Why National Registers?

Directive 2002/96/EC requires each Member State to establish a National Register of producers

National Registers serve to register producers and to collect information on the quantities and categories of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) put on their market, as well as the amounts of WEEE collected, recycled, recovered and exported.

Identifying and tracking producers is the first step towards an effective producer responsibility policy, which is one the Directive's strategies.

Collecting information on the quantities of EEE placed on the market, gives Member States an indication of the amount of WEEE, they are likely to have to manage.

The information on WEEE – collected, recovered, recycled – is essential in order to monitor compliance with the Directive's objectives.

Beyond these tasks, National Registers - whether run by public entities or private - provide free and independent information on the implementation of the Directive, the classification of EEE, and how to fulfil producer obligations in each Member State.

In practice, National Registers act as an independent front office of the whole process.

National Registers have many common practices and processes, although variations in the way in which the Directive has been transposed in different Member States mean that there are also occasional differences. Within EWRN, we work to understand these differences and, although we are sometimes constrained by the laws of each Member State, we try to find common solutions. We call this practical harmonisation and it is a firm and positive step towards a fully harmonised implementation of the Directive.