Providing for take-back, collection and treatment

Classifying products

Products used in private households and dual-use products are subject to take-back regulations which differ from those that apply to strictly commercially used products. A distinctive classification may either be a self-declaration or an official notification. For the commercial sector, a 1:1 swap-back, the take-back of the manufacturer's own products or an alternative agreement with the commercial user shall apply. The obligation to collect products used in private households and dual-use products shall be complied with via systems. Historical waste equipment must, in any case, be disposed of via a collective system.

Establishing a collection and treatment system or participating in an existing system

Manufacturers and importers have financial responsibility for a separate collection of waste equipment. They are required to establish a minimum of one collection facility per administrative district. When participating in a collective system (mandatory only for historical waste equipment, not for new WEEE), the obligation to establish collection facilities is transferred onto the collective system. Private end-users must have the possibility to return waste equipment at least free of charge.
Further information on collection systems

Reporting the type of collection and treatment system

The registration report shall be submitted via the electronic data management system of the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Authority). No later than April 30, 2005, manufacturers and importers must make declarations about newly established collection facilities. The report must include the following information:

• Statement whether submitter markets electrical and electronic equipment for use in private households into other EU Member States by means of distance communication technology.
• Notification of unequivocally identifiable collection facilities (location, GLN).

Basically, the Austrian collection system consists of a network of municipal collection facilities and of facilities which have yet to be established by manufacturers and importers.

Providing for an orderly pre-treatment of collected equipment

As a minimum, the treatment shall consist of the removal of all fluids plus a selective treatment in accordance with the WEEE Directive's
ANNEX II. Manufacturers and importers shall bear the financial responsibility for transportation from the collection points to the treatment facilities, and for the actual treatment of waste equipment from private households. Furthermore, they are responsible for the systems' adherence to quality standards. A disassembly-friendly device design is very likely to reduce the cost of selective treatment substantially.

Realizing high return rates

High return rates ensure that only a small portion of the products leaves closed cycles and becomes waste. The major part - ideally, a 100% - is returned to the producer who disassembles the product, refurbishes and reuses parts, recycles materials, and disposes of hazardous substances in an environmentally acceptable way. The higher the return rate, the greater the benefit for the environment and, what more, the higher the economical efficiency of the overall process of refurbishing and/or recycling. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the environment (and of the manufacturer) to create incentives for consumers to return the product after use.