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
lead
cadmium
mercury
hexavalent chromium
brominated biphenyls
polybrominated diphenyl ethers
TOLERANCE LEVEL
0.1 %
0.01 %
0.1 %
0.1 %
0.1 %
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.
Page last updated 25/7/11
