2006.11.17

Under the act on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) of July 29, 2005 and under the Municipal Cleanliness and Waste Disposal Act of September 13, 1996:

• Consumer is obligated to return waste electrical and electronic equipment to a collector of such equipment (article 35 of the WEEE act)
• Consumer may not dispose of waste electrical and electronic equipment with other waste materials (article 36 of the WEEE act)
• Leaving such equipment in an inappropriate place (e.g. in a trash can/waste container, leaving it outside an apartment building or e.g. abandoning it in the woods) is punishable by fine, from PLN 20 to PLN 5000 (article 74 of the WEEE act)
• As of July 1, 2006, consumers have the right to leave their waste electrical and electronic equipment in a retail outlet which accepts waste equipment in amounts not exceeding the amount of new equipment sold, on a “one for one” basis, i.e. a refrigerator for a refrigerator, a television set for a television set, a hair dryer for a hair dryer, a fluorescent lamp for a fluorescent lamp, etc. ( article 42, point 1 of the WEEE act)
• Consumers have the right to leave their waste electrical and electronic equipment free of charge at a collection point. (Article 37 point 2, in connection with article 35 of the WEEE act)
• As of October 1, 2006, the addresses of waste equipment collection points operating within a municipality are to be made available to consumers. This information should be posted by the municipal authorities on the municipality's website or announced in other customary ways, e.g. on a bulletin board (article 3, section 2, point 6 a of the MCWDA Act)