Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) requires "producers" of electronic goods to pay and establish a method for the collection, treatment, recovery and disposal of all electronic goods placed into the EU market after August 13, 2005. The WEEE directive also promotes the environmentally conscious design of electrical equipment, in order to assist in the repair, reuse, disassembly and recycling of electronic goods.
"Producer" is defined in Article 3 of the directive as anyone who: manufactures and sells electrical and electronic equipment under its own brand; resells under its own brand equipment produced by other suppliers (a reseller not being regarded as the producer if the brand of the producer appears on the equipment); or imports or exports equipment on a professional basis into an EU member state.
Electrical and electronic equipment is also defined in Article 3, and includes any equipment that is dependent on electrical currents or electromagnetic fields.The directive divides electrical and electronic equipment into categories including:
Large household appliances
Small household appliances
IT and telecommunications equipment
Consumer equipment
Lighting equipment
Electrical and electric tools
Medical devices
Monitoring and control instruments
Automatic dispensers
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