The long-awaited draft of frequently asked questions regarding the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) was published in July 2013. Published by the European Commission's Environment Agency, the guidelines aim to assist manufacturers in understanding the requirements of Directive 2012/19/EU, the WEEE Directive. The revised directive came into effect on August 13, 2012, and EU member states were required to transpose it into national law and implement it domestically by February 14, 2014; the original WEEE Directive from 2002 was also repealed on that day.
In drafting the latest draft of the FAQ, the Committee adopted two guidelines. First, the FAQ document published in August 2006 should remain unchanged, except for provisions whose legal basis has been altered by the revised Directive. Second, if the second edition of the FAQ document for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS Directive) answers the same questions, its answers should be the same as those for the WEEE Directive (unless the two questions address different matters).
The FAQs are guidance documents and are not legally binding. The Committee may update the content of the documents as needed. The Committee will solicit industry comments on the draft FAQs for the WEEE Directive until August 30, 2013.
The revised WEEE Directive aims to increase the rate of recycling, reuse, and remanufacturing of waste electrical and electronic products (WEEE) in the EU. Its scope will gradually expand to include all WEEE, with some exemptions. According to the revised directive, the definition of "producer" includes importers.
The draft FAQ on the WEEE Directive clarifies that the revised WEEE Directive does not explicitly stipulate that remote distributors located outside the EU are obligated to appoint an authorized representative in the EU countries where they sell their products. However, according to Articles 3(1)(f)(iv) of the Directive, they are classified as "producers" and therefore must register in the EU countries where they sell electrical and electronic products (Article 16(1)). The draft FAQ on the WEEE Directive explains this provision, noting that EU member states can include provisions in their national legislation to ensure that remote distributors not located in the EU, such as traders exporting products from Hong Kong and mainland China, take appropriate measures to comply with the national laws of that member state. Producers can transfer this responsibility to their appointed authorized representatives.
The draft of the FAQ clarifies that during the transition period from August 13, 2012 to August 14, 2018, the revised directive will cover the categories of electrical and electronic equipment listed in Annex 1, which are basically all electrical and electronic equipment regulated by the old WEEE Directive, with the exception of photovoltaic panels, which have been included in the scope of the directive and are effective immediately.
After August 15, 2018, the revised directive will cover all categories of electrical and electronic equipment (see Annexes III and IV), with only a few exceptions, including space equipment, large fixtures, tungsten filament bulbs, and certain medical instruments. The draft FAQ clarifies that the recycling targets and reporting responsibilities for the same 10 categories of products previously regulated by the old WEEE directive remain in effect until the aforementioned date.
Regarding lighting equipment, the draft of the WEEE Directive for Frequently Asked Questions states that all categories of lighting products not explicitly excluded from the regulatory scope, namely different categories of lamps and light-emitting bodies (such as LEDs and modified LED lamps), will fall under the regulatory scope of the new WEEE Directive.
The draft of the WEEE Directive's frequently asked questions also addresses whether specific products, such as consumables, components, printer ink cartridges, and inverters, fall under the new WEEE Directive's regulatory scope. The draft states that it will depend on the product's category or nature.
The draft of the WEEE Directive also outlines the responsibilities of retailers. When a customer purchases a new product from a retailer that is similar to an old one, the retailer is responsible for accepting the old product discarded by the customer. Retail stores with an area of at least 400 square meters dedicated to the sale of electrical and electronic products must provide a free recycling area inside or next to the store to receive small, discarded electrical and electronic products (with external dimensions not exceeding 25 centimeters) returned by consumers, and consumers are not obligated to purchase the same product from that store. Manufacturers may establish and operate individual or collective recycling systems to collect discarded electrical and electronic equipment from private users. Another key focus of the revised directive is the annual recycling targets that Member States must meet under the "producer responsibility" principle. From 2016 onwards, these targets will be significantly increased.
The revised directive introduces stricter regulations regarding the shipment of "waste" and "used" electrical and electronic equipment. To distinguish between scrapped and used electrical and electronic equipment, EU member states will require holders of goods containing used electrical and electronic equipment to provide copies of invoices and contracts relating to the sale or transfer of ownership of the goods, proving that the equipment is intended for direct reuse and is fully operational; copies of assessment or testing records (such as test certificates, functional proofs) for each product in the shipment; and to provide appropriate protection, particularly adequate packaging, to prevent damage to the goods during transport.
The first part of the draft's FAQ lists several examples of misunderstandings about the new WEEE Directive. For example, the draft explains that the directive does not cover tungsten filament light bulbs. The directive is intended to exclude devices already banned in the European market, and tungsten filament light bulbs are one of those devices; therefore, the directive excludes this type of product.
Please refer to the attachment for details of the draft FAQ: WEEE Frequently Asked Questions Guidelines Draft (English Version)
Sources: HKTDC Economic and Trade Research (2013-08-02)
Attachment file:WEEE Frequently Asked Questions Guidelines Draft (English Version).pdf
