On 13th February 2003 the European Union has adopted two Directives that address the problems of the excessive levels of electrical and electronic waste. The purpose is to control the disposal of waste of electrical and electronics equipment (EEE) and restrict use of certain hazardous substances in these products to protect the human health and environment.
The following hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment have to be substituted: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).
The maximum concentration by weight of each of the above-mentioned substances in a homogeneous material (*) is shown in the table below:
| Material | Maximum allowed concentration by weight |
| Lead (Pb) and lead compounds | 0.1% |
| Mercury (Hg) and mercury compounds | 0.1% |
| Cadmium (Cd) and cadmium compounds | 0.01% |
| Hexavalent chromium compounds (Cr6+ or CrVI) | 0.1% |
| Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) | 0.1% |
| Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) | 0.1% |
(*) Homogeneous material is a unit which can't be mechanically disjointed