GEO 5/2015, as subsequently amended by Law no. 127/2024, implements Directive 2012/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 4, 2012, on waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) into national law. The ordinance aims to strengthen legislation for the protection of the environment and public health by targeting the management of WEEE and making economic operators involved in the EEE commercial chain accountable.

The ordinance explicitly lists the categories of entities involved in each stage of the EEE life cycle and establishes specific responsibilities for each. This mechanism ensures a proportional distribution of responsibility among the actors involved in the production, distribution, and final management of waste: producers, retailers, economic operators, collective organizations, authorized representatives, and final users.

Producers are the entities primarily targeted by this ordinance. They are natural or legal persons who, regardless of the sales technique used, meet one of the following conditions:

1. Are based in Romania and manufacture EEE under their own name/trademark;
2. EEE is designed or manufactured and marketed in Romania under their name/trademark;
3. Are based in Romania and resell equipment manufactured by other suppliers in Romania under their own name/trademark, only if the manufacturer's trademark does not appear on the equipment;
4. Are based in Romania and place EEE from a third country or EU Member State on the national market;
5. Are based in another EU Member State or third country and sell EEE by means of distance communication in Romania.

In practice, the issue arose regarding the application of the provisions of GEO No. 5/2015 to European importers who introduce new products onto the European market. The question that arose was whether and to what extent these legal provisions apply to the importer when it is not established in Romania and does not distribute the product directly to consumers, but only supplies it to Romanian entities (e.g., retailers). The competent authority's interpretation is that as long as the foreign company is not established in Romania and supplies a new product to Romanian retailers, it is not considered to be directly placing equipment on the national market. Therefore, under this law, the Romanian entity that makes the product available on the market will be considered the manufacturer and will be governed by the relevant obligations under the law.

Producers have the following obligations:

-To be responsible for EEE placed on the market throughout their entire life cycle;

-To organize and operate individual or collective systems for the collection of waste from EEE placed on the market;

-Achieve the minimum collection rates provided for by law;

-Keep records of the quantities of waste processed throughout the WEEE management process;

-Ensure the financing of processing costs by providing a guarantee when placing EEE on the market;

-Inform (potential) buyers about the costs of WEEE disposal;

-Register in the National Register of Producers, kept by NEPA;

-Declare how WEEE is managed.

Since producers bear most of the obligations, European and national authorities have devised a mechanism for delegating responsibility, designed to assist producers, who often lack the complex administrative and logistical resources that are essential for the proper and efficient management of waste. To this end, the ordinance provides for the possibility of delegating responsibility to collective organizations and, under certain conditions, to authorized representatives.

Collective organizations are economic operators licensed by the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Forests to carry out the exclusive activity of taking over and fulfilling the obligations of producers or authorized representatives acting on their behalf. These economic operators must hold an environmental permit, meet the requirements of national and European standards in this area, as well as to comply with the obligations set forth under Law no. 127/2024.

An authorized representative is an authorized natural or legal person established in Romania to whom a producer established in another EU Member State entrusts the fulfillment of its obligations. The appointment of an authorized representative is optional when the manufacturer sells EEE in Romania and mandatory when the manufacturer based in Romania sells EEE in another country where it does not have a registered office.

Retailers are the second category of traders for whom the ordinance sets out obligations regarding the management of waste generated by electronic and electrical equipment. Retailers are natural or legal persons in the supply chain who make this equipment available on the market. This legal status may be combined with that of manufacturer, in which case the obligations imposed by law on manufacturers also become enforceable, but the ordinance does not provide for the possibility of delegating retailers' obligations to other entities, as is the case with manufacturers.

The ordinance imposes the following obligations on retailers:

-To take back WEEE on a "one-to-one" basis, free of charge, under the same conditions as those for the delivery of the new product, if the equipment is of an equivalent type and has performed the same functions;

-To inform the buyer before the purchase of the product about their obligation to take back WEEE;

-To ensure the free collection of very small WEEE from end users, if the EEE sales area exceeds 400 m2;

-To hand over the collected WEEE to collection centers;

-Inform (potential) buyers about the costs of WEEE disposal;

All these economic entities are required to submit data on separately collected WEEE to the National Environmental Protection Agency for continuous monitoring of the degree of achievement of collection rates.

Thus, GEO 5/2015 provides companies not only with a complex set of obligations, but also with an essential mechanism for managing them by delegating part of the responsibility to collective organizations or authorized representatives. For producers, this option allows for better cost planning and a significant reduction in the risks associated with WEEE management. Unlike retailers, who do not enjoy the same flexibility, producers can outsource the most costly processes and thus achieve more predictable control over financial resources. The correct application of GEO 5/2015 contributes to a significant reduction in the amount of electrical and electronic waste released into the environment, thus protecting natural resources and the quality of air, water, and soil. In addition, compliance with legal obligations reduces risks to public health and supports the creation of safer and more responsible communities.

Co-authors:
Ioana Chiper Zah
Tatiana Țapu