WEEE Obligations for France
The following aspects of WEEE obligations are specific to France.
Take-back obligation (distributor):
French law requires distributors to take-back WEEE from consumers on a 1:1 basis. Online sellers must make arrangements for and pay for WEEE take-back, which can be:
- At the point of delivery of the new EEE;
- Through a local collection system set up and funded by the distributor; or
- By putting in place a postal solution for returning EEE (as their features allow it)
There is no 0:1 take-back obligation for online sellers in France.
Collection, recovery, re-use and treatment obligations (producer):
A producer must collect or organise the collection of WEEE in proportion to the amount of EEE it places on the market, by:
- Setting up its own collection and treatment scheme, and providing the certificate published on the French Environment and Energy Control Agency (ADEME) website (the certificate contains various details concerning the producer's obligations relating to collection, treatment, recycling and re-use of WEEE); or
- Using a collective scheme for separate collection of waste, by joining an approved eco-organism. The following eco-organisms, grouped within a coordinating body OCAD3E, have been approved for the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020 by an Order of 24 December 2014 (published in JORF n°0302, 31 December 2014): Ecologic (general) Eco-systems (general) Récylum (special lamps) and PVCycle (specific photovoltaic panels)
Reporting obligation (producer):
Producers must be registered in the national register of EEE producers. The French Agence de l'environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie (Agency for Environment and Energy Management) is responsible for the establishment, maintenance and operation of the register https://www.syderep.ademe.fr/en/commun/deee.
Producers are required to provide information about the quantity of EEE placed on the market and the waste management measures for end-of-life EEE.
