Summary

Companies selling a broad range of electrical goods in Europe are required to comply with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and the Restriction of the Use of Certain hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, which bans the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and some polybrominated flame-retardants (PBBs and PBDEs) in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

The WEEE Directive aims to reduce the amount of EEE waste entering landfills for final disposal, while the RoHS Directive aims to limit the amount of potentially hazardous substances contained in EEE. The Directives represent a shift in EU environmental legislation from a sole focus on the environmental impacts of production processes to an additional focus on reducing the environmental impacts of the disposal of the products themselves. They are also among the first to implement the producer responsibility principle.

Manufacturers of EEE, their material and component suppliers and assemblers as well as electronics remanufacturers and WEEE recovery, treatment and recycling companies are all affected by these sister Directives.

This report outlines the implementation status, scope and producer requirements of the WEEE and RoHS Directives and provides links to additional information resources.