Overview of WEEE & RoHS Directives

Michael Biggs

Hager

BEAMA MEMBER HAGER CHAIR WORKING GROUP ON

WEEE & RoHS

Why we know about WEEE & RoHS

• BEAMA sits on all relevant UK Govt working groups on both Directives

• BEAMA is a key member of ORGALINE– The European association for the electrical

and mechanical industries– The main liaison group with the European

Commission including on WEEE and RoHS

What we will cover today

• The technical background

• Timescales

• Scope clarification

• Implications for buyers

Overview of WEEE & RoHS Directives

• Why two directives?

• Legal bases

• Scopes

• Implementation

• Role of Orgalime

WEEE & ROHS - legal bases

• WEEE directive is under article 175

• Article 175 directives specify minimum requirements.

• This gives the member states the possibility to go further in their own WEEE implementing legislation.

• Producer/putting on the market – national context

• RoHS directive is an article 95.

• Article 95 requires same transposition across EU

• Intent of Article 95 is to avoid RoHS material bans being applied differently.

• Freedom to add to the WEEE scope does not extend to RoHS

• Putting on the market – EU context

WEEE - what is covered?• 10 main categories: large household appliances;

small household appliances; IT and telecoms; consumer equipment; lighting equipment (not household luminaires or filament light bulbs); electrical & electronic tools; toys, leisure & sports equipment; medical devices, monitoring and control instruments; and automatic dispensers.

• Equipment which is part of another type of equipment not covered by the directive is not itself in the scope.

• Components are not in the WEEED in their own right (only insofar as they are part of an equipment which is in, and are still attached when discarded.)

RoHS - what is covered? • All products in the WEEE Directive . • Except medical equipment and monitoring

and control equipment.• Household luminaires & light bulbs are

included.• Otherwise, equipment not in the scope of

WEEE is not in the scope of RoHS* either(*in the view of the Commission, UK Govt and several other member states.)

RoHS implementation • From 1 July 2006 producers cannot put on the EU

market products falling in WEEE-scope categories 1,2,3,4, 5,6,7 and 10, plus domestic luminaires and light bulbs, which contain more than 0.1% by weight in homogenous materials, of: lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBBs and PBDEs, and 0.01% of cadmium.

• There are some exempted applications of these substances, and requests for others.

• Categories 8 & 9 are not out of the scope indefinitely.• NWML is the Govt-appointed enforcer.

RoHS – what is not required

• Declarations of conformity are not required.• Materials declarations are not required .• Marking to indicate compliance is not required. • The WEEE’s wheelie bin is not a RoHS compliance mark.• Products which do not fall under RoHS do not have to meet

its limits, nor do their component parts. • It is completely legal to buy and sell such products &

components.• The responsibility for the product’s compliance with RoHS

lies with the final product’s producer. • The component supplier is not responsible for checking what

his component is being purchased for.

WEEE - Draft Requirements for producers

• Producers must join/be a scheme• Get a registration number via scheme• Provide registration number to distributors at time of sale• Wheelie bin, producer and date mark all in-scope WEEE• Report B2C & B2B sales data separately• May handle B2C and B2B responsibilities separately• Provide product information• Keep records for 6 years• May show visible fee.• Envt Agencies are Govt-appointed enforcers

WEEE – Draft UK Timetable for producers

• Issued for consultation 25 July 06 (closes 17 Oct)• Laid before Parliament Dec 06• Entry into force 1 January 07• Join approved compliance scheme by 15 March 07• Product marking/infn available from 1 April 07 • Provide registration number from 1 July 07• Full producer obligations (B2B) from 1 April 07 • Full producer obligations (B2C) from 1 July 07 • B2C take-back from 1 July 07

ORGALIME

Orgalime, the European Engineering Industries Association, represents 3 industrial branches (metal-working, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering) that manufacture over 27% of total EU manufacturing output (initial estimates put the industry's output at 1575 billion euro in 2005). Orgalime has 34 member trade federations in 23 European countries. The industry represents more than one quarter of the output and a third of the exports of the EU's manufacturing industries. It is the largest manufacturing sector in Europe, and the largest industrial employer in the EU25, providing some 10 million jobs.

WEEE & RoHS - clarification of scopes • Directives set out broad scopes

- indicative lists- no comprehensive lists- some grey areas

• Manufacturer’s decision- must show due diligence- must work with other manufacturers- preferably at EU level

WEEE & RoHS - clarification of scopes

By working together – mfr agreement at product group level– advice from DTI– Commission’s FAQs– liaison with other EU mfrs through

• Sector Committees, and• Orgalime WEEE task force

Our industry achievedcross-border product agreement

Resulting in cross-border/cross sector mfr guidance

Example: Orgalime clarification of scopes

Implications for buyers

UK Govt Position

• Exact guidance on the RoHS directive can be given now – it is implemented in the UK

• Exact guidance on the WEEE directive cannot be given now – it has NOT been implemented in the UK– Therefore BEAMA and it’s members cannot give any

guaranteed positions until the legislation is published– Therefore advice given today on those product sectors that

the industry believes to be in or out of scope are based on discussions thus far

– There are some clear guidelines published in the recent UK consultation, but this is under discussion with the Commission

Implications for buyers

• However….– BEAMA expects that the majority of sectors

within the BEAMA membership will conclude that they are out of scope

• Based on the definition of a fixed installation

– Some sectors probably will be considered to be in scope

– Some will definitely be in scope

Implications for buyers Conclusions RoHS

• The legislation is in force• The producers are responsible for

compliance• BEAMA members are all briefed on how

to comply• Some product sectors outside the scope

are choosing to meet the RoHS limits

Implications for buyers Conclusions WEEE

• The decision on products being in or out of scope is with the company that places the product on the market ie not the wholesaler, distributor or installer– But if a wholesaler has own brands they become

responsible– In these cases we recommend that the company

contacts the relevant trade bodies for the product sector to gauge opinions of other producers

• If considered in scope the relevant compliance schemes are already in place

Thank you for your attention.