JMB information sheet - waste electrical & electronic equipment

INFORMATION SHEET

WASTE ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
- THE "WEEE" & "RoHS" DIRECTIVES

WEEE

The "WEEE" Directive lays down requirements covering the design of electrical and electronic equipment* to ensure that recycling and reuse at the end of the product service life is possible, the separate collection of such waste and the treatment of it to ensure that the relevant quantities are recovered for reuse. This Directive came into force in some member states when it was published in the EU's Official Journal on 13th February 2003 : after a number of delays, UK implementing Regulations are currently at the draft stage (see below). Directive 2003/108/EC amends the original "WEEE" Directive, but this refers only to financial matters.

The Department of Trade and Industry issued a document on 10th August 2005, advising that the Government had decided to implement the producer responsibility and retailer take-back obligations in respect of WEEE in June 2006, rather than January 2006.

After many delays, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2006 were finally laid before Parliament on 12th December 2006 as Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 3289 and came into force on 2nd January 2007. They require companies affected to join an approved compliance scheme by 15th March 2007. Full details can be found in the Regulations themselves.

RoHS

The "RoHS" Directive's stated aim is to reduce the risks to health and the environment when waste electrical and electronic equipment is recycled.

From 1st July 2006, new electrical & electronic equipment placed on the market may not contain any of the following substances in excess of the following tolerance levels :-

CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCE

TOLERANCE
LEVEL

lead

0.1 %

cadmium

0.01 %

mercury

0.1 %

hexavalent chromium

0.1 %

brominated biphenyls

0.1 %

polybrominated diphenyl ethers

0.1 %

The restrictions do not apply to the provision of spare parts for equipment produced before the implementation date. The UK regulations implementing "RoHS" have now been published - see details below.

There is now an official UK Internet site covering RoHS - click HERE to access it. The "DUE DILIGENCE" section of the site has a readable and practical guide to the steps necessary to ensure compliance with RoHS.

NB We provide this information in the belief that it is an accurate interpretation of the Directives listed above. Final responsibility for compliance, however, must always remain with the person using JMB products.

* "electrical and electronic equipment" is defined as equipment operating at or below 1000V AC and at or below 1500 V DC and which falls within the following categories :-

large household appliances
small household appliances
IT and telecommunications equipment
consumer equipment
lighting equipment
electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools)
toys, leisure and sports equipment
automatic dispensers

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

1.
Directive 2002/96/EC waste electrical and electronic equipment "WEEE"

2.
Directive 2003/108/EC amends the above

3.
Directive 2002/95/EC restricts the use of certain hazardous substances "RoHS"

4.
OJ L 214, 18.08.2005 confirms the proposed tolerance levels for "RoHS"

5.
UK DTI document dated 10.08.2005 regarding WEEE implementation date

6.
Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No. 2748) - RoHS implementing Regulations

7. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 3289)

We can supply copies of any of these reference documents in electronic form.

This page will be updated as and when further developments in the implementation of WEEE and RoHS occur.
Please feel free to contact us for futher information and help.

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