International Legislations for WEEE handling and management 
The Basel Convention: Basel Convention on the Control for the Transboundary
Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, in force since 1992, is
the only global environment agreement on waste and now comprises almost
165 national governments (april 2005). The global agreement regulates trade
in hazardous wastes, including WEEE; it seeks to ensure that they are disposed
of safely and that the generation of such wastes is minimized. An Amendment
to the Convention, commonly known as the Basel Ban, which calls for prohibiting
the export of hazardous waste from OECD to non-OECD countries, is still
to come into force. India ratified the convention in 1990, however the Basel
Ban has still to be accepted.
The European Union (EU) has enacted two Directives, the first on product
recycling (Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment, WEEE) and the second limiting
the use of certain substances (Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances,
RoHS). By August 2005, these Directives will be implemented in the national
laws of each EU Member State.
The purpose of WEEE directive is, as a first priority, the prevention of
waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and in addition, the reuse,
recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce the
disposal of waste. When putting a product on the market a producer must
provide a guarantee that the management of all WEEE will be financed. Producer
responsibility will include meeting labelling requirements, providing information
to end-users and treatment facilities, ensuring the availability of collection
infrastructure, submitting sales and recovery data, and financing WEEE costs.
The purpose of RoHS directive is to restrict the use of hazardous substances
in electrical and electronic equipment and to contribute to the protection
of human health and the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste
electrical and electronic equipment.
The Swiss Ordinance
on the Return, the taking back and the Disposal of Electrical and Electronic
equipment (ORDEE) entered into force on 1 July 1998 and was worldwide
the first legal regulation on WEEE. Under the ORDEE, retailers, manufacturers
and importers are required to take back, at no charge, appliances of the
kind that they normally stock. Consumers, for their part, are obliged to
return end-of-life appliances and are not allowed to dispose of them via
household waste or bulky item collections. Collection and disposal, financed
on a private-sector basis, is managed by the Swiss Foundation for the Disposal
of Wastes (S.EN.S) and the Swiss Association for Information, Communication
and Organisational Technology (SWICO). The purchase price of all appliances
covered by the ORDEE includes a prepaid disposal charge based on voluntary
sectoral agreements. Equipment can thus be returned free of charge.
German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act - ElektroG Act - entered
into force in March 2005 and is governing the Sale, Return and Environmentally
Sound Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and implements the
EU directives on WEEE and RoHS. The goal of this act is to prevent waste
from electrical and electronic equipment, to reduce waste volumes through
reuse, provisions for collection, recovery and recycling quotas and to reduce
the content of hazardous substances in equipment. Based on the whole of
Germany, at least 4kg WEEE per kilogram and year is to be collected from
private households.A ban on the use of certain hazardous substances in the
production of new electrical and electronic equipment aims to prevent damage
to the environment and health right from the outset and to prevent disposal
problems arising at all. With this legal regulation producers are compelled
to incorporate the entire life of their products into their calculations.
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