The Ordinance on the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment prescribes the conditions, procedures and goals of EE waste management in order to prevent its generation, ensure its collection, storage and processing, reuse, recycling and other methods of recovery in accordance with Directive 2012/19/EU. Also, the obligations and responsibilities of all persons involved in the life cycle of EE equipment are prescribed, among other things, requirements regarding the production of EE equipment, methods and conditions of labeling, obligations to keep records and submit reports, obligations of the producer and the manner of their fulfillment, content of the program for the collection of EE waste and other questions, lists and obligations regarding EE equipment and waste, all for the purpose of achieving the prescribed goals.

By managing waste, costs for raw materials are reduced, energy is saved, people live better and healthier, and a better future is ensured. For these reasons, clear goals have been set at the European level so that all member states work together in the same direction and achieve a synergistic effect.

Electrical and electronic waste

EE waste, as well as waste batteries and accumulators and waste packaging, is a special category of waste for which a system of extended responsibility of product producers has been established as a set of measures taken in the Republic of Croatia to ensure that product producers bear financial or financial and organizational responsibility for the “waste” phase in the product life cycle.

Electrical and electronic devices and equipment (EE equipment) represents all products and their components that for their primary and proper operation depend on electricity or electromagnetic fields as the primary source of energy, …

Electrical and electronic waste (EE waste) is EE equipment that is waste in the sense of the law governing waste management in the Republic of Croatia, including all components, sub-assemblies and consumables that form part of the product at the time of disposal.

Am I/my company obliged to pay?

Producers of EE equipment are obliged to pay a fee for EE waste management in order to cover the costs of separate collection and processing of EE waste in the system managed by the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency.

The producer of EE equipment represents a legal or physical person – a craftsman, who puts EE equipment on the market in the Republic of Croatia, that is, a person who, regardless of the method of sale:

• has its business headquarters in the Republic of Croatia and on the territory of the Republic of Croatia resells equipment produced by other suppliers under its own name or trademark, whereby the reseller is not considered a “producer” if the producer’s name or trademark is on the equipment,
• has its business headquarters in the Republic of Croatia and produces EE equipment under its own name or trademark, or had EE equipment designed or produced that it sells under its name or trademark within the Republic of Croatia,
• has its business headquarters in the Republic of Croatia and in the Republic of Croatia on a professional basis puts EE equipment on the market from a third country or from another EU member state or
• using long-distance communication, sells EE equipment directly to households or users who are not households in the Republic of Croatia, and has its business headquarters in another EU member state or a third country.

The payer is obliged to report the mentioned activities, i.e. the amount of products and/or equipment, and receives a Decision for the same, which determines the amount of compensation he is obliged to pay.

A person who has a business seat in another EU member state or a third country, and places EE equipment on the market in the Republic of Croatia, is considered a “producer” in terms of the provisions of the Ordinance and is obliged to authorize in writing a registered person in the Republic of Croatia, who is, as authorized representative responsible for fulfilling the obligations of that producer in accordance with the Ordinance.

A producer with headquarters in the Republic of Croatia and using remote communication to sell EE equipment directly to households or other users in another EU member state where it does not have its business headquarters, is obliged to appoint an authorized representative in writing as a person who is on the territory of that member state EU responsible for fulfilling the obligations of that producer in accordance with Directive 2012/19/EU.

Foreign companies must have an authorized representative in Croatia.

Design, production and labeling of EE equipment

The producer is obliged to ensure that the EE equipment that is placed on the market is designed and produced in such a way that the use of hazardous substances in the EE equipment is reduced to the minimum possible while respecting the restrictions, that it is possible to disassemble and recover EE waste, especially the reuse and recycling of components and materials, that the EE equipment is in accordance with the technical requirements for eco-design of the product, that in the production of the EE equipment, recycled material was used to the greatest extent possible, but also that the EE equipment that becomes EE waste does not pose a danger or damage to human health and the environment, as well as an obstacle in the management of EE waste.

The producer must also ensure that the EE equipment is legibly and in a visible place clearly and indelibly marked with a mark on the separate collection of EE waste, and if this is not possible due to size or function, it must be printed on the packaging, instructions for use and warranty card. Also, the EE equipment must contain a legible and visible inscription about the producer and a mark that the EE equipment was put on the market after August 13, 2005.

What if the products are exported?

The producer/importer who paid a fee to the Fund during import/production has the right to a refund of the fee in case of product export. For all management fees, in order to exercise the right to a refund, it is necessary to submit a completed prescribed form and attach to it the mandatory supporting documentation. It should be noted that for some fees there is a clearly prescribed deadline for submitting the refund request, and it is necessary to take care of it.

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