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GENERAL
INTRODUCTION
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On January 27th, 2003, The European Union established two new
directives known as WEEE & RoHS.
1. WEEE: Waste from Electrical & Electronic
Equipment
- This directive requires the
collection and treatment of electronic & electrical equipment
(EEE) at the end-of-the products life.
- Effective from
August 13th, 2005
- The EEE that needs to be
collected has to be properly identified as from Aug 13,
2005.
- The WEEE marking is defined
in EN 50419 and the crossed out wheeled bin with bar is one of the
correct methods.
- Every producer has to
organize a ‘take back supply chain’ or has to register to a
collection scheme in every EU member state.
- Every producer must provide
information on re-use and treatment for new EEE within one year of
placing it onto the market, in order to inform re-use centers,
treatment and recycling facilities.
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Status of
the legislation the 25 member states:
The Perchards report dated July 2005 gives the
latest status of the transposition of the European Directives in
each of the 25 member states. The report is available on the
website of the UK's Department of Trade and
Industry
2. RoHS: Restriction of Certain
Hazardous Substances
- Bans the sale of electrical
and electronic products containing specific toxic contaminants:
Lead, Mercury, Chromium, Cadmium, Brominated flame retardants
(PBBs & PBDEs) in amounts exceeding the set of maximum
concentration values (MCV).
- Certain applications are
exempt and there is also an exemption for spare parts for the
repair of equipment put on the market before 1 July 2006. the
Regulations also do not apply to the re-use of equipment that was
put on the market before the same date.
- For many products, the
decision on whether they are included within the scope of these
Regulations should be reasonably straightforward. However there
are a number of products (particularly in specialised or
industrial sectors) where there may be significant areas of doubt
and uncertainty.
- In the pdf file enclosed you
will find a “decision tree” that could be used by producers to
help determine whether their products might come within the scope of
the RoHS Regulations, but it may be necessary to seek independent
advice to come to a final decision
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- Effective from
July 1st, 2006
- Producers must be able to
demonstrate compliance by submitting technical documentation or
other information to the enforcement authority on request and
retain such documentation for a period of four years after the EEE
is placed on the market.
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Electrical
& electronic equipment includes:
- Large domestic devices
(refrigerator, washing machine, microwave, … )
- Small domestic devices
(vacuum cleaner, iron, hair dryer, …)
- IT & remote
communication devices (mainframe, PC, … )
- Consumer devices (radio, TV,
video, audio, … )
- Illumination (fluorescent,
discharge lamp, … )
- Power Tools (drill, lathe,
polishing tool, lawnmower, … )
- Toys (train/car racing set,
game devices, … )
- Medical devices (radiation
therapy device, electrocardiogram, … )
- Measure & controller
(scale, measuring machine, … )
- Vending machines
(various)
Weee
& RoHS impacts all producers
who manufacture, import, export and distribute to the
EU.
3. RoHS
amendements
1. The EU
Commission recently decided on the official maximum concentration
values for RoHS. For detailed information please
see:
Commission Decision
2005/618/EC of 18 August 2005 amending Directive 2002/95/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council for the purpose of
establishing the maximum concentration values for certain hazardous
substances in electrical and electronic equipment (notified under
document number C(2005) 3143)
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2.
amending for the purposes of adapting to the technical progress the
Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous
substances in electrical and electronic equipment
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4. Useful links
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/
http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/s15002.htm
http://www.dti.gov.uk/sustainability/weee/index.htm
http://www.dti.gov.uk/sustainability/weee/RoHS_Regs_Draft_Guidance.pdf
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/pdf/faq_weee.pdf
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