European legislation

The European legislation covers the treatment of end-of-life EEE for the whole of the European Union. The key documents at present are Directives 2012/19/EU and 2012/65/EU, which arose from the need to properly regulate the management of the ever-increasing amount of WEEE in EU countries. The aim of these directives is to harmonise the rules on the management of e-waste so that they are consistent with environmental protection in all EU countries.

See below for links to the full text of the directives as amended.

• Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
• Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
• Directive (EU) 2017/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2017 amending Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment