Directive 2012/19/EU
WEEE: what do you owe for the waste of what you sell?
Example data
- Who it applies to
- Whoever first places electrical or electronic equipment on a Member State's market under its own brand or from abroad, distance sellers included. Also their representatives, and the shops that sell it on.
- The dates
- Before the first unit is placed on that Member State's market, and every reporting period after, under that Member State's law.
- The one thing to do
- A producer finances the waste, marks the equipment, registers in each Member State and reports. A distributor takes back old equipment.
Up to three answers give the WEEE duties you carry, before each Member State's own rules.
Answer above to read the determination for your case; the full tool takes your answers with it.
See the dutiesAt a glance
14requirements, each with the provision it rests on
The 6 Annex III categories
Every EEE falls in one of these, and each Member State's register asks for them. The wording is the Directive's.
- 1. Temperature exchange equipment
- 2. Screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens having a surface greater than 100 cm²
- 3. Lamps
- 4. Large equipment (any external dimension more than 50 cm) including, but not limited to: Household appliances; IT and telecommunication equipment; consumer equipment; luminaires; equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers; equipment for the generation of electric currents. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3.
- 5. Small equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm) including, but not limited to: Household appliances; consumer equipment; luminaires; equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers; equipment for the generation of electric currents. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3 and 6.
- 6. Small IT and telecommunication equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm)
Who carries which article
| Operator | Articles | Duties |
|---|---|---|
| Producer | 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 | 11 |
| Authorised representative | 16, 17 | 5 |
| Distributor | 5 | 2 |
The crossed-out wheeled bin
The symbol indicating separate collection for EEE consists of the crossed-out wheeled bin, as shown below. The symbol must be printed visibly, legibly and indelibly.
Registration, in each Member State
Each Member State keeps its own register, and its register links to the others. On registering, a producer or its representative gives Annex X, Part A:
- 1. Name and address of the producer or of the authorised representative where appointed under Article 17 (postal code and location, street name and number, country, telephone and fax number, e-mail, as well as a contact person). In the case of an authorised representative as defined in Article 17, also the contact details of the producer that is represented.
- 2. National identification code of the producer, including European tax number or national tax number of the producer.
- 3. Category of EEE set out in Annex I or III, as appropriate.
- 4. Type of EEE (household or other than household equipment).
- 5. Brand name of EEE.
- 6. Information on how the producer meets its responsibilities: individual or collective scheme, including information on financial guarantee.
- 7. Selling technique used (e.g. distance selling).
- 8. Declaration stating that the information provided is true.
A directive, through each Member State's law
Directive 2012/19/EU binds through the law each Member State adopted to transpose it. A producer registers, finances and takes back under the law of every state where it places equipment. The table names the act that puts those duties on a producer, as each state notified it to the Commission, read on 18 October 2026.
| State | The act that governs | Dated |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Änderung der Elektroaltgeräteverordnung (EAG-VO-Novelle 2014) | 5 August 2014 |
| Belgium | The regions' acts | |
| Bulgaria | Наредба за излязлото от употреба електрическо и електронно оборудване | 19 November 2013 |
| Croatia | Pravilnik o gospodarenju otpadnom električnom i elektroničkom opremom | 6 May 2014 |
| Cyprus | Οι περί Αποβλήτων (Απόβλητα Ηλεκτρικού και Ηλεκτρονικού Εξοπλισμού) Κανονισμοί του 2015. | 13 March 2015 |
| Czechia | Zákon č. 542/2020 Sb., o výrobcích ukončenou životností | 23 December 2020 |
| Denmark | Bekendtgørelse nr. 1566 af 19. december 2022 om at bringe elektrisk og elektronisk udstyr i omsætning samt håndtering af affald af sådant udstyr | 21 December 2022 |
| Estonia | Jäätmeseadus | 19 August 2019 |
| Finland | Valtioneuvoston asetus sähkö- ja elektroniikkalaiteromusta / Statsrådets förordning om avfall som utgörs av eller innehåller elektriska eller elektroniska produkter (519/2014) 03/07/2014 | 7 July 2014 |
| France | Décret no 2014-928 du 19 août 2014 relatif aux déchets d’équipements électriques et électroniques et aux équipements électriques et électroniques usagés | 22 August 2014 |
| Germany | Erstes Gesetz zur Änderung des Elektro- und Elektronikgerätegesetz | 27 May 2021 |
| Greece | Καθορισμός κανόνων, όρων και προϋποθέσεων για την εναλλακτική διαχείριση των αποβλήτων ειδών ηλεκτρικού και ηλεκτρονικού εξοπλισμού (ΑΗΗΕ), σε συμμόρφωση με τις διατάξεις της Οδηγίας 2012/19/ΕΚ «σχετικά με τα απόβλητα ηλεκτρικού και ηλεκτρονικού εξοπλισμού (ΑΗΗΕ)», του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου και του Συμβουλίου της 4ης Ιουλίου 2012 και άλλες διατάξεις. | 9 May 2014 |
| Hungary | A Kormány 197/2014. (VIII. 1.) Korm. rendelete az elektromos és elektronikus berendezésekkel kapcsolatos hulladékgazdálkodási tevékenységekről | 18 September 2014 |
| Ireland | European (Waste Electrical and Electronmic Equipment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 149 of 2014) | 28 March 2014 |
| Italy | Attuazione della direttiva 2012/19/UE sui rifiuti di apparecchiature elettriche ed elettroniche (RAEE). | 28 March 2014 |
| Latvia | Ministru kabineta 2014.gada 8.jūlija noteikumi Nr.388 "Elektrisko un elektronisko iekārtu kategorijas un marķēšanas prasības un šo iekārtu atkritumu apsaimniekošanas prasības un kārtība" | 22 July 2014 |
| Lithuania | Lietuvos Respublikos atliekų tvarkymo įstatymo Nr. VIII-787 2, 34-1, 34-2, 34-3, 34-4, 34-5, 34-12, 34-15, 34-16, 34-24 straipsnių ir 5 priedo pakeitimo įstatymas Nr.XII-832 | 29 April 2014 |
| Luxembourg | Règlement grand-ducal du 30 juillet 2013 relatif aux déchets d’équipements électriques et électroniques. | 5 August 2013 |
| Malta | Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations, 2014 | 13 June 2014 |
| Netherlands | Regeling van de Staatssecretaris van Infrastructuur en Milieu, van 3 februari 2014, nr. IENM/BSK-2014/14758, houdende vaststelling regels met betrekking tot afgedankte elektrische en elektronische apparatuur (Regeling afgedankte elektrische en elektronische apparatuur) | 5 February 2014 |
| Poland | Ustawa z dnia 11 września 2015 r. o zużytym sprzęcie elektrycznym i elektronicznym | 23 October 2015 |
| Portugal | Decreto-Lei n.º 67/2014. D.R. n.º 87, Série I de 2014-05-07 Ministério do Ambiente, Ordenamento do Território e Energia Aprova o regime jurídico da gestão de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrónicos, transpondo a Diretiva n.º 2012/19/UE, do Parlamento Europeu e do Conselho, de 4 de julho de 2012 | 7 May 2014 |
| Romania | Ordonanţa de urgenţă nr.5/2015 privind deşeurile de echipamente electrice şi electronice. | 16 April 2015 |
| Slovakia | Zákon č. 79/2015 Z. z. o odpadoch a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov | 21 April 2015 |
| Slovenia | Uredba o odpadni električni in elektronski opremi | 24 July 2015 |
| Spain | Real Decreto 110/2015, de 20 de febrero, sobre residuos de aparatos eléctricos y electrónicos | 21 February 2015 |
| Sweden | förordning (2022:1276) om producentansvar för elutrustning | 1 July 2026 |
Belgium's producer duties are set by Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels-Capital, each by its own act. The register lists all of them. Every measure each state notified, on EUR-Lex
Read from Directive 2012/19/EU in the Official Journal on 17 October 2026: the consolidated text of 8 April 2024, with its corrections checked and both amending acts reviewed. EUR-Lex
Questions people ask
- We sell online from another country. Does WEEE reach us?
- Yes. Selling at a distance directly to users in a Member State where you are not established makes you a producer there, Article 3(1)(f)(iv). Established in another Member State, you appoint a representative there, Article 17(2).
- Where does the crossed-out wheeled bin go?
- On the equipment, Article 14(4) and Annex IX. Where its size or function does not allow it, on the packaging, the instructions for use and the warranty.
- Do we register once for the whole EU?
- No. Each Member State keeps its own register of producers, Article 16(1), and you register in each one where you place EEE. The registers link to each other, Article 16(2)(d).
- Is our equipment household or professional?
- Article 3(1)(h) counts equipment that both households and others are likely to use as household. That decides whether Article 12 or Article 13 finances its waste.
- Do shops have to take old devices back?
- Yes, one for one when selling a new one of equivalent type, Article 5(2)(b). A shop with at least 400 m² of EEE sales area also takes back very small WEEE, Article 5(2)(c).
Keep the registers and the reports in one place
StandardOS holds your WEEE duties and the evidence for each. It drafts the Annex X registration sheet per Member State and schedules the yearly reports, next to the other frameworks you run.
What it asks of you
14 requirements in 3 groups
Obligations
10- 12(1) Finance collection and treatment of household WEEE
- 12(3) Finance your own products' waste and give a guarantee
- 13(1) Finance the waste from professional users of your EEE
and 7 more
Controls
2- 14(4) Mark your EEE with the crossed-out wheeled bin
- 15(2) Mark when the EEE was placed on the market
Clauses
2- 17(1) Fulfil the producer's obligations in your Member State
- 17(3) Put the representative's mandate in writing
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