EN    EN EN  
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 3.12.2008 
COM(2008) 810 final 
2008/0241 (COD) 
Proposal for a 
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PA RLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL  
on waste electrical and el ectronic equipment (WEEE)  
(Recast) 
{SEC(2008) 2933} 
{SEC(2008) 2934}  
EN 2   EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL  
1.1. Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 
Directive 2002/96/EC on wast e electrical and electron ic equipment (WEEE) was 
adopted on 27 January 2003 and entered in to force on 13 February 2003. Member 
States were required to transpose the re quirements of the Directive by 13 August 
2004. Neither the drivers nor the rationale for collecting and recycling WEEE have 
changed since the adoption of the Directive.  
The following reasons lead to the proposal  to review of the WEEE Directive:  
– Experience with the firs t years of implementation of the WEEE Directive has 
indicated technical, legal and admi nistrative problems that result in 
unintentionally costly efforts from mark et actors and admini strations, continuing 
environmental harm, low levels of innovati on in waste collection and treatment, a 
lack of level playing field or even di stortion of competition and unnecessary 
administrative burden.  
– The Commission is committed to developing  a better regulatory environment, one 
that is simple, understandable, effec tive and enforceable. The Commission 
Communication implementing the Community  Lisbon programme "A strategy for 
the simplification of the regulatory envi ronment", foresees the review of the 
WEEE Directive for 2008. 
– The WEEE Directive itself foresees the possible revision of the Directive based 
on the experience of the application of the WEEE Directive. The Directive also 
sets out for the Commission to propos e new mandatory WEEE collection target 
by 31 December 2008 and new targets fo r recovery and re-use/recycling, 
including for the re-use of  whole appliances as appr opriate, and targets for the 
products falling under category 8 of Annex IA.  
The specific objectives of the review of  the WEEE Directive are therefore: 
– Reduced administrative costs through the removal of all unnecessary 
administrative burdens, without lowering the level of environmental protection. 
– Improved effectiveness and implementati on of the Directive through increased 
compliance and reduced free-riding. 
– Reduced impacts on the environment from the collection, treatment and recovery 
of WEEE at the levels where the greate st net benefit to society results.  
1.2. General context 
The extensive analysis carried out as part  of the WEEE review  process led to the 
identification of the following problems related to the application of the WEEE Directive:   
EN 3   EN – there is lack of cl arity on the products covered by  the current WEEE Directive and 
their categorisation, with di fferent interpretations of the current provisions made 
by different Member Stat es and stakeholders;  
– currently approximately 65% of electrical and electr onic equipment (EEE) placed 
on the market is separately collected, but less than half of this is treated and 
reported according to the requirements of the Directive; the remainder potentially 
leaks out to substandard tr eatment and is illegally e xports to third countries, 
among which non-OECD countries. This leads to losses of valuable secondary raw materials and increases the risk of re lease of hazardous substances into the 
environment, including substances with high ozone depleting potential and global 
warming potential
1. In addition to this, the curren t collection rate, 4kg/inhabitant 
per year of WEEE from private households , ("one size fits all") does not reflect 
the economies of individual Member States and thus leads to sub-optimal targets 
for some countries and too ambitious targets for others; 
– currently there are no targets for the re-u se of whole appliances in Directive 
2002/96/EC; 
– there are no detailed enforcement re quirements in Directive 2002/96/EC which 
result in lack of enforcement of the WEEE Directive in Member States; 
– diverging producer registration requiremen ts in Member States can result in 
economic actors having to comply with 27 different producer registration schemes 
which causes unnecessary administrative burden; 
– indications on substandard treatment of WEEE in the EU and illegal export of 
WEEE outside the EU. 
When nothing is undertaken, the above problems will remain.  
1.3. Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 
The acts related to the current proposal ar e Directive 2002/96/EC itself (as amended) 
and the Decisions adopted by the Commi ssion related to this Directive.  
1.4. Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union 
The objectives of the revised Directive is fully in line with general Community 
strategies, including the Lisbon Strategy, th e Sustainable Development Strategy, the 
Energy and Climate Package, the 6th Envi ronmental Action Programme and its mid-
term review, Integrated Product Policy, the Thematic Strategies on the sustainable 
use of natural resources and on waste pr evention and recycling, the 'Marketing of 
Products' package, the Commission's recent l ead market initiative, and the proposed 
recast of the Regulation on Substances  that Deplete the Ozone Layer. 
                                                 
1 COM(2008) 505 and SEC(2008) 2367.  
EN 4   EN 2. CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT  
2.1. Consultation of interested parties 
Consultation methods, main sectors targ eted and general pr ofile of respondents  
Extensive data collection and studies were carried out for the review of the WEEE 
Directive. Throughout the review pro cess there was continuous information 
exchange with stakeholders, an SME pa nel was organised and an on-line public 
stakeholder consultation was launched. These consultations and studies helped define 
and analyse a number of specific policy options. 
Throughout the consultations that took place  in the framework of the review, the 
responding stakeholders among others we re Member States, NGOs, producers of 
electrical and electronic equipment, consumers, reta il and distribution sector, 
municipalities, treatment operators, recy clers and recovery operators, producer 
responsibility organisations a nd national producer registers. 
Summary of responses and how th ey have been taken into account  
Stakeholders have been asked to give opi nion on the policy options proposed for the 
clarification of the sc ope of the WEEE Directive, revi sion of the target for collection 
and for re-use/recovery and recycling of WEEE, producer registration and treatment 
requirements. The public consultation docum ent as well as a summary of opinions is 
made publicly available. As opinions relate  to the measures proposed, responses have 
been taken fully into account.  
An open consultation was conducted ove r the internet from 11/04/2008 to 
05/06/2008. The Commission rece ived 168 response(s). The results are available on 
http://circa.europa.e u/Public/irc/env/weee _2008_review/library . 
2.2. Collection and use of expertise 
Scientific/expertise domains concerned  
(1) Information gathering exercise by Bi o Intelligence Service. The exercise 
resulted in an assessment of about 132 WEEE reference documents that were made available online together with a synthesis report. Th is report provided a 
systematic overview of the content of these reference documents whilst assessing the possible overl aps, contradictions and gaps in the knowledge 
related to the information needed for the review. The result served as a direct input for the contractors of  the research studies and is available in the CIRCA 
page http://circa.europa.eu/P ublic/irc/env/weee_2008/library. 
(2) Four research studies have been carried out to give input to  the review; they 
helped the European Commission generate full understanding of implementation of the Directive, to iden tify the issues at stake for the review, 
to complete the information needed to perform an analysis of policy options particularly the development and simplif ication of the Directive in line with 
the Communication on better regulation. Issues covered are the producer 
responsibility obligations, the mana gement of WEEE and the impacts on 
innovation and competition. Further information on the studies (name of  
EN 5   EN study, contractor and da te) is available at 
http://ec.europa.eu/environmen t/waste/weee/studies_weee_en.htm. 
(3) As part of this study contract an ex pert stakeholder workshop was organised 
on 15 March 2007. The conclusions of th e workshop are available together 
with the presentations in the CIRCA page http://circa.europa.eu/Pub lic/irc/env/weee_2008_ws/home.  
Methodology used
 
The information gathering exercise by Bio Intelligence Service systematically 
screened available literature resulting in a synthesis report. The other studies (by the 
United Nations University, Ökopol, Arcadis/Eco las) were research studies. An expert 
workshop and SME Panel via the European Information Centres Network was part of the research study carried out by United Nations University.  
Main organisations/experts consulted
 
AEA Technology, Bio Intelligence Servi ce, United Nations University and 
subcontractors, Ökopol and subcontract ors, Ecolas and subcontractors.  
Summary of advice received and used  
The existence of potentially serious risks with  irreversible consequences has not been 
mentioned. 
The advice from the above studies has been summarised in the executive summaries 
of the studies and have been used at va rious places in the impact assessment of 
policy options; the text of the impact asse ssment refers consequently to the study 
concerned. 
Means used to make the exper t advice publicly available  
Publication of the opinions on the open website 
http://circa.europa.e u/Public/irc/env/weee _2008_review/library  
230 
2.3. Impact assessment 
Several policy options have been assessed fo r the revision of the Directive, including 
the option of taking no action. These options  have been evaluated on the basis of 
their economic, social and environmental im pacts and to what degree they contribute 
to the simplification of the regulatory envir onment. The options considered relate to 
two areas: options to improve the effectiv eness of the WEEE Di rective and options 
to improve the efficiency of the Directive.  
• The following options were considered to improve the effectiveness of the 
Directive: minimum inspection and enfor cement requirements for treatment and 
waste shipment, collection targets for producers set at 85% of WEEE arising 
(which equals 65% of EEE placed on the market, which is already currently 
separately collected) including WEEE from business into the rate, collection of all  
EN 6   EN environmentally most relevant streams, co llection rate expressed in function of the 
EEE placed on the market. The options on minimum inspection requirement, setting the collection targets for pr oducers at 65% of the EEE placed on the 
market in the preceding year were found to result in environmentally, 
economically and social optimal solution in this area. The IA shows that 65% 
reflects reality as this am ount is already being separa tely collected  on average 
throughout the EU Member States. This ra te would include n early all the large 
and medium size WEEE which is economic to collect. Data suggests that the 
collection costs per unit collected remain  the same and environmental benefits 
will increase as more separately co llected WEEE would be  properly treated. 
• The following options were considered to im prove the efficiency of the Directive: 
Clarify the scope of the Dire ctive using a fixed product li st as the scope, define 
the scope in the RoHS Directive while the WEEE Directive would refer to this 
under 175 of the EC treaty, define categor ies of equipments as from private 
household (B2C) or from users other than  private households (B2B). The impact 
assessment concluded that no action in th is area was not a viable policy option 
and clarifying the scope of the WEEE Di rective can best be done with a 
combination of the last two options. This will result in both positive 
environmental and economic impacts and it will provide clarity for producers, 
thereby reducing free riding on the market. 
• Harmonise producer registration and re duce unnecessary administrative burden 
through creating inter-operable registers between Member St ates or an EU register 
and harmonise registration and reporting re quirements. It was found that creating 
an interoperable national registers and harmonising registration requirements are 
the most viable options considering the costs occurring and the significant 
reduction in administrative burden 
• It was also considered to include the re-u se of whole appliances  into the recycling 
target and set a new target for medical devices. Both these options have proven 
viable during the impact assessment. 
The proposal has been subject  to an impact assessment listed in the Commission's 
Legislative and Work Programme; it is accessible at…. 
3. L
EGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL  
3.1. Summary of the proposed action 
The following main actions are proposed fo r the revision of the WEEE Directive:  
Scope of the WEEE Directive: It is proposed  to bring Annex IA and IB of Directive 
2002/96/EC describing the scope for both th e WEEE and RoHS Di rectives under the 
RoHS Directive which is based on Article 95 of Treaty. The WEEE Directive, based 
on Article 175 of the EC Treaty, will refer to this scope.  
Clarify definitions: Clarific ation is proposed on the division between WEEE from 
private household and non household WEEE by cl assifying the equipments as either 
B2C or B2B equipments through com itology procedure. These actions will  
EN 7   EN contribute to the further clarification of which products fall under the WEEE 
Directive and they will further clarify the ob ligations applying to different equipment 
producers which will contribute to es tablishing a level of playing field. 
Collection target: a 65% WEEE collection rate (including B2B equipments) is 
proposed which is set in function of the av erage amount of EEE placed on the market 
in the two preceding years. This target reflects the amounts of WEEE which are 
currently already separately collected in th e Member States and takes the variations 
in EEE consumption in individual Member States into account. Therefore, it will 
encourage Member States to come to the most optimal separate WEEE collection. 
The proposed collection rate should be ac hieved annually, starting in 2016. Several 
flexibilities are proposed: possible transitiona l measures for Member States and a re-
examination of the rate by the European Parliament a nd Council in 2012 on the basis 
of a proposal from the Commission. 
Recycling targets: In order to encourage th e re-use of whole W EEEs it is proposed to 
include re-use of whole appl iances in the increased (wit h 5%) target for recycling 
combined with re-use. The recycling ta rget for medical devices (category 8 
equipment) is proposed to be set at the level of those for monitoring and control 
instruments (category 9 equipment). 
Producer Registration: In or der to reduce the administra tive burden related to the 
application of the WEEE Directive the harmonisation of the registration and 
reporting obligations for producers between  the national producer registers is 
proposed including making the re gisters inter operational. 
Enforcement: In order to bridge the impl ementation gap, it is  proposed to set 
minimum inspection requirements for Member  States to strengthen the enforcement 
of the WEEE Directive. Minimum mon itoring requirements are proposed for 
shipments of WEEE.  
3.2. Legal basis 
Article 175 of the Treaty. 
3.3. Subsidiarity principle 
The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the propos al does not fall under the 
exclusive competence of the Community. 
The objectives of the proposal cannot be su fficiently achieved by the Member States 
for the following reason(s). 
Environmental protection measures fa ll within the competence of both the 
Community and the Member States. The pollution caused by the management of 
WEEE is of trans-boundary nature . This is particularly true  for the pollution of air or 
water and soil resulting from the incine ration, landfilling or improper recycling of 
WEEE. The objective of improving the mana gement of WEEE therefore cannot be 
achieved effectively by Member States alone , for this Community action is required. 
In addition, having different national polic ies on the management of WEEE hampers 
the effectiveness of recycling policies. Also, different national registration and  
EN 8   EN reporting requirements for producers leads to  unnecessary administrative burden. For 
that reason action should be  taken on Community level. 
The action by Member States alone would re sult in reduced level of environmental 
protection and increased financial and admi nistrative burden on economic operators.  
Community action will better achieve the obje ctives of the proposal for the following 
reason(s). 
The transnational nature of the problems rela ted to the review of the WEEE Directive 
makes them appropriate to be  regulated at EU level; harmonisation of requirements 
for manufacturers and authorities throughout  the EU will increase cost-efficiency, 
foster simplification and achieve higher le vel of environmental protection across the 
EU.  
Indicators:  
(1) avoidance of internal market problems by creating certainty for economic 
operators covered by the provisions of  the Directive on the meaning of 
definitions and the scope of the WEEE Directive; 
(2) reaching optimal environmental results by setting minimum collection and 
recycling targets at appropriate level across the EU; 
(3) reduction of administrative burden by simplified registration and reporting 
procedures for firms trading in more than one Member State; 
(4) more effective application of th e WEEE Directive by strengthened 
enforcement and monitoring of producers and waste management compliance on the EU level.  
The Council and the European Parliament  in Directive 2002/96/EC called for the 
revision of the WEEE collection target, ta rgets for recycling and recovery of WEEE 
including for the re-use of whole applia nces as appropriate and for the products 
falling under category 8 (medical devices). This review is an integral part of developing a better regulato ry environment in the EU. Cl arification of the scope and 
of certain definitions in the Directiv e, setting targets and working towards 
interoperational produce r registration systems is expected not to be effectively 
achievable by the Member States acting individually.  
The proposal therefore complies with  the subsidiarity principle. 
3.4. Proportionality principle 
The proposal complies with the proportionali ty principle for the following reason(s). 
The proposal sets out legal requirements for a harmonise d Community strategy for 
the collection and recycling of WEEE but at the same time leaves Members States 
free to choose the most appropriate nationa l measures to reach the objective of the 
proposal. As the Directive is based on Article  175 of the Treaty, it leaves scope for 
further national measures. The measures in the proposed review of the WEEE  
EN 9   EN Directive tackle the problems encountered  during the implementation of Directive 
2002/96/EC and the points explicitly indica ted by Council and EP for the review.  
Cuts in administrative burden: 
– reduced administrative burden concerni ng the registration and reporting for 
producers marketing products in more than one Member State; 
– overall cost savings from harmonised registration and reporting is €66.3 million. 
3.5. Choice of instruments 
Proposed instruments: directive. 
Other means would not be adequate for the following reason(s). As recent research studies have confirmed that neither the drivers for the problems 
nor the rationale for collecting and recy cling WEEE have changed, the proposed 
measure is a review of an existing Directive.  
4. B
UDGETARY IMPLICATION  
The proposal has no implication for the Community budget. 
5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION  
5.1. 510Simplification 
The proposal provides for simplificati on of legislation, simplification of 
administrative procedures for private parties, by: 
– clarifying of the scope of both the WEEE and RoHS Dir ectives which tackle the 
same kind of equipment; 
– harmonising formats and frequencies con cerning the registration and reporting for 
producers.  
The proposal is included in the Commission's rolling programme for up-date and 
simplification of the Community Acquis a nd its Work and Legislative Programme 
under the reference 2008/ENV/002. 
5.2. Review/revision/sunset clause 
The proposal includes a review clause. 
5.3. Recasting 
The proposal involves recasting.   
EN 10   EN 5.4. Correlation table 
The Member States are required to comm unicate to the Commission the text of 
national provisions transpos ing the Directive as well as  a correlation table between 
those provisions a nd this Directive. 
5.5. Detailed explanation of the proposal 
The main proposals to recast Di rective 2002/96/EC relate to: 
Article 2: Scope of the Directive refers to the scope of the RoHS Directive. It is 
clarified what equipments are ex empted from the Directive.  
Article 3: Definitions are adapted and new definitions are added to increase legal 
certainty and coherence with other Community legislation.  
Article 7: WEEE a 65% collect ion rate set in function of the amount of EEE placed 
on the market in the preceding two years. This collection rate needs to be achieved 
annually, for the first time in 2016 by pr oducers. Member States may have 
transitional arrangement granted through co mitology in case they have difficulties 
meeting the rate due to specific nationa l circumstances. The collection rate is 
proposed to be re-examined by the Eur opean Parliament and the Council in 2012, 
also in view of setting po ssible separate collection rate for cooling and freezing 
equipment, on the basis of a report of the Commission. 
Article 11: Recovery and recycling targets are modified to include the re-use of 
whole appliances and the medical devices. 
Article 12: Member States, where approp riate, should encourage producers to 
finance all the cost occurring for colle ction facilities for WEEE from private 
households.  
Article 14: A visible fee is allowed without  time limitation in line with the principles 
of Sustainable Consumption and Production for all products 
Article 16: In order to reduce administrati ve burden a new provision is added to 
harmonise the registration of producers and reporting by producers in the EU 
including by making the nationa l registers interoperable. 
Article 20: Minimum inspection requirement s are added to improve the application 
of the WEEE Directiv e on the EU level.  
Annex I of Directive 2002/96/ EC is deleted and a new An nex is added establishing 
minimum monitoring requirements for shipments of WEEE. 
Annexes II, III, IV of Directive 2002/96/EC  remain unchanged as these are to be 
updated according to technical and scien tific progress on a re gular basis through 
comitology procedure.  
EN 11   EN 2008/0241 (COD) 
Proposal for a 
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PA RLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL  
on waste electrical and el ectronic equipment (WEEE)  
(Recast) 
(Text with EEA relevance)  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE CO UNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty esta blishing the European Communit y, and in particular Article 
175(1) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission2, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Eu ropean Economic and Social Committee3, 
Having regard to the opinion of  the Committee of the Regions4, 
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down  in Article 251 of the Treaty in the light of 
the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 8 November 2002 , 
Whereas: 
 
Ø new 
(1) A number of substantial changes are to be made to Directive 2002/96/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic 
equipment (WEEE)5. In the interests of clarity, th at Directive should be recast. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
(2)(1)  The objectives of the Community's environmen t policy are, in particular, to preserve, 
protect and improve the quality of the environment, protect human health and utilise natural resources prudently and rationally. That policy is based on the precautionary 
                                                
 
2 OJ C 365 E, 19.12.2000, p. 184 and OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 298.  ⌦ OJ C , , p. . ⌫ 
3 OJ C 116, 20.4.2001, p. 38.  ⌦ OJ C , , p. . ⌫ 
4 OJ C 148, 18.5.2001, p. 1.  ⌦ OJ C , , p. . ⌫ 
5 OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 24.  
EN 12   EN principle and principles th at preventive action should be  taken, that environmental 
damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay. 
(3)(2)  The Community programme of policy and ac tion in relation to the environment and 
sustainable development (Fifth Environmental Action Programme)6 states that the 
achievement of sustainable development calls for significant changes in current 
patterns of development, production, consumption and behaviour and advocates, inter 
alia, the reduction of wasteful consumption of  natural resources and the prevention of 
pollution. It mentions waste el ectrical and electronic equi pment (WEEE) as one of the 
target areas to be regulated, in view of the application of  the principles  of prevention, 
recovery and safe disposal of waste. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
(3) The Commission Communicati on of 30 July 1996 on review of the Community 
strategy for waste management states that , where the generation of waste cannot be 
avoided, it should be re-used or recovered for its material or energy.  
(4) The Council in its Resolution of 24 February 1997 on a Community strategy for waste 
management7 insisted on the need for promoti ng waste recovery with a view to 
reducing the quantity of waste for disposal and saving natural reso urces, in particular 
by re-use, recycling, composting and recovering energy  from waste and recognised 
that the choice of options in any particular case must have regard to environmental and 
economic effects but that until scientific and technological progress is made and life -
cycle analyses are fur ther developed, re-use and material recovery should be 
considered preferable where and in so far as they are the best environmental options. 
The Council also invited the Commission to  develop, as soon as possible, an 
appropriate follow -up to the projects o f the priority waste streams programme, 
including WEEE.  
(5) The European Parliament, in it s Resolution of 14 November 19968, asked the 
Commission to present proposals for Directives on a number of priority waste streams, 
including electrical and electronic  waste, and to base such  proposals on the principle 
of producer responsibility. Th e European Parliament, in the same Resolution, requests 
the Council and the Commission to put forw ard proposals for cutting the volume of 
waste.  
 
Ø new 
(4) This Directive supplements the general EU waste management legislation, such as 
Directive 2008/xx/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste9. It 
refers to the definitions of the Directive in cluding the definitions of waste and general 
waste management operations. The definiti on of collection according to Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste includes the preliminar y sorting and preliminary storage of 
                                                 
6 OJ C 138, 17.5.1993, p. 5. 
7 OJ C 76, 11.3.1997, p. 1.  
8 OJ C 362, 2.12.1996, p. 241.  
9 OJ C , , p. .  
EN 13   EN waste for the purposes of transport to a wa ste treatment facility. Directive 2005/32/EC 
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 200510 establishes a 
framework for setting ecodesign requirements for energy using products and enables 
the adoption of specific eco-design require ments for energy using products which may 
also be covered by this Directive. Directive 2005/32/ EC and the implementing 
measures adopted pursuant to it are without prejudice to Community waste 
management legislation. Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council on the restriction of the use of certa in hazardous substances in electrical and 
electronic equipment11 requires the substitution of banned substances for all electrical 
and electronic equipmen ts within its scope.  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
(56) Council Directive 75/44 2/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste12 ⌦ Directive 2006/12/EC 
of the European Parliament and of  the Council of 5 April 2006 on waste 13 ⌫ 
provides that specific rules fo r particular instan ces or supplementing those of Directive 
⌦ 2006/12/EC ⌫ 75/442/EEC  on the management of partic ular categories of waste 
may be laid down by means of individual Directives. 
(67) The amount of WEEE generated in the Community is growing rapidly.  Ö As the 
market continues to expand and innovatio n cycles become even shorter, the 
replacement of equipment accelerates, ma king waste electrical  and electronic 
equipment (WEEE) a fast gr owing waste stream. While Directive 2002/95/EC on the 
restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electr ical and electronic 
equipment (RoHS) contributes effectively to reducing hazardous substances in new 
EEE, hazardous substances such as mercur y, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium 
and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB s) and ozone depleting substances14 will still be 
present in WEEE for many years.  The content of haza rdous components in 
electrical and elec tronic equipment (EEE) is a major concern during the waste 
management phase and recycling of WEEE is  not undertaken to a sufficient extent. 
Ö A lack or recycling would result in the loss of valuable resources  . 
(8) The objective of improving the management of WEEE cannot be achieved effectively 
by Member States acting  individually. In partic ular, different national applications of 
the producer responsibility princi ple may lead to substantial disparities in the financial 
burden on economic operators. Having differe nt national policies on the management 
of WEEE hampers the effectiveness of recy cling policies. For that reason the essential 
criteria should be laid down at Community level.  
                                                 
10 OJ L 191, 22.07.2005, p.29-58. 
11 OJ L 37, 13.02.2003, p.19-23. 
12 OJ L 194, 25.7.1975, p. 47. Directive as last amended by Commission Decision 96/350/EC (OJ L 135, 
6.6.1996, p. 32).  
13 OJ L 114, 27.4.2006, p. 9. 
14 COM(2008)505 and SEC(2008)2367  
EN 14   EN  
Ø new 
(7) The purpose of this Directive is, to  contribute to sustainable production and 
consumption by as a first priority, the pr evention of waste electrical and electronic 
equipment (WEEE), and in addition, the reuse,  recycling and other forms of recovery 
of such wastes so as to reduce the disposal of waste and contribute to the efficient use 
of resources . It also seeks to improve th e environmental performa nce of all operators 
involved in the life cycle of  electrical and electronic equipment, e.g. producers, 
distributors and consumers a nd in particular those opera tors directly involved in 
the collection and treatment of waste electric al and electronic equipment .In particular, 
different national applications of the produc er responsibility principle may lead to 
substantial disparities in th e financial burden on economic operators. Having different 
national policies on the management of WEEE hampers the effectiveness of recycling 
policies. For that reason the essential criteria  should be laid down at Community level. 
(8) Since the objectives of th e action to be taken cannot be  sufficiently achieved by the 
Member States and can therefore be bette r achieved at Community level by reason of 
the scale of the problem, the Community ma y therefore adopt measures, in accordance 
with the principle of subsidiarity as set out  in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance 
with the principle of proportionality, as set ou t in that Article, th is Directive does not 
go beyond what is necessary in orde r to achieve th at objective. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
(9) The provisions of this Directive should apply to products and producers irrespective of 
the selling technique, including distance and electronic sell ing. In this connection the 
obligations of producers and distributors usi ng distance and electronic selling channels 
should, as far as is practicable, take the same  form and should be enforced in the same 
way in order to avoid other distribution channels having to bear the costs of the 
provisions of this Directiv e concerning WEEE for which the equipment was sold by 
distant or electronic selling. 
(10) This Directive should cover all electrical  and electronic equipment used by consumers 
and electrical and electronic equipment intended for professional use. This Directive 
should apply without prejud ice to Community legisla tion on safety and health 
requirements protecting all actors in co ntact with WEEE as well as specific 
Community waste management legislation, in particular ⌦ Directive 2006/66/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the C ouncil of 6 September 2006 on batteries and 
accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators15 ⌫ Council Directive 
91/157/EEC of 18 March 1991 on batteries and accumulators containing certain 
dangerous substances16 Ö , and Community product design legislation, in particular 
Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parl iament and of the Council establishing a 
framework for the setting of ecodesign re quirements for energy-using products and 
                                                 
15 OJ L 266, 26.9.2006, p.1-14. Directive as amended by Directive 2008/12/EC (OJ L 76, 19.3.2008, 
p. 39). 
16 OJ L 78, 26.3.1991, p. 38. Directive as amended by Commission Directive 98/101/EC (OJ L 1, 
5.1.1999, p. 1).   
EN 15   EN amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council.  
(11) Directive 91/157/EEC needs to be revised as so on as possible, particularly in the light 
of this Directive.  
(11)( 12) The establishment, by this Directive, of producer responsibility is one of the 
means of encouraging the design and producti on of electrical and el ectronic equipment 
which take into full account  and facilitate their repa ir, possible upgrading, re-use, 
disassembly and recycling. 
(12)(1 3) In order to guarantee the safety and hea lth of distributors' personnel involved in 
the take-back and handling of WEEE, Memb er States should, in accordance with 
national and Community legislation on safety  and health requirements, determine the 
conditions under which take-back may be refused by distributors. 
(14) Member States should enc ourage the design and productio n of electrical and electronic 
equipment which take into account and facilitate dismantling and  recovery , in 
particular the re -use and recycl ing of WEEE,  their components and materials . 
Producers should not prevent, through specific design features or manu facturing 
processes, WEEE from being re-used, unless such specific design features or 
manufacturing processes present overriding adva ntages, for example with regard to the 
protection of the environment and/or safety requirements.  
(1315 ) Separate collection is athe  precondition to ensure specific treatment and recycling of 
WEEE and is necessary to achieve the chosen  level of protection of human health and 
the environment in the Community. Consumer s have to actively contribute to the 
success of such collection and should be encouraged to return WEEE. For this 
purpose, convenient facilities should be set up for the return of WEEE, including 
public collection points, where private househol ds should be able to return their waste 
at least free of charge. Ö Distributors have an important  role in contributing to the 
success of WEEE collection.   
(1416 ) In order to attain the chosen level of protection and harmonised environmental 
objectives of the Community, Member States  should adopt appropriate measures to 
minimise the disposal of WEEE as unsorte d municipal waste and to achieve a high 
level of separate collection of WEEE. In orde r to ensure that Member States strive to 
set up efficient collection schemes, they s hould be required to ach ieve a high level of 
collection of WEEE Ö , particularly for cooling and freezing equipment containing 
ozone depleting substances and fluorin ated greenhouse gases, given their high 
environmental impact and in view of ob ligations contained in Regulation (EC) 
2037/2000 and Regulation (EC) 842/200617  from private households . Ö Data 
included in the impact assessment shows th at 65% of electrical and electronic 
equipment placed on the market is already se parately collected today, but more than 
half of this potentially leaks to improper tr eatment and illegal exports. This leads to 
losses of valuable secondary raw material s and environmental degradation. To avoid 
this, it is necessary to set an ambitious collection target.  
                                                 
17 COM(2008)505 and SEC(2008)2367  
EN 16   EN (1517 ) Specific treatment for WEEE is indispen sable in order to av oid the dispersion of 
pollutants into the recycled material or th e waste stream. Such treatment is the most 
effective means of ensuring compliance with  the chosen level of protection of the 
environment of the Community. Any esta blishment or undertakings carrying out 
Ö collection ,recycling and treatment operations should comply with minimum 
standards to prevent negative environmental impacts associated with the treatment of 
WEEE. Best available treatment, recovery and recycling techni ques should be used 
provided that they ensure human health  and high environmental protection. Best 
available treatment, recovery and recycli ng techniques may be further defined in 
accordance with the procedures of Directive ⌦ 2008/1/EC ⌫ 96/61/EC18. 
(1618 ) Where appropriate, priority should be  given to the re-use of WEEE and its 
components, subassemblies and consumables.  Where re-use is not preferable, all 
WEEE collected separately should  be sent for recovery, in the course of which a high 
level of recycling and recovery should be achieved. In addition, producers should be 
encouraged to integrate recycled  material in new equipment. 
 
Ø new 
(17) The recovery, preparation for re-use and recycling of equipment can be counted into 
the targets defined in Article 7 of this Direct ive only if that recovery or preparation for 
re-use or recycling is not in contradict ion to other European  and Member States 
legislation applicable to the equipment. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC  
Ö new 
(1819 ) Basic principles with regard to the financ ing of WEEE management have to be set at 
Community level and financing schemes have to contribute to high collection rates as 
well as to the implementation of the principle of producer responsibility. 
(1920 ) Users of electrical and el ectronic equipment from privat e households should have the 
possibility of returning WEEE at least fr ee of charge. Producers should therefore  
finance Ö at least the  collection from collection facilities, and the treatment, 
recovery and dis posal of WEEE. Ö Member States should  encourage producers to 
take full ownership of the WEEE collection in  particular by financing the collection of 
WEEE throughout the whole waste chain, includ ing from private households, in order 
to avoid leakage of separately collected WEEE to sub-optimal treatment and illegal 
exports, to create a level playing field by harmonising producer financing across the 
EU, to shift payment for the collection of th is waste from genera l tax payers to the 
consumers of EEEs in line with the polluter pays principle.  In order to give 
maximum effect to the concept of produ cer responsibility, each producer should be 
responsible for financing the management  of the waste from his own products. The 
producer should be able to choose to fulfil this obligation either  individually or by 
joining a collective scheme. Each produ cer should, when placi ng a product on the 
market, provide a financial guarantee to prevent costs for the management of WEEE from orphan products from falling on soci ety or the remaining producers. The 
                                                
 
18 OJ L 24, 29.1.2008, p. 8OJ L 257, 10 .10.1996, p.26 -40.  
EN 17   EN responsibility for the financing of the management of historic al waste should be shared 
by all existing producers in collective fina ncing schemes to which all producers, 
existing on the market when the costs o ccur, contribute propor tionately. Collective 
financing schemes should not have the effect of excluding niche and low-volume 
producers, importers and new entrants.For a transitional period  producers should be 
allowed to show purchasers, on a voluntary basis at the time of sale of new products, 
the costs of collecting, treating and disposing in an environmental ly sound way of  
historical waste. Producers making use of th is provision should ensure that the costs 
mentioned do not exceed the actual costs incurred.  
(20) Ö Producers should be allowed to show purchas ers, on a voluntary basi s at the time of 
sale of new products, the costs of co llecting, treating and disposing in an 
environmentally sound way of WEEE. Th is is in line with the Commission 
Communication on Sustainable Consump tion and Production and Sustainable 
Industrial Policy Action Plan in particular  with regard to smarter consumption and 
green public procurement.   
(21) Information to users about the require ment not to dispose of WEEE as unsorted 
municipal waste and to collect WEEE separa tely, and about the collection systems and 
their role in the management of WEEE, is indispensable for the success of WEEE 
collection. Such information implies the prop er marking of electrical and electronic 
equipment which could end up in rubbish bi ns or similar means of municipal waste 
collection.  
(22) Information on component and material id entification to be pr ovided by producers is 
important to facilitate the ma nagement, and in particular the treatment and recovery or  
/recycling, of WEEE. 
(23) Member States should ensure that insp ection and monitoring infrastructure enable the 
proper implementation of this Direc tive to be verified, having regard, inter alia , to 
Recommendation 2001/331/EC of the European  Parliament and the Council of 4 April 
2001 providing for minimum criteria for envi ronmental inspections in the Member 
States19. 
(24) Information about the weight or, if this is not possible, the numbers  of items  of 
electrical and electronic equipment placedput  on the market in the Community and the 
rates of collection, re-use, in cluding as far as possible re -use of whole appliances, 
recovery or  /recycling and export of WEEE collected in accordance with this Directive 
is necessary to monitor the achievement of the objectives of this Directive. 
(25) Member States may choose to implement certain provisions of th is Directive by means 
of agreements between the competent auth orities and the economic sectors concerned 
provided that particular  requirements are met. 
(26) The adaptation to scien tific and technical progress of  certain provisions of the 
Directive, the list of products falling under the categories se t out in Annex IA,  the 
selective treatment for materials and com ponents of WEEE, the technical requirements 
                                                 
19 OJ L 118, 27.4.2001, p. 41.  
EN 18   EN for Ö collection, storage and treatment of WEEE and the symbol for the marking of 
EEE should be effected by the Commission under a committee procedure. 
(27) The measures necessary for the implementa tion of this Directive should be adopted in 
accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/ EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the 
procedures for the exercise of implem enting powers conferred on the Commission20. 
Ö The Commission should be empowered to ad apt the annexes and to adopt rules for 
monitoring compliance. Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to 
amend non-essential elements of Directive 2002/96/EC, inter alia, by supplementing it 
with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the 
regulatory procedure with scrutiny provi ded for in Article 5a of Decision 
1999/468/EC.  
 
Ø new 
(28) The obligation to transpose this Directive into national law should be confined to those 
provisions which represent a substantive change as compared with the earlier 
Directives. The obligation to transpose the provisions which are unchanged arises 
under the earlier Directives. 
(29) This Directive should be without prejudice to the obliga tions of the Member States 
relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law and application of the 
Directives set out in Annex V, Part B. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
Article 1 
 
Ø new 
Subject matter 
This Directive lays down measures to pr otect the environment and human health by 
preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of th e generation and management of waste from 
electrical and electronic equipments and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and 
improving the efficiency of such use. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
Ö new 
Objectives  
                                                 
20 OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.  
EN 19   EN The purpose of this Directive is , as a first priority, the prevention of waste electrical and 
electronic equipment (WEEE), and in addition, the re-use, recycling and other forms of 
recovery of such wastes so as to redu ce the disposal of waste . It also seek s to improve the 
environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cy cle of electrical and 
electronic equipment, e.g. producers, distribut ors and consumers and in particular those 
operators directly involved in the treatment of waste electric al and electronic equipment.  
Article 2 
Scope 
1. This Directive shall apply to electri cal and electronic equipment falling under the 
categories set out in Ö Annex I  Annex IA  Ö of Directive 20xx/xx/EC (RoHS).  provided 
that the equipment concerned is not part of anot her type of equipment that does not fall within 
the scope of this Direc tive.Annex IB contains a list of products which fall under the categories 
set out in Annex IA.  
2. This Directive shall ap ply without prejudice to Ö requirements of  Community 
legislation on safety and health requirements  and Ö, on chemicals, in particular Regulation 
(EC)1907/2006 as well as of  specific Community waste management Ö or product 
design  legislation. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
3. ⌦ This Directive does not apply to  any of the following equipments: ⌫ 
(a) Equipment which is Ö necessary for  connected with  the protection of the essential 
interests of the security of Member States, including  arms, munitions and war 
materialShall be excluded from this Di rective. This does not, however, apply to 
products which are not intended for specifically military purposes. 
⌦ (b) Equipment which is specifically designed as  part of another type of equipment that 
does not fall within the scope of this Directive ⌫ Ö and can fulfill its function only 
if it is part of that equipment.  
 
Ø new 
Ö (c) Equipment which is not intended to be placed on the market as a single functional or 
commercial unit.  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
⌦ (d) Filament bulbs. ⌫ 
⌦ (e) Implanted and infected medical devices. ⌫  
EN 20   EN  
Ø new 
4. WEEE shall be classified as waste from pr ivate households or from users other than 
private households. The classification of t ypes of WEEE into th ese categories shall 
be laid down. This measure designed to amend non-essential elements of this 
Directive, by supplementing it,  shall be adopted in acco rdance with th e regulatory 
procedure with scrutiny referred to in Artic le 18(3). This cla ssification among others 
shall be based on assessing the share of the equipment sold to private households or 
businesses.  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
Article 3 
Definitions 
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply: 
 (a)‘electrical and electronic equipmen t’ or ‘EEE’ means equipment which is 
dependent on electric currents or electroma gnetic fields in order to work properly 
and equipment for the generation, transfer  and measurement of such currents and 
fields falling under the categories set out in Ö Annex I  Annex IA  Ö of Directive 
20xx/xx/EC (RoHS)  and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 
1000 Volt for alternating current and 1500 Volt for direct current; 
 (b)‘waste electrical and electronic equipm ent’ or ‘WEEE’ means electrical or 
electronic equipment which is waste within the meaning of Article ⌦ 3(1) of 
Directive 2008/xx/EC on waste ⌫ 1(a) of Directive 75/442/EEC , including all 
components, subassemblies and consumables which are part of the product at the time of discarding; 
 (c)‘prevention’ means Ö prevention within the mean ing of Article 3 (12) of 
Directive 2008/xx/EC on waste;  ; measures aimed at reducing the quantity and the 
harmfulness to the environment of WEEE and materials and s ubstances contained 
therein;  
 (d)‘re-use’ means Ö re-use within the meaning of Article 3(13) of Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste  any operation by which WEEE or components thereof are 
used for the same purpose for which they were conceived, incl uding the continued 
use of the equipment or components thereof which a re returned to collection points, 
distributors, recycler s or manufacturers ; 
 
Ø new 
(e)'preparing for re-use' means preparing for re -use within the meaning of Article 3(16) of 
Directive 2008/xx/EC on waste;   
EN 21   EN  
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
 (fe )‘recycling’ means Ö recycling within the meaning of Article 3(17) of Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste  the reprocessing in a production process of the waste 
materials for the original purpose or for oth er purposes, but excluding energy 
recovery which means the us e of combustible waste as a means of generating energy 
through direct incineration with or without other waste but with recovery of the heat ; 
 (gf )‘recovery’ means Ö recovery within the meaning of Article 3(15) of Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste  any of the applicable operat ions provided for in Annex IIB 
to Directive 75/442/EEC ; 
 (hg )‘disposal’ means Ö disposal within the meaning of Article 3(19) of Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste  any of the applicable operations provided for in Annex IIA 
to Directive 75/442/EEC ; 
 (ih )‘treatment’ means Ö treatment within the meaning of Article 3(14) of Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste  any activity after the WEEE  has been handed over to a 
facility for depollution, disassembly, shreddi ng, recovery or preparation for disposal 
and any other operation carried out for the recovery and/or the disposal of the 
WEEE ; 
 (ji )‘producer’ means any natural or legal  person who, irrespective of the selling 
technique used, including by means of dist ance communication in accordance with 
Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parlia ment and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on 
the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts21: 
 (i) manufactures and sells  electrical and electron ic equipment under his own 
Ö name or trademark, or has electrical and electronic equipment designed or 
manufactured and markets that electr onic equipment under his name or trade 
mark  brand , 
 (ii) resells under his own brand  ⌦ name or trademark ⌫ equipment produced 
by other suppliers, a reseller not being re garded as the ‘producer’ if the brand 
of the producer appears on the equipment,  as provided for in subpoint (i), or 
 (iii) Ö is established within the Community and places  imports or exports  
electrical and electronic equipment Ö from a third country  on a professional 
basis Ö onto the Community Market  into a Member State . 
 Whoever exclusively provides financing unde r or pursuant to any finance agreement 
shall not be deemed a ‘producer’ unless he also acts as a producer within the meaning of subpoints (i) to (iii); 
 (kj )‘distributor’ means any Ö natural or legal  person Ö in the supply chain, who 
makes an electrical a nd electronic equipment av ailable on the market;  who 
                                                 
21 OJ L 144, 4.6.1997, p. 19.  
EN 22   EN provides electr ical or electronic equipment on a co mmercial basis to the party who is 
going to use it  
 (lk ) ‘WEEE from private households’ m eans WEEE which comes from private 
households and from commercial, industrial,  institutional and other sources which, 
because of its nature and quantity, is si milar to that from private households; 
 
Ø new 
(m) 'hazardous waste' means hazardous waste within the meaning of Art. 3 (2) of 
Directive 2008/XX/EC on waste. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
Ö new 
 (l)  ‘dangerous substance or preparation’ means any substance or preparation 
which has to be considered dange rous under Council Directive 67/548/EEC22 or 
Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council23. 
 (nm ) ‘finance agreement’ means any loan, lease, hiring or deferred sale agreement or 
arrangement relating to any equipment whethe r or not the terms of that agreement or 
arrangement or any collateral agreement or  arrangement provide that a transfer of 
ownership of that equipment will or may take place. 
 
Ø new 
(o) "making available on the market” mean s any supply of a product for distribution, 
consumption or use on the Community market  in the course of a commercial activity, 
whether in return for payment or free of charge; 
(p) "placing on the market" means the first making available of a product on the 
Community market;  
(q) "remove" means manual, mechanical, chemical or metallurgic handling with the 
result that hazardous substances, preparations and components are contained as an 
identifiable stream or identifia ble part of a stream at the end of the treatment process. 
A substance, preparation or component is id entifiable if it can be monitored to prove 
environmentally safe treatment.  
(r) "collection" means collec tion within the meaning of Ar ticle 3 (10) of Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste. 
(s) "separate collection" means separate collection within the meaning of Article 3 (11) 
of Directive 2008/xx/EC on waste. 
                                                 
22 OJ 196, 16.8.1967, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2001/59/EC (OJ L 225, 
21.8.2001, p. 1).  
23 OJ L 200, 30.7.1999, p. 1. Di rective as amended by Commission Directive 2001/60/EC (OJ L 226, 
22.8.2001, p. 5).   
EN 23   EN  
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
Article 4 
Product design 
Member States shall Ö , in line with Community product legislation including Directive 
2005/32/EC on eco-design,  encourage Ö measures to promote  the design and 
production of electrical and electronic equipment Ö notably in view of facilitating  which 
takes into account and facilitate s ⌦ re-use ⌫, dismantling and recovery in particular the re-
use and recycling  of WEEE, itstheir  components and materials. Ö These measures shall 
respect the proper functioning of the internal market.  In this context, Member States shall 
take appropriate measures so that producers do not prevent, through sp ecific design features 
or manufacturing processes, W EEE from being re-used, unless su ch specific design features 
or manufacturing processes presen t overriding advantages, for ex ample, with regard to the 
protection of the environment and/or safety requirements. 
Article 5 
Separate collection 
1. Member States shall adopt a ppropriate measures in order  to minimise the disposal of 
WEEE as  Ö in the form of  unsorted municipal waste and to achieve a high level of 
separate collection of WEEE Ö , notably, and as a matter of priority, for cooling and freezing 
equipment containing ozone depleting substa nces and fluorinated greenhouse gases.  
2. For WEEE from private households, Member States shall ensure that by the 13 August 
2005 : 
 (a) systems are set up allowing final holders and distributors  to return such waste at 
least free of charge. Member States shall en sure the availability and accessibility of 
the necessary collection facilities, taking into account in part icular the population 
density; 
 (b) when supplying a new product, distributor s shall be responsible for ensuring that 
such waste can be returned to the distribut or at least free of charge on a one-to-one 
basis as long as the equipment is of equivalent type and has fulfilled the same functions as the supplied equipment. Member  States may depart from this provision 
provided they ensure that returning the W EEE is not thereby ma de more difficult for 
the final holder and provided that these sy stems remain free of charge for the final 
holder. Member States making use of this  provision shall inform the Commission 
thereof; 
 (c) without prejudice to the provisions of (a) and (b), pr oducers are allowed to set up 
and operate individual and/or collective take-back systems for WEEE from private 
households provided that these are in line with the objectives of  this Directive;  
EN 24   EN  (d) having regard to national and Community health and safety st andards, WEEE that 
presents a health and safety risk to personnel because of contamination may be refused for return under (a) and (b). Member  States shall make specific arrangements 
for such WEEE. 
Member States may provide for specific arrang ements for the return of WEEE as under (a) 
and (b) if the equipment does not contain th e essential components or if the equipment 
contains waste other than WEEE. 
3. In the case of WEEE other than WEEE from private househol ds, and without prejudice to 
Article 139
, Member States shall ensure that producer s or third parties acting on their behalf 
provide for the collection of such waste. 
4. Member States shall ensure that all WEEE collected under paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 above is 
transported to treatment facilities authorised und er Article 6 unless the appliances are reused 
as a whole. Member States shall ensure that the envisaged r euse does not lead to a 
circumvention of this Directive,  in particular as regards Arti cles 6 and 7. The collection and 
transport of separately collected WEEE shall be carried out in a way which optimises reuse 
and recycling of those components or whole app liances capable of bein g reused or recycled.  
 
Ø new 
Article 6 
Disposal and transport of collected WEEE 
1. Member States shall prohibit the disposal of untreated separate ly collected WEEE.  
2 Member States shall ensure that the collection and transport of separately collected 
WEEE is carried out in a way which optimises re-use and recycling an d the confinement of 
hazardous substances. 
 
Ø new 
Article 7 
Collection rate 
1. Without prejudice to Article 5(1), Member States shall en sure that producers or third 
parties acting on their behalf achieve a minimum collection rate of 65%. The collection rate is 
calculated on the basis of the total weight of  WEEE collected in acco rdance with Articles 5 
and 6 in a given year in that Member State, expr essed as a percentage of the average weight of 
electrical and electronic equipm ent placed on the market in th e two preceding years in that 
Member State. This collection rate sha ll be achieved annually and starting in 2016. 
2. Transitional arrangement may be  laid down in accordance with the procedure referred to in 
Article 18(2) to address difficulties faced by a Me mber State in satisfying these requirements 
as a result of specific national circumstances;  
EN 25   EN 3. A common methodology shall be established for the calculation of the total weight of 
electrical and electronic equipmen t placed on the national market.  
This measure designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, by supplementing 
it, shall be adopted in accordan ce with the regulatory procedur e with scrutiny referred to in 
Article 18(3). 
4. By 31 December 2012 at the latest the Eur opean Parliament and the Council shall re-
examine the collection rate and target date referred to in paragraph 1 also in view of setting a 
possible separate collection target for cooling and freezing equipment, on the basis of a report 
of the Commission accompanied by a proposal, if appropriate.  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
5. Without prejudice to paragra ph 1, Member States shall ensu re that by 31 December 2006 at 
the latest a rate of separate co llection of at least four kilogr ams on average per inhabitant per 
year of WEEE from private households is achieved.  
The European Parliament and the Counc il, acting on a proposal from the Commis sion and 
taking account of technical and economic experience in the Member States, shall establish a 
new mandatory target by 31 December 2008. This ma y take the form of a percentage of the 
quantities of electrical and electr onic equipment sold to private h ouseholds in the preceding 
years.  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
Article 86  
Treatment 
1. Member States shall ensure that Ö all separately collected  WEEE undergoes treatment . 
⌦ 2. Treatment ⌫Ö  other than preparing for re-use ⌦  shall, as a minimum, include the 
removal of all fluids and a selec tive treatment in accordance with Annex II to this Directive. 
3. Member States shall ensure that producers or  third parties acting on their behalf set up 
systems to provide for the ⌫Ö  recovery  ⌦ of WEEE using best available techniques. 
The systems may be set up by producers indivi dually or collectively. Member States shall 
ensure that any establishment or undertaking ca rrying out collection or treatment operations 
stores and treats WEEE in compliance with the technical requirements set out in Annex 
III. ⌫producers or third par ties acting on their behalf, in accordance with Community 
legislation, set up systems to provide for th e treatment of WEEE using best available 
treatment, recovery and recycling technique s. The systems may be set up by producers 
individually and/or collect ively. To ensure compliance w ith Article 4 of Directive 
75/442/EEC, the treatment shall, as a minimum,  include the removal of all fluids and a 
selective treatment in accordance with Annex II to this Directive .  
EN 26   EN  
Ð 2008/34/EC Art. 1.1 (adapted) 
4. Annex II may be amended in order to intr oduce other treatment technologies ensuring at 
least the same level of protection for human health and the environment.  
Thoseose  measuress , designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by 
supplementing it  shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny 
referred to in Article 184 (3). ⌦ The Commission shall evaluate as a matter of priority 
whether the entries regarding printed circu it boards for mobile phones and liquid crystal 
displays are to be amended. ⌫ 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
5. For the purposes of environmental protecti on, Member States may set up minimum quality 
standards for the treatmen t of collected WEEE.  
Member States which opt for such quality st andards shall inform the Commission thereof, 
which shall publish these standards. 
⌦ 6. Member States shall encourage establishments or undertakings which carry out 
treatment operations to introduce certified envi ronmental management systems in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) No ⌫ ⌦ xx/20xx ⌫761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 19 March 2001  ⌦ allowing voluntary participa tion by organisations in a 
Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS). ⌫ 
⌦ Article 9 ⌫ 
⌦ Permits and inspections  ⌫ 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC, Art. 6 (adapted) 
21. Member States shall ensure that any esta blishment or undertaking carrying out treatment 
operations obtains a permit from the comp etent authorities, in  compliance with ⌦ Article 23 
of Directive 2008/xx/EC on waste ⌫.Articles 9 and 10 of  Directive 75/442/EEC . 
2. The derogation from the permit requirement referred to in Article ⌦ 24(b) of Directive 
2008/xx/EC on waste ⌫11(1)(b) of Directive 75/442/EEC  may apply to recovery operations 
concerning WEEE if an inspection is carried out by the competent authorities before the 
registration in order to ensure compliance with Article ⌦ 13 of Directive 2008/xx/EC on 
waste ⌫.4 of Directive 75/442/EEC . 
The inspection shall verify the following : 
 (a) the type and quantities of waste to be treated; 
 (b) the general technical requirements to be complied with;  (c) the safety precautions to be taken.  
EN 27   EN The inspection shall be carried out at least on ce a year and the results shall be communicated 
by the Member States to the Commission. 
3. Member States shall ensure that any esta blishment or undertaking carrying out treatment 
operations stores and treats WEEE in compliance with the technical re quirements set out in 
Annex III.  
43. Member States shall ensure that the permit or the registration refe rred to in paragraphs  
⌦ 1 and ⌫ 2 includes all conditions necessary for compliance with the requirements of 
paragraphs 1  ⌦ Article 8(2), 8(3) and 8(5) ⌫ and 3  and for the achievement of the recovery 
targets set out in Article 117 . 
⌦ Article10 ⌫ 
⌦ Shipments of WEEE  ⌫ 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC, Art. 6 (adapted) 
Ö new 
15. The treatment operation may also be undertaken  outside the respective Member State or 
the Community provided that the shipment of WEEE is in compliance with ⌦ Regulation 
(EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament  and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on the 
shipments of waste24 ⌫Coun cil Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the 
supervision and control of shipments of wa ste within, into and out of the European 
Community25. 
2. WEEE exported out of the Community in line with ⌦ Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on 
shipments of waste ⌫Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 , ⌦ and Commission Regulation 
(EC) No 1418/2007 of 29 November 2007 concerning the export for recovery of certain waste 
listed in Annex III or Annex IIIA to Re gulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council to certain coun tries to which the OECD Decision on the control 
of transboundary movements of wastes does not apply26 ⌫Council Regulation (EC) No 
1420/199927 of 29 April 1999 establishing comm on rules and procedures to apply to 
shipments to certain non -OECD countries of certain types of waste and Commission 
Regulation (EC) No 1547/199928 of 12 July 1999 determining the control procedures under  
Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93  to apply to shipm ents of certain types of waste to 
certain countries to which OECD De cision C(92)39 final does not apply,  shall only count for 
the fulfilment of obligations and targets of Article 117(1)  and (2)  of this Directive if the 
exporter can prove that the Ö treatment recovery, re-use and/or recycling  operation  took 
place under conditions that are equivalent to  the requirements of this Directive. 
                                                 
24 OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p.1-98. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 
1379/2007 (OJ L 309, 27.11.2007, p. 7). 
25 OJ L 30, 6.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as l ast amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2557/2001 
(OJ L 349, 31.12.2001, p. 1).  
26 OJ L 316, 4.12.2007, p. 6 
27 OJ L 166, 1.7.1999, p. 6. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2243/2001 
(OJ L 303, 20.11.2001, p. 11).  
28 OJ L 185, 17 .7.1999, p 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2243/2001.   
EN 28   EN 6. Member States shall encourage establishmen ts or undertakings which carry out treatment 
operations to introduce certified environmental management systems in accordance with 
Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 
2001 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco -management an d 
audit scheme (EMAS)29. 
 
Ø new 
3. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragr aph 1 and 2, in particular criteria for the 
assessment of equivalent conditions, shall be laid down.  
Those measures designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Directive, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance  with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny 
referred to in Article 18(3). 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
Article 117  
Recovery  ⌦targets  ⌫ 
1. Member States shall ensure that producers or  third parties acting on  their behalf set up 
systems either on an individual or on a colle ctive basis, in accordance with Community 
legislation, to provide for the recove ry of WEEE collected separately in accordance with 
Article 5.  Member States shall give priority to the re-use of whole appliances. Until the date 
referred to in paragraph 4, such appliances shal l not be taken into account for the calculation 
of the targets set out in paragraph 2.  
12. Regarding Ö all  WEEE Ö separately collected and  sent for treatment in accordance 
with Articles  68, 9 and 10  Ö or for preparation for re-use , Member States shall ensure that, 
by 31 December Ö 2011 2006 , producers meet the following Ö minimum targets: 
 (a) for WEEE falling under categories 1 and 10 of Annex IA  Ö to Directive 
20xx/xx/EC (RoHS) , 
– Ö 85% shall be recovered ,the rate of recovery shall be increased to a 
minimum of 80  % by an average weight per appliance  and 
– Ö 80% shall be prepared for re-use and recycled;  component, materia l and 
substance re-use and recycling shall be in creased to a minimum of 75  % by an 
average weight per appliance;  
 (b) for WEEE falling under categories 3 and 4 of Annex IA  Ö to Directive 
20xx/xx/EC (RoHS) , 
                                                 
29 OJ L 114, 24.4.2001, p. 1.   
EN 29   EN – Ö 80% shall be recovered,  the rate of recovery shall be increased to a 
minimum of 7 5 % by an average weight per appliance and 
– Ö 70% shall be prepared for re-use and recycled; component, material and 
substance re-use and recycling shall be incr eased to a minimum of 65 % by an 
average weight per appliance;  
 (c) for WEEE falling under categories 2, 5, 6, 7, Ö 8  and 9 of Annex IA Ö to 
Directive 20xx/xx/EC (RoHS) , 
– Ö 75% shall be recovered,  the rate of recovery shall be increased to a 
minimum of 70  % by an average weight per appliance and 
– Ö 55% shall be prepared for re-use and recycled;  component, material and 
substance re-use and recycling shall be in creased to a minimum of 50  % by an 
average weight per appliance;  
 (d) for gas discharge lamps, Ö 85% shall be prepared for re-use and recycled.  the 
rate of component, material and subs tance re-use and recycling shall reach a 
minimum of 80  % by weight of the lamps  
 
Ø new 
2. These targets are calculated as weight percenta ge of separately collect ed WEEE that is sent 
to recovery facilities.  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC  
3. Member States shall ensure that, for the pur pose of calculating these targets, producers or 
third parties acting on their behalf keep re cords on the mass of WE EE, their components, 
materials or substances when entering (input) and leaving (output) the treatment facility 
and/or when entering (input) the recovery or recy cling facility. 
 
Ð 2008/34/EC Art. 1.2 
Detailed rules for monitoring the compliance of Member States with the targets set out in 
paragraph 2, including specifications for materials,  shall be establis hed. Those measures, 
designed to amend non -essential elements of this Dire ctive by supplementing it, shall be 
adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 14(3).  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
Ö new 
4. The European Parliament and the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, shall 
establish new target s for recovery and re-use/recycling, including for the re-use of whole 
appliances as appropriate, and for the products falling u nder category 8 of Annex IA, by 31 
December 2008. This shall be done with account be ing taken of the environmental benefits of 
electrical and electronic equipment in use, su ch as improved resource efficiency resulting 
from developments in the areas of mate rials and technology. T echnical progress in re-use,  
EN 30   EN recovery and recycling, produc ts and materials, and the experience gained by the Member 
States and the industry, shall also be taken into account.  
45. Member States shall encourage the developm ent of new recovery, re cycling and treatment 
technologies. 
Article 128  
Financing in respect of WEEE from private households 
1. Member States shall ensure that, by 13 August 2005,  producers provide at least for the 
financing of the collection, trea tment, recovery and environmen tally sound disposal of WEEE 
from private households deposited at collectio n facilities set up under Article 5(2). Member 
States, where appropriate, shall encourage prod ucers to finance all the cost occurring for 
collection facilities for W EEE from private households. 
2. For products placedput  on the market later than 13 A ugust 2005, each producer shall be 
responsible for financing the operations referred to in paragraph 1 relating to the waste from 
his own products. The producer can  choose to fulfil this obliga tion either individually or by 
joining a collective scheme. 
Member States shall ensure that each producer  provides a guarantee when placing a product 
on the market showing that the management of all WEEE will be financed and that producers 
clearly mark their products in accordance with Article 151 (2). This guarantee shall ensure that 
the operations referred to in paragraph 1 re lating to this product w ill be financed. The 
guarantee may take the form of participation by  the producer in appropriate schemes for the 
financing of the management of WEEE, a r ecycling insurance or a blocked bank account. 
The costs of collection, treatment and enviro nmentally sound disposal shall not be shown 
separately to purchasers at th e time of sale of new products.  
3. The responsibility for the financing of th e costs of the management of WEEE from 
products placedput  on the market before 13 August 2005  the date referred to in paragraph 1  
("historical waste" ) shall be provided by one or more syst ems to which all pr oducers, existing 
on the market when the respective costs occu r, contribute proportiona tely, e.g. in proportion 
to their respective share of the market by type of equipment. 
Member States shall ensure that  for a transitional period of eight years (10 years fo r category 
1 of Annex IA) after en try into force of this Directive, producers are allowed to show 
purchasers, at the time of sale of new products, the costs of collection, treatment and disposal 
in an environmentally sound wa y. The costs mentioned shall no t exceed the actual costs 
incurred.  
4. Member States shall ensure that producers supplying electrical  or electronic equipment by 
means of distance communication al so comply with the requirements set out in this Article for 
the equipment supplied in the Mem ber State where the purchaser of that equipment resides.   
EN 31   EN  
Ð 2003/108/EC Art. 1 
Article 139  
Financing in respect of WEEE from us ers other than private households 
1. Member States shall en sure that, by 13 August 2005,  the financing of the costs for the 
collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE from users other 
than private households from products placedput  on the market after 13 August 2005 is to be 
provided for by producers. 
Member States shall ensure that, by 13 August 2005, for WEEE from products put on the 
market before 13 August 2005 (historical waste), th e financing of the costs of management is 
as set out in the third and fourth subparagraphs.  
For historical waste being replaced by new e quivalent products or by new products fulfilling 
the same function, the financing of the costs shall be provided for by producers of those 
products when supplying them. Member States may,  as an alternative, pr ovide that users other 
than private households also be made, partly or totally, responsible for this financing. 
For other historical waste, the financing of the costs shall be  provided for by the users other 
than private households. 
2. Producers and users other than private households may, without pr ejudice to this Directive, 
conclude agreements stipulat ing other financing methods. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
Article 1410  
Information for users 
1. Ö Member States shall ensure that producers ar e allowed to show purchasers, at the time of 
sale of new products, the costs of collection, tr eatment and disposal in an environmentally 
sound way. The costs mentioned shall not  exceed the actual costs incurred.  
21. Member States shall ensure that users of electrical and electronic equipment in private 
households are given the necessary information about: 
 (a) the requirement not to  dispose of WEEE as unsorte d municipal waste and to 
collect such WEEE separately; 
 (b) the return and collecti on systems available to them; 
 (c) their role in contributing to re-use, recycling and other fo rms of recovery of 
WEEE;  
EN 32   EN  (d) the potential effects on the environm ent and human health as a result of the 
presence of hazardous substances in electrical and el ectronic equipment; 
 (e) the meaning of the sy mbol shown in Annex IV. 
32. Member States shall adopt appropriate meas ures so that consumer s participate in the 
collection of WEEE and to encourage them to f acilitate the process of re-use, treatment and 
recovery. 
43. With a view to minimising the disposal of  WEEE as unsorted municipal waste and to 
facilitating its separate collection, Member Stat es shall ensure that producers appropriately 
mark Ö – in accordance with the European standard EN 5041930 - electrical and electronic 
equipment placedput  on the market after 13 August 2005  with the symbol shown in Annex 
IV. In exceptional cases, where this is necessary  because of the size or the function of the 
product, the symbol shall be printed on the p ackaging, on the instructio ns for use and on the 
warranty of the electrical and electronic equipment. 
54. Member States may require that some or all of the information referred to in paragraphs 2 
to 41 to 3  shall be provided by producers and/or distri butors, e.g. in the instructions for use or 
at the point of sale. 
Article 1511  
Information for treatment facilities 
1. In order to facilitate the Ö preparation for re-use and the correct and environmentally 
sound treatment of WEEE, including maintenan ce, upgrade, refurbishment and recycling, 
Member States shall take the necessary measures  to ensure that producers provide re-use and 
treatment information for each type of new EEE placedput  on the market with in one year after 
the equipment is placedput  on the market. This information shall identify, as far as it is 
needed by re-use centres, treatment and recycli ng facilities in order to comply with the 
provisions of this Dire ctive, the different EEE component s and materials, as well as the 
location of dangerous substances and preparations in EEE. It shall be made available to re-use 
centres, treatment and recycli ng facilities by producer s of EEE in the form of manuals or by 
means of electronic media (e .g. CD-ROM, online services). 
2. Member States shall ensure that any produ cer of an electrical or  electronic appliance 
placedput  on the market after 13 August 2005  is clearly identifiable by a mark on the 
appliance. Furthermore, in order to enable  the date upon which the appliance was placedput  
on the market to be determined unequivocally, a mark on the appliance shall specify that the 
latter was placedput  on the market after 13 August 2005. ⌦ The European Standard EN 
50419 ⌫ shall be applied The Commission sh all promote the preparation of E uropean 
standards for this purpose. 
Article 161 2 
Ö Registration,   information and reporting 
                                                 
30 Adopted by CENELEC in March 2006  
EN 33   EN  
Ø new 
1. Member States shall draw up a register  of producers, including producers supplying 
electrical and electronic equipment by means of distance communication in accordance with 
paragraph 2.  
That register shall serve for monitoring co mpliance with the fina ncing obligations under 
Articles 12 and 13. 
2. Member States shall ensure that any producer on th eir territory can ente r in their national 
register all relevant information, including re porting requirements and fees, reflecting its 
activities across all other Member States.  
The registers shall be inter-ope rational to exchange such information, including on quantities 
of electrical and electronic equipment placed on  the national market and for the transfer of 
money related to the intra-Community  transfers of products or WEEE. 
3. The format for registrati on and reporting and the frequency of reporting shall be 
established. Those measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance  with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny 
referred to in Article 18(3). 
4. The register can be operated by collectiv e producer responsibility  schemes set up under 
Article 12(2). 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
51. Member States shall draw up a register of producers and  collect information, including 
substantiated estimates, on an annual basis on the qua ntities and categorie s of electrical and 
electronic equipment placedput  on their markets , collected through all routes, re-used, 
recycled and recovered within the Member States , and on ⌦ separately ⌫ collected 
WEEEwaste  exported, by weight or, if th is is not possible, by numbers  . 
Member States shall ensure that producers s upplying electrical and electronic equipment by 
means of distance communica tion provide information on the compliance with the 
requirements of Article 8(4) and  on the quantities and categories of electrical and electronic 
equipment put on the market of the Member State where the purchaser of that equipment 
resides.  
Member States shall ensure that the information required is transmitted to the Commission on 
a two -yearly basis within 18 months after the end of the period covered. The first set of 
information shall cover the years 2005 and 2006. The information shall be provided in a 
format which shall be established within on e year after the entry into force of thi s Directive in 
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2) with a view to establishing 
databases on WEEE and its treatment.  
Member States shall provide for adequate inform ation exchange in order to comply with this 
paragraph, in particular f or treatment operations as re ferred to in Article 6(5).   
EN 34   EN 62. Without prejudice to the re quirements of paragraph 1, Member States shall send a report to 
the Commission on the implementation of this Directive Ö and on the information set out in 
paragraph 5 at three-year intervals. The implementation  report shall be drawn up on the 
basis of a questionnaire ⌦ laid down in Commission Decision 2004/249/EC31 and 
Commission Decision 2005/369/EC32 ⌫or outline draf ted by the Commission in accordance 
with the procedure laid down in Article 6 of Council Directive 91/692/EEC of 23 December 
1991 standardising and rationalisi ng reports on the implementa tion of certain Directives 
relating to the environment33. The question naire or outline shall be sent to the Member States 
six months before the start of  the period covered by the report.  The report shall be made 
available to the Commission within nine months of the end of the thre e-year period covered 
by it. 
The first three-year report sh all cover the period from 20xx04  to 20xx06 . 
The Commission shall publish a report on the impl ementation of this Directive within nine 
months after receiving the repor ts from the Member States. 
 
Ð 2008/34/EC Art. 1.3 (adapted) 
Ö new 
Article 1713  
Adaptation to scientific and technical progress 
Any Amendments Ö may be made if  which are  necessary in order to adapt Article 
Ö 16(6)  7(3) , Annex IB (in particular w ith a view to possibly adding luminaires in 
households, filament bulbs and photovoltaic pr oducts, i.e. solar panels), Annex II (in 
particular taking into account  new technical developments for the treatment of WEEE),  and 
Ö the  Annexes III and IV to scientific and technical progress. Those measures designed to 
amend non-essential elements of this Directive,  shall be adopted in accordance with the 
regulatory procedure with scru tiny referred to in Article 184 (3). 
Before the annexes are amended the Commission shall, inter alia , consult producers of 
electrical and electronic eq uipment, recyclers, treatment operators and environmental 
organisations and employees' and consumer associations. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Article 1814  
Committee 
1. The Commission shall be assisted  by the Committee set up by Article ⌦ 39 of Directive 
2008/xx/EC ⌫18 of Directive 75/442/EEC . 
                                                 
31 OJ L 78, 16.3.2004, p. 56 
32 OJ L 119, 11.5.2005, p. 13 
33 OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 48.   
EN 35   EN 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of D ecision 1999/468/EC shall 
apply, having regard to Article 8 thereof. 
The period laid down in Article  5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC sh all be set at three months. 
 
Ð 2008/34/EC Art. 1.4 
3. Where reference is made to th is paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Artic le 7 of Decision 
1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
Article 1915  
Penalties 
Member States shall determine penalties applic able to breaches of the national provisions 
adopted pursuant to  this Directive. The penalties thus provided for shall be effective, 
proportionate and dissuasive.  
 
Ø new 
The Member States shall lay down the rules on pe nalties applicable to infringements of the 
national provisions adopted pursua nt to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to 
ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be e ffective, proportionate 
and dissuasive. The Member States shall notif y those provisions to the Commission by the 
date specified in Article 21 at the latest and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent 
amendment affecting them. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
Article 2016  
Inspection and monitoring 
Member States shall ensure that inspection and monitoring enable th e proper implementation  
of this Directive to be verified.  
 
Ø new 
1. Member States shall carry out  appropriate inspections and monitoring to verify the proper 
implementation of this Directive.  
Those inspections shall at least cover exports of WEEE outside the Community in accordance 
with the Waste Shipment Regulation and the ope rations at treatment facilities in accordance 
with Directive 2008/xx/EC on waste a nd Annex II of this Directive.   
EN 36   EN 2. Member States shall carry out the monitori ng of shipments of WEEE in accordance with 
the minimum monitoring requirements in Annex I.  
3. Additional rules on inspections an d monitoring may be laid down.  
Those measures designed to amend non-esse ntial elements of this Directive, by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance  with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny 
referred to in Article 18(3) 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC (adapted) 
Ö new 
Article 2117  
Transposition 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions 
necessary to comply with Ö Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 16, 19, 20 and Annex I  this 
Directive  by Ö at the latest [18 months  after the day of this Directive's publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union]  13 August 2004 . They shall Ö forthwith 
communicate to the Commission the text of thos e provisions and a correlation table between 
those provisions a nd this Directive.  immediately inform the Commission thereof . 
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or 
be accompanied by such reference on the occasi on of their official publication. The methods 
of making such a reference shall be  laid down by the Member States.  Ö They shall also 
include a statement that references in existi ng laws, regulations and administrative provisions 
to the directives repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. 
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to 
be formulated.  
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of all laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions adopted  Ö the text of the main provi sions of national law which 
they adopt  in the field covered by this Directive. 
3. Provided that the objectives set out in th is Directive are achieved, Member States may 
transpose the provisions set out in Articles 86 (6), 14(2)10(1)  and 1511  by means of 
agreements between the competent authorities and the economic sectors concerned. Such agreements shall meet the following requirements: 
 (a) agreements shall be enforceable;  (b) agreements shall specify objectiv es with the corre sponding deadlines; 
 (c) agreements shall be pub lished in the national official journal or an official 
document equally accessible to the public  and transmitted to the Commission; 
 (d) the results achieved shall be monito red regularly, reported to the competent 
authorities and the Commission and ma de available to the public under the 
conditions set out in the agreement;  
EN 37   EN  (e) the competent authorities shall en sure that the progress reached under the 
agreement is examined; 
 (f) in case of non-compliance with the ag reement Member States must implement the 
relevant provisions of this Directive by legislative, regulatory or administrative measures. 
 4. (a) Greece and Ireland which, because of their overall:
 
– recycling infrastructure deficit,  
– geographical circumstances such as  the large number of small islands and the 
presence of rural and mountain areas,  
– low population density, and  
– low level of EEE consumption,  
 are unable to reach either the collection targ et mentioned in the first subparagraph of 
Article 5(5) or the recovery  targets mentioned in Arti cle 7(2) and which, under the 
third subparagraph of Article 5(2) of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 
on the landfill of waste34, may apply for an extension of the deadline mentioned in 
that Article,  
 may extend the per iods referred to in Articles 5(5) and 7(2) of this Directive by up to 
24 months.  
 These Member States shall inform the Commi ssion of their Decisions  at the latest at 
the time of transposition of this Directive.  
 (b) The Commission shall inform other Member  States and the European Parliament 
of these decisions.  
5. Within five years after the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission shall submit a 
report to the European Parliame nt and the Council based on the e xperience of the application 
of this Di rective, in particular as regards sepa rate collection, treatment, recovery and 
financing systems. Furthermore the report shall be based on the development of the state of 
technology, experience gaine d, environmental requirements and the functioning of the 
internal market. The report shall, as appropr iate, be accompanied by proposals for revision of 
the relevant provision s of this Directive.  
 
Ø new 
Article 22 
Repeal 
                                                 
34 OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1.   
EN 38   EN Directive 2002/96/EC as amended by the Directives  listed in Annex V Part A is repealed with 
effect from the day after the date mentioned in Article 21,wit hout prejudice to the obligations 
of the Member States relating to the time- limits for transposition into national law and 
application of the Directive set out in Annex V Part B. 
References to the repealed Directives shall be construed as references to this Directive and 
shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex VI. 
 
Ð 2002/96/EC  
Ö new 
Article 2318  
Entry into force 
This Directive shall enter into force on the Ö twentieth  day Ö following  of its 
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . 
Article 2419  
Addressees 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels,  
For the European Parliament For the Council 
The President The President    
EN 39   EN ANNEX IA  
Categories of electrical and electronic equipment covered by this Directive  
1. Large household appliances  
2. Small household appliances  
3. IT and telecomm unications equipment  
4. Consumer equipment  
5. Lighting equipment  
6. Electrical and electronic tool s (with the exception of large -scale stationary industrial tools)  
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment  
8. Medical devices (with the exception of all implante d and infected products)  
9. Monitoring and control instruments  
10. Automatic dispensers   
EN 40   EN ANNEX IB  
List of products which shall be taken into account for the purpose of this Directive and 
which fall under the categories of Annex IA  
1. LARGE HOUSEHOLD APPLI ANCES  
Large cooling appliances  
Refrigerators  
Freezers  
Other large appliances used for refrig eration, conservation and storage of food  
Washing machines  
Clothes dryers  
Dish washing machines  
Cooking  
Electric stoves  
Electric hot plates  
Microwaves  
Other large ap pliances used for cooking a nd other processing of food  
Electric heating appliances  
Electric radiators  
Other large appliances for heati ng rooms, beds, seating furniture  
Electric fans  
Air conditioner appliances  
Other fanning, exhaust ve ntilation and conditio ning equipment  
2. SMALL HOUSEHOLD APPLI ANCES  
Vacuum cleaners  
Carpet sweepers  
Other appliances for cleaning   
EN 41   EN Appliances used for sewing, knitting, w eaving and other processing for textiles  
Irons and other appliances for ironi ng, mangling and ot her care of cl othing  
Toasters  
Fryers  
Grinders, coffee machines and equipment for opening or sealing containers or packages  
Electric knives  
Appliances for hair -cutting, hair drying, tooth brushing, shaving, massage and other body care 
appliances  
Clocks, watches and equip ment for the purpose of measuri ng, indicating or registering time  
Scales  
3. IT AND TELECOMMUNICATI ONS EQUIPMENT  
Centralised data processing:  
Mainframes  
Minicomputers  
Printer units  
Personal computing:  
Personal computers (CPU, mous e, screen and keyboard incl uded)  
Laptop computers (CPU, mouse, sc reen and keyboard included)  
Notebook computers  
Notepad computers  
Printers  
Copying equipment  
Electrical and electronic typewriters  
Pocket and desk calculators  
and other products and equipmen t for the collection, storage , processing, presentation or 
communication of information by electronic means  
User terminals and systems  
Facsimile   
EN 42   EN Telex  
Telephones  
Pay telephones  
Cordless telephones  
Cellular telephones  
Answering systems  
and other products or equipment of transmitting so und, images or other information by 
telecommunications  
4. CONSUMER EQUIPMENT  
Radio sets  
Television sets  
Videocameras  
Video recorders  
Hi-fi recorders  
Audio amplifiers  
Musical instruments  
And other products or equipment for the purpose of recording or reprod ucing sound or 
images, including signals or other technologies for the distribution of sound and image than 
by telecommunications  
5. LIGHTING EQUIPMENT  
Luminaires for fluorescent lamps with the exception of lumi naires in households  
Straight fluorescent lam ps 
Compact fluorescent lamps  
High intensity discharge lamps, including pre ssure sodium lamps and metal halide lamps  
Low pressure sodium lamps  
Other lighting or equipment for the purpose of  spreading or controlling light with the 
exception of filament bulbs   
EN 43   EN 6. ELECTRICAL AND ELECTR ONIC TOOLS (WITH THE EXCEPTION O F LARGE -SCALE 
STATIONARY INDUSTRIA L TOOLS ) 
Drills  
Saws  
Sewing machines  
Equipment for turning, milling, sanding, grindi ng, sawing, cutting, shearing, drilling, making 
holes, punching, folding, bending  or similar processing of w ood, metal and other materials  
Tools for riveting, nailing or screwing or re moving rivets, nails, screws or similar uses  
Tools for welding, soldering or similar use  
Equipment for spraying, spreadin g, dispersing or other treatment  of liquid or gaseous 
substances by other means  
Tools for mowing or other gardening activities  
7. TOYS, LEISURE AND SPORTS EQUIPMENT  
Electric trains or car racing sets  
Hand -held video game consoles  
Video games  
Computers for biking, diving, running, rowing,  etc. 
Sports equipment with electri c or electronic components  
Coin slot machines  
8. MEDICAL DEVICES (WITH THE EXCEPTION O F ALL IMPLANTED AND INFECTED PRODUCTS ) 
Radiotherapy equipment  
Cardiology  
Dialysis  
Pulmonary ventilators  
Nuclear medicine  
Laboratory equ ipment for in-vitro  diagnosis  
Analysers  
Freezers   
EN 44   EN Fertilization tests  
Other appliances for detecting,  preventing, monitoring, treating, al leviating illness, injury or 
disability  
9. MONITORING AND CONTRO L INSTRUMENTS  
Smoke detector  
Heating regulators  
Thermos tats 
Measuring, weighing or adjusti ng appliances for household or  as laboratory equipment  
Other monitoring and control instruments used in industrial installations (e.g. in control 
panels)  
10. AUTOMATIC DISPENSERS  
Automatic dispensers for hot drinks  
Automa tic dispensers for hot or cold bottles or cans  
Automatic dispensers for solid products  
Automatic dispensers for money  
All appliances which deliver au tomatically all kind of products   
EN 45   EN  
Ø new 
ANNEX I  
Minimum monitoring requirements for shipments of WEEE 
1. In order to distinguish between elect rical and electronic equipment and WEEE, 
where the holder of the object claims that he intends to ship or is shipping used 
electrical and electronic equipment and not WEEE, Member State authorities shall 
request the following to back up this claim:  
a) a copy of the invoice and contract rela ting to the sale and/or transfer of 
ownership of the electrica l and electronic equipment which states that the 
equipment is for direct re-use and fully functional;  
b) evidence of evaluation or testing in  the form of a copy of the records 
(certificate of testing, proof of functionality) on every item within the 
consignment and a protocol containing all record information according to 
point 2;  
c) a declaration made by the holder who a rranges the transport of the electrical 
and electronic equipment that none of the material or equipment within the 
consignment is waste as defined by Article 3(1) of Directive 2008/xx/EC on 
waste, and  
d) sufficient packaging to protect th e shipped products from damage during 
transportation, loading and unloading.  
2. In order to demonstrate that the items bei ng shipped are used electrical and electronic 
equipment rather than WEEE, Member Stat es shall require th e following steps for 
testing and record keeping for used electrical and electron ic equipment to be carried 
out:  
Step1: Testing  
a) Functionality should be te sted and hazardous substan ces should be evaluated. 
The tests that should be conducted depend on the kind of electrical and 
electronic equipment. For most of the used electrical and electronic equipment 
a functionality test of the key functions is sufficient.  
b) Results of evaluation and testing should be recorded.  
Step2: Record  
a) The record should be fixed securely but  not permanently on either the electrical 
and electronic equipment itself (if not packed) or on the packaging so it can be 
read without unpacking the equipment.  
b) The record shall contain the following information:   
EN 46   EN – Name of item (Name of the equipmen t according to Annex II and category 
according to Annex I of Directive 20xx/xx/EC (RoHS);  
– Identification Number of the item (type no.);  
– Year of Production (if available);  
– Name and address of the company respons ible for evidence of  functionality;  
– Result of tests as described in step 1;  
– Kind of tests performed.  
3. In addition to the document requested in point  1, every load (e. g. shipping container, 
lorry) of used electrical and electronic equipment should be accompanied by a: 
a) CMR document,  
b) declaration of the liable person on its responsibility.  
4. In the absence of appropriate documentation required in point 1 and 3 and packaging, 
Member State authorities shall presume that an item is hazardous WEEE and 
presume that the load comprises an illegal shipment. In these circumstances the 
relevant competent authorities will be info rmed and the load w ill be dealt with in 
accordance with Articles 24 and 25 of the Waste Shipment Regulation. In the 
majority of cases those responsible for the shipment will have to take back the waste 
to the country of dispatch at their own expense and may be liable to a criminal 
sanction. In those Member States where the bu rden is on the state authorities to prove 
the items are WEEE rather than electrical and electronic equipment, absence of the 
appropriate documentation and packaging is like ly to lead to significant delays to the 
onward transport of the waste whilst the neces sary investigations are carried out to 
establish the status of the items being shipped.  
EN 47   EN  
Ð 2002/96/EC 
ANNEX II  
Selective treatment for materials and compon ents of waste electrical and electronic 
equipment referred toin accordance  inwith  Article 6(1) 8(2) 
1. As a minimum the following substances, prepar ations and components have to be removed 
from any separately collected WEEE: 
– polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) contai ning capacitors in accordance with Council 
Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlor inated biphenyls and 
polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT)35, 
– mercury containing components, such as switches or backlighting lamps, 
– batteries, 
– printed circuit boards of mobile  phones generally, and of other devices if the surface of the 
printed circuit board is greater than 10 square centimetres, 
– toner cartridges, liquid and past y, as well as colour toner, 
– plastic containing brominated flame retardants, 
– asbestos waste and components which contain asbestos, 
– cathode ray tubes, 
– chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), hydrochlorofluor ocarbons (HCFC) or hydrofluorocarbons 
(HFC), hydrocarbons (HC), 
– gas discharge lamps, 
– liquid crystal displays (together with their casing where appropriate) of a surface greater 
than 100 square centimetres and all those b ack-lighted with gas discharge lamps, 
– external electric cables, 
– components containing refractor y ceramic fibres as described in Commission Directive 
97/69/EC of 5 December 1997 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 
67/548/EEC relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous 
substances36, 
– components containing radioactive substances with the exception of components that are 
below the exemption thresholds set in Arti cle 3 of and Annex I to Council Directive 
96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic sa fety standards for th e protection of the 
                                                 
35 OJ L 243, 24.9.1996, p. 31. 
36 OJ L 343, 13.12.1997, p. 19.  
EN 48   EN health of workers and the general public against the da ngers arising from ionising 
radiation37, 
– electrolyte capacitors containing substances  of concern (height > 25 mm, diameter 
> 25 mm or proportionately similar volume) 
These substances, preparations and component s shall be disposed of or recovered in 
compliance with Article 4 of  Council Directive 75/442/EEC. 
2. The following components of WEEE that is sepa rately collected have  to be treated as 
indicated: 
– cathode ray tubes: The fluorescen t coating has to be removed, 
– equipment containing gases that are ozone de pleting or have a global warming potential 
(GWP) above 15, such as those contained in foams and refrigeration circuits: the gases 
must be properly extracted a nd properly treated. Ozone-deple ting gases must be treated in 
accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of  the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 29 June 2000 on substances  that deplete the ozone layer38. 
– gas discharge lamps: The mercury shall be removed. 
3. Taking into account environmental considerat ions and the desirability of re-use and 
recycling, paragraphs 1 and 2 sh all be applied in such a wa y that environmentally-sound re-
use and recycling of components or whole appliances is not hindered. 
 
Ð 2008/34/EC Art. 1.5 (adapted) 
4. Acting in accordance with the regulato ry procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 
14(3), the Commission shall evaluate as a matte r of priority whether the entries regarding 
printed circuit boards for mob ile phones and liquid crystal di splays are to be amended.  
 
Ð 2002/96/EC 
                                                 
37 OJ L 159, 29.6.1996, p. 1. 
38 OJ L 244, 29.9.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2039/2000 (OJ L 244, 
29.9.2000, p. 26).  
EN 49   EN ANNEX III  
Technical requirements referred toin accordance  inwith  Article 86 (3) 
 1. Sites for storage (includi ng temporary storage) of WE EE prior to their treatment 
(without prejudice to the requirement s of Council Directive 1999/31/EC): 
– impermeable surfaces for appropriate ar eas with the provision of spillage 
collection facilities and, where appropri ate, decanters and cleanser-degreasers, 
– weatherproof covering for appropriate areas. 
 2. Sites for treatment of WEEE: 
– balances to measure the weight of the treated waste, 
– impermeable surfaces and waterproof c overing for appropriate areas with the 
provision of spillage collection facilities and, where appropriate, decanters and 
cleanser-degreasers, 
– appropriate storage for di sassembled spare parts, 
– appropriate containers for storage of  batteries, PCBs/PCTs containing 
capacitors and other hazardous wast e such as radioactive waste, 
– equipment for the treatment of water in compliance with health and 
environmental regulations.  
EN 50   EN ANNEX IV  
Symbol for the marking of electr ical and electronic equipment 
The symbol indicating separate collection for el ectrical and electronic e quipment consists of 
the crossed-out wheeled bin, as shown below. Th e symbol must be prin ted visibly, legibly and 
indelibly. 
  
EN 51   EN  
× 
ANNEX V  
Part A 
Repealed Directive with its successive amendments  
(referred to in Article 22)  
Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and 
electronic equipment (WEEE) (OJ L 37, 13.02.2003, p.24) 
Directive 2003/108/EC of th e European Parliament 
and of the Council  (OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 106) 
Directive 2008/34/EC of the European Parliament 
and of the Council  (OJ L 81, 20.03.2008, p. 65) 
 
Part B 
List of time-limits for tran sposition into national law 
(referred to in Article 22)  
Directive Deadline for transposition 
2002/96/EC 13 August 2004 
2003/108/EC 13 August 2004 
2008/34/EC -  
EN 52   EN ANNEX VI  
Correlation table  
Directive 2002/96/EC This Directive 
Article 1 - 
- Article 1 
Article 2(1) Article 2(1) 
Article 2(2) Article 2(2) 
- Article 2(3), introductory wording 
Article 2(3) Article 2(3)(a) 
Article 2(1) partly Article 2(3)(b) 
- Article 2(3)(c) 
Annex IB, point 5 Article 2(3)(d) 
Annex IB, point 8 Article 2(3)(e) 
- Article 2(4) 
Article 3(a) to (d) Article 3(a) to (d) 
- Article 3(e) 
Article 3(e) Article 3(f) 
Article 3(f) Article 3(g) 
Article 3(g) Article 3(h) 
Article 3(h) Article 3(i) 
Article 3(i) Article 3(j) 
Article 3(j) Article 3(k) 
Article 3(k) Article 3(l) 
Article 3(l) - 
- Article 3(m) 
Article 3(m) Article 3(n)  
EN 53   EN - Article 3(o) to (s) 
Article 4 Article 4 
Article 5(1) to (3) Article 5(1) to (3) 
- Article 6(1) 
Article 5(4) Article 6(2) 
Article 5(5) - 
- Article 7 
- Article 8(1) 
Article 6(1), first a nd second subparagraphs, 
and (3) Article 8(2), (3) and (4 ), first subparagraph 
and second subparagraph, first sentence 
Annex II (4) Article 8(4), second subparagraph, second 
sentence 
Article 6(1), third subparagraph Article 8(5) 
Article 6(6) Article 8(6) 
Article 6(2) Article 9 (1) and (2) 
Article 6(4) Article 9(3) 
Article 6(5) Article 10(1) and (2) 
- Article 10(3) 
Article 7(1) - 
Article 7(2) Article 11(1) 
- Article11(2) 
Article 7(3), first subpa ragraph Article 11(3) 
Article 7(3), second subparagraph - 
Article 7(4) - 
Article 7(5) Article 11(4) 
Article 8(1) Article 12(1) 
Article 8(2), first and second subparagraphs Article 12(2), first and second subparagraphs  
EN 54   EN Article 8(2), third subparagraph - 
Article 8(3) first subparagraph Article 12(3), first subparagraph 
Article 8(3) second subparagraph - 
Article 8(4) - 
Article 9(1), first subparagraph Article 13(1), first subparagraph 
Article 9(1), second subparagraph - 
Article 9(1), third subparagraph Article 13(1), second subparagraph 
Article 9(1), fourth subparagraph Article 13(1), third subparagraph 
Article 9(2) Article 13(2) 
- Article 14(1) 
Article 10(1) Article 14(2) 
Article 10(2) Article 14(3) 
Article 10(3) Article 14(4) 
Article 10(4) Article 14(5) 
Articles 11 Articles 15 
- Article 16(1) to (4) 
Article 12(1), first subparagraph Article 16(5) 
Article 12(1), second, third and fourth 
subparagraphs - 
Article 12(2) Article 16(6)  
Article 13 Article 17 
Article 14 Article 18 
Article 15 Article 19 
Article 16 Article 20(1), first subparagraph  
- Article 20(1), second subparagraph  
- Article 20(2) and (3) 
Article 17(1) to (3) Article 21(1) to (3)   
EN 55   EN Article 17(4) - 
- Article 22 
Article 18 Article 23 
Article 19 Article 24 
Annex IA - 
Annex IB - 
- Annex I 
Annexes II to IV Annexes II to IV 
- Annex V 
- Annex VI 
  
EN 56   EN LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEM ENT FOR PROPOSALS HAVING A 
BUDGETARY IMPACT EXCLUSIVELY LIMITED TO THE REVENUE SIDE  
1. NAME  OF THE  PROPOSAL: 
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and 
electronic equipment (WEEE) repealing Directive 2002/96/EC  
2. BUDGET  LINES: 
Chapter and Article: 
Amount budgeted for the year concerned: 
3. FINANCIAL  IMPACT   
⌧ Proposal has no financial implications 
 Proposal has no financial impact on expe nditure but has a fi nancial impact on 
revenue – the effect is as follows: 
(€ million to one decimal place)  
  
Budget line Revenue39 12 month period, 
starting dd/mm/yyyy[Year n]  
Article … 
 Impact on own resources   
Article … 
 Impact on own resources   
 
Situation following action 
 [n+1]  [n+2]  [n+3]  [n+4]  [n+5]  
Article … 
      
                                                 
39 Regarding traditional own resources (agricultural duties, sugar levies, customs duties) the amounts 
indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25 % of collection costs.  
EN 57   EN Article … 
      
4. ANTI-FRAUD  MEASURES 
5. OTHER  REMARKS