WEEE Directive Implementation Issues

The WEEE Directive requires that each of the 25 EU member countries transpose the Directive into law by August 13, 2004. However, to date, only three countries (Greece, Belgium and the Czech Republic) have officially transposed the Directive. Most other countries have only draft legislation, and with less than one year until the August 13, 2005 deadline, producers are left wondering exactly what their obligations will be.

To make matters more complicated, the WEEE Directive does not require EU countries to adopt a harmonized approach in how they interpret the Directive. Thus, it is conceivable that producers could face as many as 25 different interpretations of the WEEE Directive, and therefore would need to develop a different implementation strategy for each EU country into which they put their products on the market.

Mabbett and Associates closely tracks the legislative developments of EU member countries to help clients prepare for implementation. To learn more about our services, click here.

This section highlights some of the important issues in preparing for the WEEE Directive.

25 EU member countries. Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK.

Scope

As a company that sells EEE, the first thing you should do is determine whether your products fall within the scope of the WEEE Directive. The WEEE Directive covers waste electronic and electrical equipment falling into one of ten categories as set out in Annex 1A of the Directive and summarized in Table 1. Covered EEE includes products dependent on electrical currents or electromagnetic fields to function, and using up to 1,000V AC and 1,500V DC.

There are exemptions to the WEEE Directives:

• Equipment intended for national security or military purposes (e.g., a missile guidance system). Note, this exemption does not apply to equipment used by the military but which may have civilian applications as well, such as personal computers or cell phones.
• Filament light bulbs
• Household luminaires (i.e., lamps, including the fixture)
• Large-scale (fixed installation) industrial tools (e.g., a large stamping machine or any piece of industrial equipment that is not meant to be portable)
• Implanted medical equipment and infected medical equipment

The categories described in Table 1 are not exhaustive and products not specifically mentioned within these categories may still fall within the scope of both Directives. In the event of uncertainty, what products are covered by the Directives will ultimately be decided by the EU Court of Justice. However, in the absence of a definitive ruling, interpretation of the scope of the Directives could be determined on a case-by-case basis by individual EU member states in a manner that may or not be consistent throughout the EU. This could create confusion and leave it unclear about whether a given product is within the scope unless the position is challenged. Many EU member states are currently examining possible "grey area" products and developing guidance to assist companies in deciding whether their products are covered by the regulations.

Who's a "producer"?

A "producer" is a person established within an EU member state that puts EEE covered by the scope of the Directives onto the market, including manufacturers, importers and distance sellers established within a particular country. For companies outside the EU, many "producers" will actually be importers. Producers will also include retailers who sell their own branded products and assembly companies selling their own branded products.

Some examples:

Company A manufactures printed circuit boards, which it supplies to company B who incorporates them in their mobile phones which they brand with their company logo.
Producer: Company B

Company C manufactures control devices dependant on electricity to function properly that are 'stand-alone', which they sell to company D who distributes them for sale in EU.
Producer: Company C

Company E manufactures voltmeters incorporated in Company F's equipment which they brand, but are also sold without modification by Company F in the European Market as 'stand-alone' products.
Producer: Company E (The scenario applies specifically to the voltmeter. Because Company F resells Company E's voltmeter without modification, Company F is considered a distributor, not a producer. The producer is Company E).

Obligations of a "producer."

"Put on the Market."

^Top