Commercial Information Circulars

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e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : Sub-file (A) to EIC 230/2/11

1 August 2012

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 595/2012
European Union (EU)* : Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 49/2004 of 27 February 2004, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have adopted a Directive to recast Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WWW) for the purpose of its adaptation to substantial changes. Details are set out in Directive 2012/19/EU, which can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:197:0038:0071:EN:PDF

DETAILS

2.The Directive aims to contribute to sustainable production and consumption by the prevention of WEEE as well as by the re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce the disposal of waste and to contribute to the efficient use of resources and the retrieval of valuable secondary raw materials. It also seeks to improve the environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of EEE, including producers, distributors and consumers and operators directly involved in the collection and treatment of WEEE. The Directive should cover all EEE used by consumers and EEE intended for professional use. The detailed product scopes are set out in Article 2 of the Directive. 

3. The Directive lays down the requirements concerning product design, disposal, collection, treatment, recovery targets as well as information for users and treatment facilities in Articles 4-15. It shall enter into force on 13 August 2012 and EU Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by 14 February 2014. 

ENQUIRIES

4.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Anita WONG)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.