FAQ
Professional WEEE

Professional EEE are exclusively any equipment designed with functions and characteristics such that it is different from that intended for end consumers, and thus only usable by professionals or businesses. A partial exception to this rule is that concerning the lighting sector, since according to the Ministerial Decree of 12 May 2009, luminaires and light sources must always be considered as household EEE.

Some examples of professional EEE are: radiography equipment, ultrasound systems and any professional medical devices, refrigerated counters, ATM machines, automatic food and drink vending equipment, industrial washing machines.

The legislation considers professional EEE those products which are designed exclusively for professional use, or else they are household EEE. Therefore, even the so-called ‘dual use’ EEE, i.e. that can be used both in domestic and professional fields, must be considered as household EEE.

EWC Codes play an important role since their classification guarantees the correct disposal and treatment of the different types of waste. In fact, each type of WEEE corresponds to a unique EWC Code that indicates its classification, hazardousness and category to which it belongs. In order to ensure the proper treatment and recycling, WEEE is identified as follows:

16 02 14 Non-hazardous electrical components – IT equipment (computers, faxes, printers, scanners, photocopiers, bench scales, cash registers, etc.), landlines and mobile phones, tablets, answering machines and telephone exchanges, air conditioning systems (split and fan coils), photovoltaic and solar panels;

16 02 16 Non-hazardous electrical components – electronic boards, rams, CPUs, network cards, motherboards, sound cards, PC, CD, DVD, VHS cards, etc.;

17 04 01 Electrical and electronic components containing copper, bronze, brass;

17 04 02 Electrical and electronic components containing aluminium;

17 04 11 Dielectric, semi-electric and metal coated fibre-optic cable;

Photovoltaic modules are EEE and fall within the scope of Legislative Decree 49/2014.

Legislative Decree 49/2014 provides that modules installed in systems with power below 10 kW are to be considered as household EEE, while those with power above 10 kW as professional EEE.

From a legislative viewpoint, an Electrical or Electronic Equipment becomes waste when the holder decides to discard it.

Recycling is required by the legislation in force for three reasons:

1. limit the use of landfills and therefore reduce the waste sent to them;
2. recover the material without the need to resort to extractions of virgin raw materials;
3. prevent the dispersal of substances harmful to humans and the environment.

In order to allow recycling, a separate collection and proper treatment are required.

WEEE may contain substances hazardous to human health and the environment. Examples of these are: cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC). But WEEE also contain considerable quantities of materials (copper, iron, aluminium, plastic, silicon, but also gold, silver, rare earths, etc.) which – thanks to recycling – can be recovered and re-used creating new resources and products.

Directive 2012/19/EC has introduced increasingly new minimum collection targets for the WEEE stream. In fact, starting from 1 January 2019, the collection rate  to be achieved is set at 65% of the average quantities placed on the market in the previous three years or, alternatively, 85% of the weight of WEEE domestically produced in the reference year. These legislative requirements have the objective of promoting the recovery of Secondary Raw Materials deriving from the recovery and recycling of WEEE, which can thus be introduced into new production cycles without the need for new extractions from the ground.

Recycling begins when WEEE arrives at specialised plants for the treatment of such waste. Since WEEE can contain hazardous substances, there is a first de-pollution phase, where – according to specific procedures – waste is separated from the harmful elements contained in it. This phase is followed by the actual treatment, where shredding, crushing and separation operations take place for the recovery and valorisation of the materials, obtaining Secondary Raw Materials that can be re-used and reintroduced into new production cycles.

For answering this question, a distinction must be made:

• for historical professional WEEE i.e. deriving from EEE placed on the market up to 31 December 2010, the responsibility lies with the Producer only in the case of supply of a new EEE to replace an equivalent one. If the Producer does not supply the new EEE, the disposal costs must be borne by its holder;
• for new professional WEEE, i.e. deriving from EEE placed on the market from 1 January 2011, the responsibility for the EEE it has placed on the market lies with the Producer who must establish measures to ensure its management. This also applies if the Producer does not supply a new EEE.

In so far as applicable, Producers organise and manage differentiated collection systems of professional WEEE and bear the related costs, according to the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).