEEE resulting from EEE referred to in Article 2(1), point (a), other than photovoltaic panels, where such EEE was placed on the market after 13 August 2005; (b) for WEEE resulting from photovoltaic panels where such photovoltaic panels were placed on the market from 13 August 2012; and (c) for WEEE resulting from EEE referred to in Article 2(1), point (b), and which does not fall within the scope of Article 2(1), point (a), where such EEE was placed on the market from 15 August 2018 Article 14 - Information for users (1) Member States may require producers to show purchasers, at the time of sale of new products, the costs of collection, treatment and disposal in an environmentally sound way. The costs mentioned shall not exceed the best estimate of the actual costs incurred. (2) Member States shall ensure that users of EEE in private households are given the necessary information about: (a) the requirement not to dispose of WEEE as unsorted municipal waste and to collect such WEEE separately; (b) the return and collection systems available to them, encouraging the coordination of information on the available collection points irrespective of the producers or other operators which have set them up; (c) their role in contributing to re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery of WEEE; (d) the potential effects on the environment and human health as a result of the presence of hazardous substances in EEE; (e) the meaning of the symbol (crossed bin) shown in Annex IX. Article 15 - Information for treatment facilities (1) In order to facilitate the preparation for re-use and the correct and environmentally sound treatment of WEEE, including maintenance, upgrade, refurbishment and recycling, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that producers provide information free of charge about preparation for re-use and treatment in respect of each type of new EEE placed for the first time on the Union market within one year after the equipment is placed on the market. (2) In order to enable the date upon which the EEE was placed on the market to be determined unequivocally, Member States shall ensure that a mark on the EEE specifies that the latter was placed on the market after 13 August 2005. Preferably, the European standard EN 50419:2022 shall be applied for this purpose. For photovoltaic panels, the obligation referred to in the first subparagraph shall only apply to photovoltaic panels placed on the market from 13 August 2012. For EEE referred to in Article 2(1), point (b), and which do not fall within the scope of Article 2(1), point (a), the obligation referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall only apply to the EEE placed on the market from 15 August 2018.
Relevant product types
Not applicable
Reference documents
Yes - Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) - Directive 2008/98/EC
Obligations based on CLP hazard class
Yes Annex VII, point 1, paragraph
Obligations based on properties of concerns
Yes Annex VII, point 1, paragraph 15 states - electrolyte capacitors containing substances of concern (height > 25 mm, diameter > 25 mm or proportionately similar volume)
EU-level occupational exposure limits
Not applicable
EU-level emission limit values
No provision
Substance-centric data source(s) at the EU level
No
Industry submission system in place
Yes, but at MS national levels. Each country defines the format and the way information is submitted to responsible authorities.
Format for industry submission
No
Owner
DG ENV
Update process
DG ENV as legislation owner
Amendments
Directive (EU) 2018/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directives 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators, and 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment Directive (EU) 2024/884 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 amending Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
