Directive 2012/19/EU defines electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) as equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly, or which generates, transfers or measures such currents and fields, designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1 000 V AC or 1 500 V DC, and WEEE as such equipment which is waste, including all components, sub-assemblies and consumables that are part of the product at the time of discarding (Article 3(1)). Since 15 August 2018 the directive has had an open scope: all EEE falls into one of the six categories of Annex III, temperature exchange equipment, screens, lamps, large equipment, small equipment and small IT and telecommunication equipment, unless excluded by Article 2.
The directive’s objective is to prevent WEEE and to promote re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery, in line with the waste hierarchy of the Waste Framework Directive (Article 1). Member States must ensure separate collection, with high priority for equipment containing ozone-depleting substances, mercury lamps, photovoltaic panels and small equipment (Article 5), meet collection targets, and ensure that WEEE is properly treated. Users must be told not to dispose of WEEE as unsorted municipal waste and equipment carries the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol (Article 14).
For businesses the key provisions are Articles 12 and 16. Producers, defined to include manufacturers, brand owners, importers and distance sellers from other countries, finance the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE from private households and must register in the national register of every Member State in which they sell; producers established in another country register through an authorised representative. The directive entered into force on 13 August 2012 and had to be transposed by 14 February 2014, replacing Directive 2002/96/EC.