Main goal

The main goal of the legislation on WEEE is to prevent WEEE generation and, in addition, to reuse, recycle and otherwise recover such waste, so that the volume of disposed waste is reduced.

The legislation in force, also aims to improving the environmental performances of all the operators involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment, such as manufacturers, distributors and consumers, especially of those operators directly involved in WEEE treatment.

Definitions:

Manufacturer – any natural or legal person, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance communication, which:

(i) manufacturers and markets EEE under its own brand; or
(ii) re-sells – under its own brand – equipment manufactured by other suppliers, a reseller being considered to be a manufacturer when the manufacturer’s brand is mentioned on the equipment pursuant to point (i); or
(iii) imports or exports, on a professional basis, EEE in or from Romania.
Distributor – any person that provides EEE on a professional basis to a person following to use it.

Obligations:

Local public administrations – Ensure and organize the spaces dedicated to the selective WEEE collection from the population.
Selective WEEE collection from private households
They make available for manufacturers the spaces necessary to establish WEEE selective collection centres
Collection centres should be located in places and at distances that provide an easy access, considering, in particular, the population density.
Storage (including temporary) locations – waterproof surfaces, provided with:
leakage loss collection installations
weatherproof tarpaulins for relevant areas
Manufacturers
cover WEEE collection and recycling costs.
cover the costs of WEEE and historical waste management, namely EEE manufactured before 2006 coming from private households and from other suppliers.
Distributors
Distributors who place new products on the market – provide conditions for the take-over of WEEE free of charge or for a compensation based on the value of the reusable components of the equipment, and in a one to one system if the handed-over equipment is of an equivalent type and has met the same functions as the purchased equipment.
Distributors of electrical and electronic equipment or WEEE collection centres may reject the take-over of waste under one of the following circumstances:

a) WEEE shows obvious evidence of contamination with hazardous substances (as defined in the Government Emergency Ordinance 200/2000 on the classification, labelling and packaging of hazardous chemical substances and mixtures, approved with amendments and supplementations through Law no. 451/2001);

b) WEEE shows exterior surfaces that are dangerous for handling: cutting, sharp, cogged edges, cracks, loose sub-assemblies that could cause accidents.

- Distributors of electrical and electronic equipment or collection centres – written recording of the rejection reason and on the spot presentation of the person who submitted the equipment.

Natural and legal persons

Hand-over WEEE to electrical and electronic equipment sales networks or to dedicated selective collection centres

Sanctions

Fines of RON 500 —1,000 for natural persons or RON 2,500—5,000 RON for legal persons that do not hand-over WEEE to collection centres.
Fines of RON 5,000 —7,500 for manufacturers and distributors that do not collect WEEE on a selective basis and do not provide information related to selective collection.
The Romanian legislation regulating waste electrical and electronic equipment comprises the following regulatory acts:

Government Decisions no. 448/2005 on WEEE;
Common order of MMGA/MEC no. 1223/715/2005 on the manufacturer registration procedure, means of recording and reporting data on EEE and WEEE amended by the Common Order of MMDD/MEF no. 706/2007;

Common Order of MMGA/MEC no. 1225/721/2005 on the approval of the Procedure and criteria for the evaluation and authorization of collective organizations with a view to taking-over the responsibility regarding the annual targets of WEEE collection, reuse, recycling, and recovery, with subsequent amendments and supplementations;

Order of MMGA no. 901/2005 on the approval of the specific measures for the collection of WEEE posing risks of contamination for the security and health of collection center personnel;

Order of MMGA no. 66/2006 on the setting of the Commission for the evaluation and authorization of collective organizations with a view to taking-over the responsibility regarding the attainment of annual WEEE collection, reuse, recycling and recovery targets, with subsequent amendments and supplementations;

Common Order MMGA/MEC/ANPM no. 556/435/191/2006 on the specific marking attached to EEE placed on the market after 31.12.2006;

Government Decision no. 992/2005 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in EEE, amended through the Governmental Decision no. 816/2006

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