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The WEEE directive

The purpose of the WEEE directive (2002/96/EC- Waste of  Electric and Electronic Equipment) is the reduction of waste electrical and electronic equipment, and to promote the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes as to reduce the disposal of waste. The directive shall be applicable from the 13th August 2005 and also applies to old EEE which were put on market during the last 8 years. It is the Producers responsibility for compliance with the WEEE directive in each member state. The "producer" could be the manufacturer or the organisation who resells the products under his own brand or who imports or exports EEE on a professional basis to an EU member state. In respect of the WEEE directive the responsibility that applies to Avnet Technology Solutions will depend on the respective contractual obligations with each supplier, details of which (for WEEE) can be obtained upon request.

The obligations of the "producers" for the concerned products are:

• Registration as "producer" in each local EU country with waste-authorities
• Marking products with brand or company name crossed out wheelie bin and that put on the market after 13th August 2005
• Reporting on sales to the local market
• Financing the recovery of the products
• Information to end-users.

Affected by the directives are products which:

• Dependent on electric currents or electro-magnetic fields in order work properly
• Equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents or fields
• Falling under the categories set out in Annex IA of the directive
• Designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1000 Volt for alternating current and 1500 Volt for direct current
• Finished products with direct function, own enclosure and ports and connections intended for end users (if applicable).

Categories of electrical and electronic equipment covered in Annex IA:

• Large household appliances
• Small household appliances
• IT and telecommunications equipment
• Consumer equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationery industrial tools)
• Toys, leisure and sports equipment
• Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)
• Monitoring and control instruments
• Automatic dispensers

Further Information:

• European Commission- Environment. Recast of the WEEE Directive