2 - EU legislation relating to electronic waste: the WEEE and RoHS Directives and the REACH regulations

Abstract

A series of Environment Action Programmes spanning the last 30years has shaped the way in which the EU manages its waste. Legislation in the form of regulations and directives for dealing with waste such as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is just one of a number of tools the European Union has used to try and manage specific waste streams. Since EEE, and therefore WEEE, may contain hazardous chemicals it is subject to the requirements of not only the WEEE directive but also the Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations. Owing to the wording of the founding treaties of the EU on which legislation is made, existing law in these areas has been widely interpreted across member states. This has led to highly varied practice across the EU and patchy implementation of the directives. The end result has been poor collection rates, low enforcement and continued illegal exports of WEEE. To address this, the European Commission decided to recast both the WEEE and RoHS Directives and propose amendments to the REACH regulations. The proposed changes seek to reduce the ambiguities in the existing legislation and impose even greater responsibility on producers to manage the products and the waste they produce.