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Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

Overall state of play:

Commission proposal: adopted in December 2008, COM(2008)810
Legal act:
• Directive 2012/19/EU - Benefits reduced by legislator
Secondary law:
Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2193 laying down rules for the calculation, verification and reporting of data and establishing data formats
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/290 establishing the format for registration and reporting of producers of electrical and electronic equipment to the register
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/699 establishing a common methodology for the calculation of the weight of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) placed on the market of each Member State and a common methodology for the calculation of the quantity of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated by weight in each Member State
Evaluation: ongoing to be finalised by 2024

State of play, main conclusions, outlook

The recast Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) clarifies producer responsibilities and includes an SME exemption for take-back obligations when the WEEE holder does not buy a new product of an equivalent type as the discarded WEEE.

The Commission's proposal for one single registration for all EU obligations, with interoperability and data-transfer between Member State producer registers was not retained by the co-legislators, the associated simplification benefits could therefore not be realized. Nevertheless, the introduction of harmonisation elements on registration and reporting in the recast WEEE Directive and in particularly set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/290 establishing the format for registration and reporting of producers of electrical and electronic equipment to the register, is expected to reduce administrative burdens for producers who sell electrical and electronic equipment in different Member States that will be able to use the same format for registration and reporting for all Member States.

Directive (EU) 2018/849 amended Article 16 of the WEEE Directive and requires Member States to report to the Commission data on the quantities and categories of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) placed on their markets, and on the quantities and categories of WEEE collected, prepared for reuse, recycled and recovered within the Member States, and on separately collected WEEE exported, for each calendar year. Based on this, the Commission adopted the Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2193 laying down rules for the calculation, verification and reporting of data and establishing data formats for the purposes of Directive 2012/19/EU on WEEE. The reporting of this data ensures the monitoring of the implementation of the WEEE Directive taking into consideration in particular the new classification, applicable since 15 August 2018, into six categories of EEE, as compared to ten categories previously applied, as well as the modifications of the reporting modalities through Directive (EU) 2018/849.

To ensure the comparability of data reported by Member States regarding the quantities EEE placed on their markets and the collection rate achieved, the Commission adopted the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/699 establishing a common methodology for the calculation of the weight of EEE placed on the market of each Member State and a common methodology for the calculation of the quantity of WEEE generated by weight in each Member State.

The Commission launched its evaluation of the WEEE Directive on 6 October 2022 with the publication of the call for evidence. The work on the evaluation is expected to be completed in 2024.

REFIT Platform

In its first opinion (Ref. IX.1a) on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) the REFIT Platform recommended that the Commission "take action in order to implement a common harmonised reporting and registration system", that takes enforcement and manageability into account without adding unnecessary burden on the Member States. The Platform further specifies that this action should be carried out in time to allow its implementation by mid-2018. The opinion confirms the evidence gathered by the European Commission and reinforces the need for action if possible before August 2018 when the new categories of electrical and electronic equipment apply. A study has been finalised in January 2016 on the format for the registration and reporting and the frequency of reporting.

On the basis of the Platform opinion and other evidence gathered, the Commission was planning further simplification and development of reporting and registration arrangements, including a common frequency of reporting by mid- 2018. Supported by a preparatory study, the Commission had relevant consultations with stakeholders, national registers and Member States.

The REFIT Platform Government group had acknowledged that the harmonisation of formats for registration and reporting procedure and the agreement on a common frequency for reporting is very sensitive area of administration and expressed relevant considerations. It was noted that registers have been introduced in Member States since 2005 and harmonising the existing practices may be challenging.

In its second opinion on the disposal charge of batteries, energy-saving bulbs and electronic equipment (Ref. IX.13.b-e), the REFIT Platform invited the European Commission to 1) consider the harmonisation of registration and reporting of battery and electrical and electronic equipment producers within the scope of the evaluation of the Batteries Directive; 2) develop an information exchange system among national registers, which would ensure that if a company has registered a product in a Member State, it can circulate freely in the Internal Market without further administrative burden; 3) note and take into account the work of the OECD on Extended Producer Responsibility and the impact of online sales.

With regard to the requested change of the WEEE Directive to include information packages, the REFIT Platform considers that a broad framework e.g. with particular reference to the Circular Economy Waste package that strengthens the “waste hierarchy”, is already available.

Estimated savings and benefits

The Commission carried out a targeted WEEE compliance promotion initiative, starting with a study (https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/09c7215a-49c5-11e8-be1d-01aa75ed71a1/language-en), which identified gaps and good practices in WEEE management in the Member States and proposed measures for the improvement of the implementation of the Directive, where needed. The objective of the study is to allow Member States to learn from each other and benefit from the experiences of the others in relation to the management of WEEE.

Following the requirement in the recast WEEE Directive, the Commission adopted the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/290 establishing the format for registration and reporting of producers of electrical and electronic equipment to the register. The implementation of this regulation ensures the harmonisation of the format for registration and reporting for all national registers and therefore is contributing to the reduction of administrative burdens, especially for producers active in more than one Member State.