EdLaw
Subject matter, scope and definitions
Waste electrical and electronic equipment: the open scope since 15 August 2018, exclusions, and definitions including "producer" — which captures distance sellers into a Member State.
Article 1 — Subject matter
Verbatim from EUR-Lex (Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE) 02012L0019-20240408), via the Publications Office Cellar API.
This Directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use in accordance with Articles 1 and 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
Article 2 — Scope
Verbatim from EUR-Lex (Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE) 02012L0019-20240408), via the Publications Office Cellar API.
- (a) from 13 August 2012 to 14 August 2018 (transitional period), subject to paragraph 3, to EEE falling within the categories set out in Annex I. Annex II contains an indicative list of EEE which falls within the categories set out in Annex I;
- (b) from 15 August 2018, subject to paragraphs 3 and 4, to all EEE. All EEE shall be classified within the categories set out in Annex III. Annex IV contains a non-exhaustive list of EEE which falls within the categories set out in Annex III (open scope).
2. This Directive shall apply without prejudice to the requirements of Union legislation on safety and health, on chemicals, in particular Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency ( ^1 ), as well as of specific Union waste management or product design legislation.
- (a) equipment which is necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes;
- (b) equipment which is specifically designed and installed as part of another type of equipment that is excluded from or does not fall within the scope of this Directive, which can fulfil its function only if it is part of that equipment;
- (c) filament bulbs.
4. In addition to the equipment specified in paragraph 3, from 15 August 2018, this Directive shall not apply to the following EEE:
- (a) equipment designed to be sent into space;
- (b) large-scale stationary industrial tools;
- (c) large-scale fixed installations, except any equipment which is not specifically designed and installed as part of those installations;
- (d) means of transport for persons or goods, excluding electric two-wheel vehicles which are not type-approved;
- (e) non-road mobile machinery made available exclusively for professional use;
- (f) equipment specifically designed solely for the purposes of research and development that is only made available on a business-to-business basis;
- (g) medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, where such devices are expected to be infective prior to end of life, and active implantable medical devices.
5. No later than 14 August 2015, the Commission shall review the scope of this Directive set out in point (b) of paragraph 1, including the parameters to distinguish between large and small equipment in Annex III, and shall present a report thereon to the European Parliament and to the Council. The report shall be accompanied by a legislative proposal, if appropriate.
Article 3 — Definitions
Verbatim from EUR-Lex (Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE) 02012L0019-20240408), via the Publications Office Cellar API.
- (a) ‘electrical and electronic equipment’ or ‘EEE’ means equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1 000 volts for alternating current and 1 500 volts for direct current;
- (b) ‘large-scale stationary industrial tools’ means a large size assembly of machines, equipment, and/or components, functioning together for a specific application, permanently installed and de-installed by professionals at a given place, and used and maintained by professionals in an industrial manufacturing facility or research and development facility;
- (c) ‘large-scale fixed installation’ means a large-size combination of several types of apparatus and, where applicable, other devices, which:
- (d) ‘non-road mobile machinery’ means machinery, with on-board power source, the operation of which requires either mobility or continuous or semi-continuous movement between a succession of fixed working locations while working;
- (e) ‘waste electrical and electronic equipment’ or ‘WEEE’ means electrical or electronic equipment which is waste within the meaning of Article 3(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC, including all components, sub-assemblies and consumables which are part of the product at the time of discarding;
- (f) ‘producer’ means any natural or legal person who, irrespective of the selling technique used, including distance communication within the meaning of Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts ( ^2 ): Whoever exclusively provides financing under or pursuant to any finance agreement shall not be deemed to be a ‘producer’ unless he also acts as a producer within the meaning of points (i) to (iv);
- (i) is established in a Member State and manufactures EEE under his own name or trademark, or has EEE designed or manufactured and markets it under his name or trademark within the territory of that Member State;
- (ii) is established in a Member State and resells within the territory of that Member State, under his own name or trademark, equipment produced by other suppliers, a reseller not being regarded as the ‘producer’ if the brand of the producer appears on the equipment, as provided for in point (i);
- (iii) is established in a Member State and places on the market of that Member State, on a professional basis, EEE from a third country or from another Member State; or
- (iv) sells EEE by means of distance communication directly to private households or to users other than private households in a Member State, and is established in another Member State or in a third country.
- (g) ‘distributor’ means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, who makes an EEE available on the market. This definition does not prevent a distributor from being, at the same time, a producer within the meaning of point (f);
- (h) ‘WEEE from private households’ means WEEE which comes from private households and WEEE which comes from commercial, industrial, institutional and other sources which, because of its nature and quantity, is similar to that from private households. Waste from EEE likely to be used by both private households and users other than private households shall in any event be considered to be WEEE from private households;
- (i) ‘finance agreement’ means any loan, lease, hiring or deferred sale agreement or arrangement relating to any equipment whether or not the terms of that agreement or arrangement or any collateral agreement or arrangement provide that a transfer of ownership of that equipment will or may take place;
- (j) ‘making available on the market’ means any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the market of a Member State in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;
- (k) ‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the market within the territory of a Member State on a professional basis;
- (l) ‘removal’ means manual, mechanical, chemical or metallurgic handling with the result that hazardous substances, mixtures and components are contained in an identifiable stream or are an identifiable part of a stream within the treatment process. A substance, mixture or component is identifiable if it can be monitored to verify environmentally safe treatment;
- (m) ‘medical device’ means a medical device or accessory within the meaning of, respectively, point (a) or (b) of Article 1(2) of Council Directive 93/42/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning medical devices ( ^3 ) which is EEE;
- (n) ‘in vitro diagnostic medical device’ means an in vitro diagnostic device or accessory within the meaning of, respectively, point (b) or (c) of Article 1(2) of Directive 98/79/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 1998 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices ( ^4 ) which is EEE;
- (o) ‘active implantable medical device’ means an active implantable medical device within the meaning of point (c) of Article 1(2) of Council Directive 90/385/EEC of 20 June 1990 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to active implantable medical devices ( ^5 ) which is EEE.
2. In addition, the definitions of ‘hazardous waste’, ‘collection’, ‘separate collection’, ‘prevention’, ‘re-use’, ‘treatment’, ‘recovery’, ‘preparing for re-use’, ‘recycling’ and ‘disposal’ laid down in Article 3 of Directive 2008/98/EC shall apply.
Sources
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