Glossary

collection facilities

Collection facilities are facilities

a) set up by (associations of) local authorities, in accordance with § 28a AWG 2002 (Austrian waste control legislation) or

b) set up by producers of electrical and electronic equipment for private household use, in accordance with § 13a para. 1 AWG 2002,

which accept returned waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households.

dual-use devices

Dual-use devices are pieces of electrical and electronic equipment which are comparable with waste equipment from private households as to their handling, although they are not actually used in private households. An example is a personal computer which has been bought by a bank. It is impossible to rule out that such a device will be used privately after it has reached its end of use in the bank, and ends up at a waste collection facility which is reserved for the take-back of electro waste from private households.

electrical and electronic equipment

Electrical and electronic equipment is equipment which depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly, and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields falling under the categories set out in Annex IA and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000 Volt for alternating current and 1 500 Volt for direct current.

GLN

= Global Location Number. A GLN is a numerical key which constitutes an ideal instrument for a fast, accurate and machine-accessible processing of address data (locations, sites). Each participating entity is assigned a unique identification number.

homogenous material

A material is considered homogenous if it cannot be separated into diverse materials by means of mechanical treatment.

ICs

= Integrated Circuits

material recovery

Material recovery corresponds to the substitution of raw materials with materials extracted from waste (secondary raw materials) or the utilization of material properties of waste for original or other purposes, with the exception of direct energy recovery.

PCB

= Printed Circuit Board

producer

Anyone who

i) manufactures and sells electrical and electronic equipment under their own brand,

ii) resells under their own brand equipment produced by other suppliers or

iii) imports or exports electrical and electronic equipment on a commercial basis into a Member State.

Whoever exclusively provides financing under or pursuant to any finance agreement (loan, lease, hiring or deferred sale agreement and the like) shall not be deemed a producer, irrespective of whether the transaction results in a transfer of ownership.

proportion by weight

Proportion by weight corresponds to the volume of electrical and electronic devices for private household use put on the market by producers and reported by a collection and recovery system, in proportion to the total volume of electrical and electronic devices for private household use, as reported by the collection and recovery system.

product responsibility

The take-back obligation is based on the principle of "product responsibility", meaning that producers shall bear the financial consequences of their products' end-of-life environmental impact. The product responsibility principle makes no specific provisions for the nature and scope of the financial burden. In general, there are several possible ways to assume product responsibility. Two principal types are illustrated with the slogans 'individual' versus 'collective' responsibility. There are many intermediate and transitional variants. In particular, it is necessary to differentiate between an individual versus a collective financing, and the actual take-back and recovery, which again can be done individually or collectively. The 'individual versus collective' discussion only applies to future waste treatment (new waste equipment). An individual responsibility for historical waste cannot be attributed. It is no longer possible to influence the recyclability of products which have already been put on the market.

recycling

Recycling designates the reuse of components and material recovery (components, materials and substances).

recycling rate

[weight flow from pre-treatment into reuse + weight flow from pre-treatment into material recovery / weight flow into pre-treatment] * 100%

RoHS

Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment

recovery

= reuse of components + material recovery (components, materials and substances) + thermal recovery.

recovery rate

= [(weight flow from pre-treatment into reuse + weight flow from pre-treatment into material recovery + weight flow from pre-treatment into thermal recovery) / weight flow into pre-treatment] *100%

reuse

Reused electrical and electronic devices or contained components are used for the same purpose they have been designed to serve. This includes a continued use of equipment or components returned to take-back points, distributors, recycling facilities or producers.

treatment

Collectively, treatment encompasses all procedures which ensue after waste electrical and electronic equipment has been returned to a facility for depollution, disassembly, shredding, recovery or preparation for disposal, as well as other activities aimed at the recovery and/or disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

thermal recovery

Thermal recovery corresponds to the use of combustible residual materials and waste as a means of generating energy through direct incineration with or without other waste. Thermal recovery must at least result in the recovery of heat.

waste equipment

Electrical and electronic equipment which has reached the end of its service life and is considered waste.

WEEE

Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment