Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

The RoHS Directive set restrictions upon European manufacturers as to the material content of new electronic equipment placed on the market.

The origins of the black line (or bar) stem from Directive 2012/19/EU [3] referencing European standard EN 50419.

Once this seven years transitional period is over, EU member states will individually select the actual collection options they wish to use.

One such act is Commission Decision 2005/369/EC of 3 May 2005, which laid down rules for monitoring the compliance of Member States and established data formats for the purposes of Directive 2002/96/EC on WEEE.

Additionally, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/699 of 18 April 2017 established a common methodology for calculating the weight of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) placed on the market in each Member State and for calculating the quantity of WEEE generated by weight in each Member State.

Post re-processing (recycling), total volumes of each category are reported to the producer compliance scheme[11] and the reprocessor is reimbursed accordingly.

Totals of obligated WEEE for all AATFs are collated by the environment agency on a quarterly basis and reported to the EU.

In April 2005 the Royal Society of Arts in the UK (in conjunction with Canon) unveiled a 7 m tall sculpture titled WEEE Man on London's South Bank, made from 3.3 tonnes of electrical goods—the average amount of electrical waste one UK individual creates in a lifetime.

[16] The giant figure was subsequently moved to the Eden Project in Cornwall as part of a UK tour.