European Union, Established Business, Product Safety

Electrical and electronic equipment

May 03, 2011, Anna Sieg

The European Union has issued legal requirements aimed at minimising the refuse generated by electrical and electronic equipment, as well as promoting reuse, recycling and other forms of waste recovery. The idea is to reduce the amount of refuse that needs to be disposed of and help companies in their efforts to protect the environment.

To support these processes of recovering and disposing of waste electrical and electronic equipment and to protect human health, regulations have been passed restricting the use of hazardous substances in these devices.

These provisions were formalised in the 2002/96/EC directive relating to waste electrical and electronic equipment and in the 2002/95/EC directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
The directives have also been abbreviated to RoHS (restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances) and WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment).

To find out more about the current extent of incorporation at national level, please see EUR-Lex 2002/95/EC directive RoHS and 2002/96/96EC directive WEEEor ask the Osec Exporthelp. They will gladly provide you with details of contact addresses and registration/collection points.

Additional information on the 2002/95/EC directive (RoHS)

The 2002/95/EC directive restricting the use of specific hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment took effect on 13th February 2003 and had to be incorporated into law at national level by 13th August 2004.

The aim of the directive is to harmonise the regulations of the Member States on the restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. The intention is also to promote the protection of health, and the environmentally-friendly recycling and disposal of such waste equipment.

As a result, specific hazardous substances can no longer be used in electrical equipment from 1st July 2006.

This directive covers the same scope as the directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), but with two exceptions: medical devices and control/monitoring equipment are not covered by the directive.

Scope
The following categories of electrical and electronic equipment are covered:

Large and small household appliances
Computing and communications equipment
Consumer electronics
Lighting
Power tools (except large stationary industrial tools)
Toys and sports equipment
Automatic dispensers

According to information from the manufacturer, the product contains no substances at levels exceeding the permissible maximum concentration limits set by the RoHs directive (see directive under Article 5, paragraph 1a).

Deadline
As of 1st July 2006, lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) must be replaced by other substances in electrical and electronic equipment. A number of exceptions are listed in the directive's appendix.

Additional information on the 2002/96/EC directive (WEEE)

The 2002/96/EC directive relating to waste electrical and electronic equipment took effect on 13th February 2003 and had to be incorporated into national law by the EU Member States by 13th August 2004.

Its primary aim was to minimise the refuse generated by such equipment, as well as promoting the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such refuse with a view to reducing the amount of refuse requiring disposal.

The Member States were supposed to ensure that systems for collecting waste from electrical products were in place by August 2005. Unfortunately, this has not yet happened in all cases. You can find a roundup on the current state of national incorporation and addresses of registration centres and/or collection systems in our Overview list.

Scope
The following categories of electrical and electronic equipment are covered:

Large and small household appliances
Computing and communications equipment
Consumer electronics
Lighting
Power tools (except large stationary industrial tools)
Toys and sports equipment
Medical devices (except any implanted and infected products)
Control and monitoring equipment
Automatic dispensers

Financing
Since 13th August 2005, manufacturers have had to finance the collection from collection points, as well as the handling, recycling and environmentally-responsible disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment from domestic premises.

As far as products brought into circulation after 13th August 2005 are concerned, every manufacturer is responsible for financing the disposal of their products. When a manufacturer brings a product into circulation, they must provide a rock-solid guarantee that they will finance the disposal of their waste equipment. This guarantee can take the form of manufacturer participation in a financing system, a recycling insurance scheme, or a ring-fenced bank account.

As far as the financing of the disposal of products brought into circulation before 13th August 2005 is concerned (“historic waste equipment”), all existing manufacturers must make a contribution to the costs involved, based, for example, on market share.

Registration structures and the type of collection system used vary considerably between Member States.

Compulsory marking of electrical and electronic equipment
Manufacturers are obliged to mark electrical and electronic devices brought into circulation after 13th August 2005 with the symbol representing a crossed-out wheelie bin.

Links to WEEE and RoHS

Restriction

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