A revision of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE2) Directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 24. While it is mainly for European waste and recycling industries, some aspects will have consequences for the medical device industry since, until now, medical equipment entering the waste stream was not required to meet any recovery and recycling targets. After the Directive becomes effective on August 13, 2012, medical devices will be subject to a recovery target of 70% and a recycling target of 50%.
Its aim is to: “…protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use in accordance with Articles 1 and 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC , [Waste Framework Directive] thereby contributing to sustainable development.”
This directive applies to: medical devices with the exception of all implanted products, including radiotherapy equipment, cardiology equipment, dialysis equipment, pulmonary ventilators, nuclear medicine equipment, laboratory equipment for in vitro diagnosis, analyzers, freezers, fertilization tests, and other appliances for detecting, preventing, monitoring, treating, alleviating illness, injury, or disability.
Source: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:197:0038:0071:EN:PDF
