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 1. What are the WEEE and ROHS Directives?
WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. ROHS stands for the Restriction of Certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment . Both the WEEE and ROHS Directives are pieces of European legislation which require all European member States, to improve the way we manage WEEE.
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2. Why do we have these Directives, are they really neccessary?
Implementing the Directives' requirements should reduce risks to human
health and environment through the proper treatment of waste and a reduction
in hazardous substances. We also expect benefits through the conservation of
raw materials and of energy resources. For most of the products covered by
the study, we found that the Directives should lead to a reduction in air
pollution, including CO2 and ozone depleting substances, and water toxicity by
more than 50% when compared to existing practice. In particular, the WEEE
Directive will help us to divert between 133,000 and 339,300 tonnes of waste
from landfill and the ROHS Directive should help future recycling through
reducing the need for special handling, allowing a reduction in recycling costs.
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3. Which government agency is responsible for enforcing RoHS?
In the UK the enforcement authority is the National Weights and Measures Laboratory. NWML has stated that:
It is our policy that:
- Enforcement should be intelligence led and based on an assessment of risk
- Form filling and data requests will be kept to a minimum
- Information and data can be sent to us electronically or in which ever way is convenient to the supplier
- Enforcement actions will not be disproportionate
We will assist industry to comply with the regulations by:
- Providing the best information and advice we can
- Working with stakeholders
- Supporting compliance seminars and other events
- Being accessible and responding to enquiries promptly
We will help those that are aiming to comply and pursue vigorously those that intend to flout compliance.
Further details of the NWMLs activities can be found on their web-site - www.rohs.gov.uk.
If you have any questions regarding the work of NWML or require clarification on an RoHS definitions NWML can be contacted via the following:
e-mail - rohs@nwml.gov.uk
General enquiry line - 020 8943 7227
Post to RoHS Enforcement Team
NWML
Stanton Avenue
Teddington
Middlesex
TW11 0JZ
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4. How will the requirements of the RoHS Directive be enforced?
Each EU member state will appoint a regulator who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with RoHS. They may do this by various methods including:
- making test purchases and submitting products for independent testing
- requesting compliance information directly from manufacturers
- visits to manufacturers to discuss compliance issues
- encouraging competitors / others in the supply chain to notify them of any company they suspect of non-compliance
However the strongest "enforcement" is likely to come from manufacturers whose products are within the scope of RoHS. As part of their RoHS programmes, these companies are working closely with component suppliers to ensure that the finished product is compliant.
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5. What are the penalties of not complying with RoHS?
The RoHS Directive states that "Member States shall determine penalties applicable to breaches of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive. The penalties thus provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive."
In the UK the legislation states that:
The RoHS Regulations introduce the following offences:
Contravening or failing to comply with the prohibition on hazardous substances in the RoHS Regulations could result in those held responsible facing a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (currently £5,000) on summary conviction or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.
Those failing to submit compliance documentation at the request of the enforcement authority may be liable to a fine up to level five on the standard scale.
The defence of "due diligence" is available where a person can show he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing an offence. This may include reference to an act or default or information given by a third party, in which case it must be accompanied by information identifying the third party, or that information in possession of the person making the claim.
The Regulations also provide for the "liability of persons other than the principle offender" and allow a third party to be prosecuted as though they had committed the offence.
Where an offence by a corporate body is shown to have been committed with the consent, connivance or through neglect of any director, manager or similar officer of the corporate body, they shall be regarded as having committed the offence as well as the corporate body.
N.B. The biggest penalties however are likely to be the loss of reputation and market share resulting from non-compliance being discovered and publicised.
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6. Are WEEE and ROHS 'Single Market' Directives?
'Single Market' Directives are a specific type of EU legislation that apply to
all member States and must be implemented in the same way to prevent
differences in interpretation across the Union. This is especially important for
Directives setting standards for products, since it means that manufacturers
won't have to make different products for each member State.
The WEEE Directive is not a single market Directive. It sets minimum criteria
that member States may exceed if they wish. The ROHS Directive is a single
market Directive, since it sets product standards.
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7. Are the two Directives related?
Yes. The WEEE Directive aims to raise levels of recycling of WEEE and
encourage products to be designed with dismantling and recycling in mind. A
key part of this is to make manufacturers and importers ('producers') of
electrical and electronic equipment responsible for meeting the costs of the
collection, treatment and recovery of WEEE. If products are designed with this
in mind, there is an opportunity to reduce these costs.
The ROHS Directive fits into this by reducing the amount of hazardous
substances used in products. This lessens the risks to recycling staff and means
that less special handling is required, again leading to a reduction in recycling
costs.
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8. What types of equipment do the Directives cover?
The WEEE Directive includes a list of categories of electrical and electronic equipment. These are presented in Annex 1A of the Directive. There are 10 categories ranging from large household appliances to automatic dispensers. Annex 1B of the Directives lists some example products within each of these categories. However, this is only a list of examples and other products, which fit into the categories, are also included. The ROHS Directive applies to the same products as covered in the Annexes to the WEEE Directive with the exclusion of categories 8 and 9 (medical devices and monitoring & control instruments).
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9. Who is a producer?
A 'producer' of electrical or electronic products includes companies, which manufacture electrical or electronic products, but also importers of electrical and electronic products. Producers will also include retailers who sell their own branded products and assembly companies selling their own branded products.
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10. What is the definition of "producer" under RoHS?
The RoHS Directive makes the producer responsible for compliance and defines the producer as follows:
"producer" means any person who, irrespective of the selling technique used, (including by means of distance communication according to Directive 97/7/EC):
- manufactures and sells electrical and electronic equipment under his own brand,
- resells under his own brand equipment produced by other suppliers, a reseller not being regarded as the "producer" if the brand of the producer appears on the equipment, or
- imports electrical and electronic equipment on a professional basis into a Member State.
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11. What does 'producer responsibility' mean?
Producer responsibility means making the 'producer of a product' responsible for the product once it becomes waste. At the moment in some EU states, the company or individual disposing of waste is responsible for the costs of its disposal or recycling. The general public pay for waste management through council tax payments and businesses pay waste collection companies to remove and manage their waste. In the future, producers of electrical products will be paying for the management of their products once they become waste.
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12. My products are not currently within the scope of RoHS, will this change?
The scope of RoHS is currently restricted to 8 of the WEEE categories and excludes medical devices and monitoring and control instruments. These exclusions will be reviewed and it is possible that further categories may be added at a future date.
The RoHS Directive states that exemptions will be reviewed at least every four years or four years after an item is added to the list. Therefore the current exemptions will be reviewed before 2010.
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13. When do products have to be RoHS compliant?
RoHS requires that products "put on the market" from 1st July 2006 must be compliant. There has been much confusion over what "put on the market" actually means. The following is our understanding of this concept:
- the product is physically in the EU (not in transit to the EU)
- the product is complete and requires no further assembly before sale
- the product is available to customers (for imports this may be taken to be the point at which it clears customs, for products manufactured in the EU this may be indicated by the transfer from manufacturing into the distribution chain)
Products manufactured before 1st July 2006 and merely stockpiled in a warehouse would not therefore be considered to be on the market until they are actually made available to customers. If this occurs after 1st July these products should be RoHS compliant.
N.B. "putting on the market" does not necessarily require a financial transaction to occur. If a product is transferred to the distribution function of an organisation it is "on the market". Product which has been donated free of charge has also been placed "on the market".
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14. Does RoHS apply to prototypes and equipment built for "own use"?
RoHS only applies to products within the specified categories which are "put on the market" (see definition of "put on the market") from 1st July 2006. Experimental designs, prototypes and equipment built for "own use" are exempt as they would not be considered to have been put on the market.
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15. My product is supplied with a number of accessories, are they affected by RoHS?
RoHS does not affect consumables (e.g. ink cartridges, drill bits etc.), instruction manuals or packaging. However any accessory (e.g. cables, battery chargers, tool case etc.) supplied for use with a product that is within one of the 8 categories specified in RoHS is considered to be part of the product and therefore needs to comply.
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16. We hear much more about the WEEE Directive than the ROHS Directive. Why?
The ROHS Directive is legally more 'clear cut', however commercially it is
potentially more important. It requires producers to ensure that products they
'place on the market' do not contain lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium and
certain brominated flame retardants (polybrominated biphenyls and
polybrominated diphenyl ethers) from 1 July 2006.
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17. What does 'placed on the market' mean?
The ROHS Directive restricts what kind substances can be present in electrical
products sold on the European market. If a product contains one of the
restricted substances, it will be illegal to sell this in Europe after 1 July 2006.
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18. Are there any exemptions?
The Annex of ROHS Directive lists a number of exemptions where the
restricted substances can continue to be used. This list of exceptions can be
reviewed at European level. Additional exemptions can be proposed when the
elimination or substitution with other substances is technically or scientifically
impracticable or would cause other undesirable impacts. However, this review
process will take time and any further exemptions will need to be supported
sufficient and suitable evidence. It will need to be agreed at European level.
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19. What about low levels of the restricted substances which may be found naturally in particular materials or components?
The Directive recognises that low levels of the restricted substances may be
found in electrical products or components. A committee at European level
will be establishing maximum concentration levels of the restricted substances,
which will allow certain minimum levels to exist in products.
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20. Can we continue to sell products containing the restricted substances outside Europe?
As the ROHS Directive is a European Directive, it will be implemented in all
European Member States. Countries outside the European Union will not need
to impose the same restrictions however they may choose to do so under their
own domestic legislation.
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21. Will the cost of components rise as a result of RoHS?
Inevitably component manufacturers are incurring significant costs to make their products compliant, update documentation, cleanse stock etc. The electronics marketplace is highly competitive and many manufacturers are reluctant to increase their prices and risk losing market-share to a competitor. Some manufacturers have indicated that prices will increase, but this is not universal and the level of increase varies.
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22. What training will my staff require to manage the transition to RoHS?
The implications of RoHS are widespread, affecting everything from purchasing and stock management, to manufacturing and servicing. Consequently there is no simple answer to this question.
The following highlights some of the key functions which may require training:
- Designers will need to understand whether the new product needs to be RoHS compliant and the manufacturing methods to be used
- Purchasing require an awareness of RoHS and the transition plans of suppliers to effectively manage inventory
- Logistics will need to manage stock to ensure that compliant and non-compliant products are not mixed and understand the reasons why
- QA will need to understand the impact of RoHS on parts used, and the implications for product design and testing, documentation etc.
- Manufacturing will need to review soldering processes to assess the implications of lead-free soldering
- Operators may require re-training in the use of equipment, hand soldering using lead-free solders
- Product inspectors will need to understand that lead-free solder joints look different to leaded solder joints
- The service department need to understand the implications for maintaining products put on the market before and after 1st July 2006
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23. Will component obsolescence increase as a result of RoHS?
Overall there is likely to be an increase in obsolescence as a result of manufacturers discontinuing non-compliant components and replacing them with compliant alternatives. If the old version is still required it may be necessary to:
- identify an alternative source
- identify an alternative component
- undertake a "last time buy"
The key is regular dialogue with the manufacturer / supplier to identify forthcoming obsolescence issues and agree appropriate solutions.
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