The EU WEEE-Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) obliges producers of nearly all electrical and electronic equipments to organize and finance the waste management of used electrical and electronic products. Producer responsibility includes labeling requirements, providing information to end-users, to channel and to treatment facilities, submitting sales and recovery data to the government, take back and recycling obligations for the EEE as well as the control and monitoring of the whole product and waste stream.

Within Toshiba the requirements from the WEEE-Directive are integrated in a wide range of corporate environmental activities. Throughout product development, Toshiba assesses the environmental impacts of product usage while striving to maximize recovery of resources and recycling of end-of-use products.

We have followed the development of the WEEE-Directive since the beginning of 1998 by participating in related work groups on national and European level. In April 2003, we established a European Department responsible for WEEE implementation in Europe. Via this central function, we are coordinating all necessary measures to be in compliance with the WEEE-Directive and corresponding national laws of each EU-Member state. These measures include among others:

• registration in all EU-countries directly or via sales partner
• reporting of quantities put on the market
• labeling of our products
• setup of or participation in take-back systems in respective countries

Toshiba develops and provides environmentally conscious products and services which contribute to the reduction of environmental impacts throughout the product life cycle. We implement product design that uses recycled materials for PCs, adopt materials that are easy to recycle, and promote materials recycling.

The aim of recycling is to gain an environmental benefit by means of re-use, reconditioning or recovery of material. Dedicated recycling sites ensure that environmentally harmful components are properly handled and securely disposed. Toshiba and its partners have contracted competent service providers to ensure the best recycling of our products.

Across Europe, our customers have the option to discard old Toshiba products free of charge at municipal collection points. The manner in which the separate collection is arranged differs per municipality. Information, such as the address and opening hours of the waste collection point, can be found in the municipal guide or on the website of your municipality. Another option to return old equipment might be via the store where you purchased your new equipment.

Further information concerning take back and recycling of products and country-specific information on recycling partners can be found here.

In addition, we are going to offer individual take back programs for Toshiba laptops to our commercial customers.

In Germany, for example, our commercial customers can return their Toshiba laptops to our collection center. From this point, we take care of proper recycling of the laptop. For more details, please click here.

If you need recycling information about our products according to Article 11 of the WEEE-Directive, please contact: recycling-information@toshiba-teg.com