Within the EEC (European Economic Community), the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was agreed on February 13, 2003, along with the related Directive on Restrictions of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS).

The picture (above) of the WEEE MAN, which was sponsored by the Royal Society of Arts and Canon Europe, was taken at The Eden Project in the UK. It indicates the problem with recycling of electronic goods. This model was constructed to show the likely volume of waste electronic equipment an average UK person will create in a lifetime. The Eden Project, one of the leading visitor attractions in the UK, is an active promoter of good ecological practices. The timing of this display is significant as the first implementations of WEEE should already have started, and the linked RoHS directive commences in mid 2006.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) aims to minimize the impacts of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment during their lifetimes and when they become waste. It applies to a huge spectrum of products. It encourages and sets criteria for the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment. It makes producers responsible for financing most of these activities. Private householders are to be able to return products for recycling without charge.