The European Union (EU) WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) was adopted in 2003 and came into force on 13 August 2005 although most EU States were late. However, by 1 January 2008 all EU States had implemented national WEEE legislation. Unfortunately for manufacturers, there are many significant differences between Member States and requirements vary considerably. The WEEE Directive appears to be straightforward having only 19 Articles whereas the much longer EU REACH regulation has 141 Articles. However, implementation of WEEE is very complex because of the different approaches that have been adopted by EU Member States.
We attach a comprehensive report on WEEE implementation across the EU.