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Legislation
Country Adoption Date Details
Austria April 2005 Austria’s WEEE ordinance requires that producers register, mark
new equipment for the Austrian market, and finance the collection, PART I
recovery, and recycling of WEEE.
PART I
PART I
Belgium 2004 Belgium is one of three European nations that implemented
electronic waste disposal legislation prior to the EU WEEE Directive,
but changed its legislation to include the EU’s mandates.
Cyprus July 2004 Companies importing or retailing electronic equipment must
register with the Environmental Service.
Estonia April 2004 Regulations set requirements and procedures for marking
electronic equipment, targets for collection, and recovery or
disposal of equipment.
Estonia has been granted a grace period through December 31,
2008 to meet collection deadlines.
France November 2006 The French decree implements the concept of producer
responsibility for WEEE, and imposes WEEE takeback and recycling
obligations. The decree imposes requirements with respect to
product design, collection, recovery, financing, marking, and
reporting. All producers are responsible for the collection and
treatment of household WEEE.
The decree also establishes penalties for noncompliance.
Germany March 2005 Producers or distributors of electronic equipment in Germany must
register with a clearing house, a private institution operated and
financed by producers. When registering, producers must provide
a guarantee for the financing recycling costs and the type and
quantity of electronic equipment that will be marketed, collected,
recovered, or exported outside the European Union.
The law requires manufacturers to use the best available treatment,
recovery, and recycling techniques in the disposal of WEEE.
Greece March 2004 Producers and importers must hold a “certificate of alternative
management,” which varies depending on the territory in which the
products are being marketed.
The Greek WEEE regulation varies from the EU directive with a
directive that requires that costs for the treatment of WEEE must be
clearly visible in all invoices issued throughout the distribution chain.
Hungary August 10, Hungarian law requires producers to collect and treat an annually
2004 increasing percentage of the EEE they place on the market.
Producers must reimburse local authorities if they provide separate
collection of WEEE from households.
Ireland August 2005 Irish law requires producers and distributors of electronic
equipment to register with the WEEE Register Society and join a
compliance scheme to help meet their collection, recycling, and
reporting requirements.
Producers are responsible for financing the takeback of WEEE.

TABLE 2-3 Variances in European RoHS and WEEE Laws