Product compliance WEEE and RoHS:

-          WEEE labelling – crossed out wheelie bin

-          Conforming Product construction

-          Ban of hazardous substances

 

WEEE obligations:

         i.            Registration

-          Producer must register based upon categories / types of equipment

-          with regulating agency, local clearing centre or recycling organisation (whichever approach applies locally)

        ii.            Reporting

-          estimated reports/report of sales data by country

-          sales reporting incl. product information categories/types of equipment, net weight, quantities and/or other details (e.g. Austria: side length > 50 cm) 

-          reporting of recycling/recovery quantities

      iii.            Financial Guarantee for new  household waste

-          guarantee (collective scheme/blocked bank account/insurance) for future WEEE costs

      iv.            Product Information

-          for new product launches within one year, product recycling information to reuse centres and recycling facilities

        v.            Take back + financing

-          take back, recycling, recovery

-          allocated according to producers’ market share

-          independently by contracting to third parties or joining collective schemes

-          costs of collection (acc. to some EU country legislations the collection from end user is a municipal obligation, however producers have to provide collection containers and have to cover costs for transport/return of collected goods from such collecting points)

-          Non-household WEEE

·          new waste: costs of treatment, recovery and disposal of the waste unless otherwise agreed with business users.

·          historical waste: in case of replacement purchases (otherwise business user responsibility)

 

RoHS obligations:

New EEE must not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). 

• When: products placed for the first time on the European market by 1 July 2006 on
• Who: Producer is responsible = company who first places EEE on the European market
• Exemptions: Certain applications are exempted from the requirements of the Directive including mercury in certain types of fluorescent lamps, lead in the glass of cathode ray tubes, electronic components and

 

       fluorescent tubes, lead in electronic ceramic parts and hexavalent chromium as an anti-corrosion of the 

       carbon steel cooling system in absorption refrigerators.

• Maximum concentration levels: 0,1 % maximum concentration value by weight in homogeneous materials for lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBBs and PBDEs. Homogeneous means a unit that can not be mechanically disjoined in single materials.  

 

Who is responsible under local national law:

 

1^st level: “Producer” =

-          manufacturer situated in the respective country selling under own brand

-          reseller (situated in the respective country) of third party products if reseller brand appears on the product

-          importer = places EEE on the local EU country market

-          RoHS: who first places EEE on the European market

 

ATTENTION:

-          WEEE liability applies for member state imports

-          local TD/AZLAN entities can be assumed to be legal PRODUCER for all products imported into the respective local country by TD/AZLAN. 

-          legal expression “importer” not clearly defined

-          some local legislations seem to decide who the PRODUCER is based upon VAT number

 

2^nd level: Distributor and Reseller (selling products in the country – no importer)

must ensure to

-          purchase products of registered producers OR must register themselves

-          purchase only labelled and RoHS compliant products

-          some legislation stipulate 1:1 take back obligations if selling directly to end users

-          some legislation stipulate Reseller obligation to inform end users about take back possibilities

 

 

Which products affected?

WEEE and RoHS affect all kind of electronic and electrical equipment that at the time of disposal is part of the equipment. In the IT sector, products covered are primarily:

-          IT equipment such as:

Servers, PCs, notebooks, printers, telephones and other products and equipment for the collection, storage, processing, presentation or communication of information by electronic means or equipment of transmitting sound, images or other information by telecommunications

 

-     Consumer equipment such as:

      MP3 players, digital cameras and other products or equipment for the purpose of recording or reproducing sound or images, including signals or other technologies for the distribution of sound and image than by telecommunications

 

ATTENTION: Uncertainty on local level whether certain products are covered by the Scope of the Directive/and local legislation: e.g. Components

 

 

Potential consequences of non-compliance:

 

-          sales ban

-          product recall

-          monetary sanctions

-          criminal fines and imprisonment for individuals

 

Contacts

 

      Jürgen Paudtke, Projectmanager WEEE Europe

      Phone: +49 (0)89 4700 3293; Email: jpaudtke@techdata.de

 

     Norbert Sourek, General Legal Counsel EMEA

      Phone: +49 (0)89 4700 3909; Email: nsourek@techdata.de