Abstract:

The development of the digital economy generates countless effects on society and on the environment. The creation of the new business models via the internet and the large scale employment of the information technology, which guarantees the economic growth in conditions of increased environmental protection, decreasing the consumption of materials in favour of capitalizing information and knowledge. On the other hand, the digital economy generates growth in the number of electric and electronic equipments possessed by the consumers, with a fast rate of moral wear, thus transforming in waste. The management of electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE) is a priority for the European countries, due to very recent concerns regarding the implementation of a management system and the alignment to the European Union directives in the field. The paper intends to present the environmental impact of digital economy represented by the increase of the electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE) and the evolution of the WEEE situation in the European Union.