The playing field in Europe regarding treatment of WEEE is not level, both among and within Member States. Depollution performance, the extent to which raw materials are recycled, safety measures and monitoring and control procedures differ substantially. Recent research indicates that, more than half of the WEEE generated in the EU is currently not treated in accordance with requirements of Directive 2012/19/EU on WEEE, which results in a lower quality of recycling of WEEE within Europe.
The EN 50625 Series of standards that is nearly completed at CENELEC, addresses that challenge, and is meant to become the reference standard for WEEE treatment in Europe. Adherence to the normative requirements in the EN 50625 Series provides assurance that WEEE is collected, transported and treated in compliance with the Directive.