European and Slovak legislation
European legislation
The basic legal standard which represents the environmental approach of the European Union to the issues of waste electrical and electronic equipment is EU Directive 2002/96/EC.
Since 13th August, 2005 pursuant to the Directive the producers and importers of electrical and electronic equipment have been jointly responsible for all historical electrical waste and individually responsible for the waste from their products which they launched after 13th August 2005 – new waste.
The Directive enables the producers to associate and financially secure collective systems for collection and recycling of electric waste coming from households and companies. Concurrently, it defined 10 categories of electrical and electronic equipment the electrical waste comes from:
1. Large household appliances
2. Small household appliances
3. Information technologies and telecommunication devices
4. Consumer equipment
5. Lighting equipment
6. Electrical and electronic tools
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment
8. Medical devices
9. Monitoring and control instruments
10. Automatic dispensers
One of the objectives which the Directive set for member states is to collect 4 kg of electrical waste per inhabitant in 2006. The Slovak Republic as an accessing member is obliged to fulfil this objective postponed by two years – in the year 2008.
Slovak legislation
The basic Slovak legal standard in the field of electrical waste is Amendment No. 733/2004 of Waste Act No. 223/2001 Coll. by which EU Directive 2002/96/EC was transponed into the Slovak jurisdiction.
The continuing implementary regulations are especially Ordinance No. 208/2005 Coll. of the Ministry of Environment on electrical and electronic equipment and electrical waste and the Government Regulation on collection and recycling limits.
Producers of electrical and electronic equipment
are obliged, upon the provisions of the above stated legal regulations, secure electrical waste handling in organizational and financial aspect, in particular:
- take-back of electric and electronic equipment
- separated collection of electrical waste
- handover of electrical waste to processors
- fulfilment of collection, appreciation and recycling limits
- informing consumers on the system of take-back and separated collection
There are two kinds of electrical waste according to the date of launch of electrical and electronic equipment:
- before 13/08/2005 – waste from electrical and electronic equipment shall be designated as HISTORICAL WASTE – all producers of electrical and electronic equipment on the market are responsible for handling this waste according to their market share in a collective way while it can be financed via VISIBLE RECYCLING FEE which the final consumer pays at purchase of a new product.
- after 13/08/2005 – waste from this electrical and electronic equipment is designated as NEW WASTE (this electrical and electronic equipment is already at production marked with a special sign). Every entity which launches the electrical and electronic equipment either individually (however, it must provide guarantees and reserves for their future liquidation) or via participation in reasonable collective system which substitutes this guarantee shall be responsible for new waste.
Basic definitions according to the Waste Act (Art. 54a) :
1) Electrical and electronic equipment is the equipment which needs electric current or electromagnetic field for its activity as well as devices for production, transmission and measurement of such current and the field which fall into categories of electrical and electronic equipment stated in Annex No. 3a and which are intended for use at the voltage value up to 1,000 V for alternate current and up to 1,500 V for direct current.
2) Electric waste is electrical and electronic equipment which is waste according to section 1 including all components, structural parts and consumer parts which are a part of electrical and electronic equipment at the time when the holder disposes of it.
3) Electrical waste from households is electrical waste coming from households of natural persons from commercial, industrial, institutional and other resources which resembles by its composition and amount to the one which comes from households of natural persons.
4) Prevention are measures aimed at reduction of the amount of electrical waste as well as materials and substances which are in it and their harmful effects on environment.
5) Repeated use of electrical waste is the activity via which the electrical waste or its components are used for the same purpose for which they were originally intended without being recycled.
6) Recycling of electrical waste is repeated appreciation of materials and substances acquired from electrical waste in the production process for the original purpose or for other purposes. Recycling is not appreciation of electrical waste by the activity R1 according to Annex No. 2.
7) Processing of electrical waste is every activity after the electrical waste was handed over to the processor of electrical waste for removal of harmful substances, disassembly and scrapping for the purpose of back acquisition of components, structural parts, consumer parts, materials and substances and all other activities performed for the purposes of appreciation, repeated use or environmentally suitable electrical waste disposal.
8) The processor of electrical waste is the entrepreneur to whom the ministry granted authorization for processing of electrical waste pursuant to Art. 8 par. 3 letter d).
9) The producer of electrical and electronic equipment is a person who without regard to the applied sales techniques including the sale by means of electronic communication except for the person acting expressly under contract on financing
a) produces and sells electrical and electronic equipment under their sign,
b) moreover sells under their sign the electrical and electronic equipment produced by other supplier; the seller who sells further is not considered the producer if a sign of the producer is present on the equipment as it is defined in letter a) or
c) imports electrical and electronic equipment into the Slovak Republic.
10 ) For the purposes of this Act the distributor is a legal person or a natural person-entrepreneur which sells electrical and electronic equipment to the consumer.
11 ) Launching electrical and electronic equipment is for the purposes of this Act a moment when the electrical and electronic equipment is produced in the Slovak Republic for the first time against payment or free of charge for the sale purposes, distribution or use or if it is the subject to the ownership right for the first time; import of electrical and electronic equipment is also considered a launch of electrical and electronic equipment.
12 ) Contract on financing is for the purposes of this Act the loan contract, lease agreement or contract on installment selling or other agreement on deferred payment related to electrical and electronic equipment disregarding whether the conditions of such contract, agreement or additional contract define that the transfer of ownership of such electrical and electronic equipment is going to be made or can be made.
13 ) Take-back is the takeover of electrical and electronic equipment from households from its holder at sale of new electrical and electronic equipment on the exchange basis piece for piece if the handed over electrical and electronic equipment belongs to the same category and is of the functional determination as the sold electrical and electronic equipment.
14 ) Separated collection is the collection of electrical and electronic equipment in classification according to Annex No. 3a; special category of electrical and electronic equipment for the purposes of separated collection is formed by lighting equipment with mercury content.
15) Recycling fee – producer of electrical and electronic equipment is entitled to state at sale of electrical and electronic equipment the amount of the recycling fee determined for coverage of costs for disposal of historical electrical waste from households coming from this electrical and electronic equipment, on the electrical and electronic equipment or on its package or etiquette or on tax or other similar voucher executed at its sale. The amount of the recycling fee shall correspond to the actually incurred costs for electrical waste disposal.
After expiry of the set deadlines the stating of recycling fees on electrical and electronic equipment is prohibited:
• for electrical and electronic equipment according to category 2 to 10 up to 13th February, 2011
• for electrical and electronic equipment according to category 1 of Annex No. 3a up to 13th February, 2013
16) Limits of appreciation and recycling (Government Regulation on limits): producer of electrical and electronic equipment is obliged to pay the contribution into the Recycling Fund for electrical and electronic equipment in the amount equal to electrical waste for which it failed to secure the collection of electrical waste and their appreciation, repeated use or recycling itself or collectively within the range of the set limits, the contribution is paid for the calendar quarter
