Agilent and the WEEE Directive
Background
The European Union's (EU) Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was implemented in Member States during 2005-2006. The aim of the Directive is to halt the growing volume of electrical and electronic waste disposed of in landfill sites, by making manufacturers responsible for financing environmentally safe disposal of end-of-life equipment through recycling.
The Directive treats domestic and business-to-business (B2B) waste differently. According to the Directive, households are able to hand-over waste equipment free of charge at retailers or municipal collection points. However with regards to B2B customers, the Directive requires manufacturers only to take back equipment sold after 13 August 2005, or older equipment if customer buys a replacement. The Directive covers most electronic and electrical products from office equipment to household appliances like TVs, tumble dryers and power tools. The types of electronic equipment involved are divided into ten different categories and Agilent's end-user products fall within category nine called "Monitoring and Control" equipment.How does this affect Agilent and its customers?
Agilent is working with compliance schemes and/or service providers which implement effective take-back of products in different Member State countries. Detailed information is available on the country pages (available under "Take-back instructions")