WEEE Compliance
EEE is a European Union (EU) directive that has set the goal of substantially reducing the quantities of waste from electrical and electronic equipment through recycling. The WEEE directive requires that the manufacturers of certain classes of products establish and fund a take back system for the products that they sell. The take back system is to include a collection point for the products once their useful life has expired and a treatment program that is set in place to recycle or reclaim the product and its components. Also, per the WEEE directive, the manufacturer is responsible for informing the product users and the recycle/treatment facilities of the presence of any hazardous material that may be in the product. The types of products that are covered by the WEEE directive are the following electrical and electronic equipment: household appliances, tools, toys, IT and telecommunications equipment, consumer equipment, lighting equipment, sporting equipment, medical equipment, monitoring and control equipment and automatic dispensing equipment.
Full compliance to the WEEE directives had been scheduled to be in effect for all EU member nations on August 13, 2005. However, unforeseen issues in implementation have come up which have resulted in delays for most of these nations in meeting the target date. As a result extensions have been granted in many instances that will move out the date of the required compliance by as much as a year or two - depending on the particular nation and the circumstances involved.
To learn what Eplac is doing to meet the WEEE directives, please click here.