The EEAN (European WEEE Registers Network) is the independent network of national registers responsible for monitoring the national implementation of the WEEE Directive in the respective EU Member States. It regularly publishes documents to set out the common, harmonized interpretation of certain aspects of the WEEE Directive.
The document published in July 2023 now deals with the interpretation of the exemption according to Art. 2 (3) b) of the WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU. According to this, the directive does not apply to "equipment which is specifically designed and incorporated as part of another type of equipment excluded from or falling outside the scope of this Directive and which can fulfil its function only as part of that other equipment." The document is intended to provide guidance and clarification and also to reflect the European Court of Justice's interpretation of the exemption.
For example, "specially designed equipment" means that the equipment is tailor-made. It also clarifies again that the requirement of "incorporated as part of another type of equipment" is not met if the specially designed equipment can be removed, reinstalled and/or added to the other type of equipment at any time. Thus, fastening with nails, screws or in any other way is not sufficient for an installation.
In this context, reference is also made once again to the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ, C-369/14) in connection with the classification of electric garage door openers in a (garage door) building. Here it is again clarified that buildings are not "other types of equipment", as otherwise a considerable number of electrical and electronic equipment would be excluded simply because they are attached to a building or connected to its power supply. This would run counter to the objective of the Directive, which accordingly provides for a restrictive interpretation of the exclusions.
Also worth mentioning is the "free-rider complaints" form on the EWRN website. This form can be used to submit (anonymously) complaints to national enforcement authorities when competitors have not labeled their products or are not properly registered.
In this context, please note that the labeling with the symbol of the crossed-out trash can also applies to B2B devices since January 1st 2023!
If you have any questions about this, our team of product & material compliance experts will be happy to assist you – just contact us!
