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Forthcoming
“Green”
European Union Directives
This article reviews upcoming
European legislation including Directives concerning the disposal of
Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the
Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in the
manufacture of Electrical & Electronic
Equipment
Introduction:
There are a
number of environmentally friendly European Union initiatives
looming on the horizon, all designed to help create a greener
climate for us all.
·
An EC Code of Conduct on the efficiency of external
Power Supplies.
This aims to minimize no-load losses
of external power supplies, in the input power range 0.3 to 75
Watts, by 5 Tera Watts per year from the year 2010 thereby saving
500 million Euros per year.
·
An international ban on PVCs already endorsed by the
European Union.
During manufacture and disposal, PVCs are a source
of dangerous and bio-accumulative toxic.
·
The RoHS Directive
(2002/95/EU)
This will preclude the use
of hazardous substances in Electrical & Electronic Equipment
(EEE)
· The WEEE Directive
(2002/96/EU)
This will prescribe that EU producers
should collect, treat and recover/recycle the content of Electrical
& Electronic Equipment. This Directive (which limits
responsibility to the European Union based provider) decrees that
the polluter shall pay but does not necessarily detail how such
financial burden shall be imposed.
Enforcement measures for the above will range from
voluntary commitments (a signed form agreeing to comply with the
code in the case of the efficiency of external PSU’s) to thorough
reviews of producers’ statistics on the recycling/reuse of their
products.
The remainder of this article will be devoted to
examination of the two pieces of mandatory “green” legislation that
will soon be in force in the European Union: The RoHS & WEEE
Directives.
Reasoning for the RoHS &
WEEE Directives:
The reasoning
behind the introduction of these two new European Union Directives
is the desire by the EU to:
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Enforcement
measures for these laws will range from voluntary commitments
through to thorough reviews of producers’
statistics.... |
1. In time, rid Electrical & Electronic Equipment of
hazardous substances.
2. Ensure that land-fill sites are not filled with
Electrical & Electronic Equipment
3. Encourage producers to integrate used and/or recycled
material into new equipment.
The European Union’s environmental policy states that
“environmental damage should be rectified at source” and that the
“polluter should pay”. Furthermore, it demands a “reduction of
wasteful consumption of natural resources and prevention of
pollution”
RoHS
Directive:
The European
Union has decided to act to reduce the amount of hazardous material
in Electrical & Electronic Equipment (EEE) waste. The RoHS
Directive orders an almost blanket ban on the use of certain
categories of hazardous material in all types of EEE. It is the more
prescriptive of the two pieces of legislation as it clearly outlines
preventative measures regarding the use of hazardous substances in
the manufacture of EEE.
Examples of banned material are: Cadmium, Hexavalent
Chromium, Lead, Mercury & Flame retarding material such as PBDE
& PBB. The most draconian requirements are centered round the
need to use lead free high melting point solder.
There are a few exceptions contained in the Annex of the
Directive.
Examples of exempt material are: Lead used in the glass
of CRTs, (lead in the) glass used in electronic components and in
florescent tubes, also lead in ceramic parts (e.g. Piezoelectric),
lead in solders when used in servers, storage array systems, (which
are only exempt until 2010) and telecom network infrastructure
equipment (probably exempt until 2010)
WEEE
Directive:
The WEEE
Directive requires Producers [1] to provide guarantees concerning
the financing of collection, treatment, re-use/recycling and
recovery of Electrical & Electronic Equipment
The Directive applies to a variety of ICT equipment
including that destined for domestic, industrial and commercial use.
The legislation will direct that three main types of activity should
occur: Collection, Treatment and Recovery. These are terms used
throughout the Directive:
Collection
describes the actions involved in separating and
transferring Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment from the
end user to a centralized collection point.
The Directive states that “.... producers, or third
parties acting on their behalf, provide for the collection of such
waste...”. “The collection and transportation of separately
collected WEEE shall be carried out in a way which optimizes reuse
and recycling of those components or whole appliances capable of
being reused or recycled.”
If third party involvement is the chosen option the
producer is still required to contribute financially to this
process.
The producer is required to arrange for the
transportation of private household WEEE from Collection Centers [2]
(not private households) to Treatment Centers. The producer is also
required to arrange for the transportation of WEEE from business
users to treatment centers.[1][3]
Treatment refers to the actions that must
take place to remove hazardous materials and liquids from Waste
Electrical & Electronic Equipment.
This involves the removal of certain hazardous substances
(e.g. lead, mercury) and any components that contain them. In
addition, all liquids and some items such as printed circuit boards
have to be removed. The selective treatment in accordance with Annex
II to the WEEE Directive may only be carried out by properly
licensed operators at a licensed treatment
centre.
The European Union Commission has directed that producers
or third parties acting on their behalf, must set up systems to
provide for the treatment of WEEE using the best available
treatment, recovery and recycling techniques. Producers may set up
the systems individually and/or collectively.
Recovery is a waste management term that
refers to the actions of enabling re-use, recycling, burning with
energy recovery and composting.
Again the European Union Commission has directed that
producers or third parties acting on their behalf, set up systems
either on an individual or on a collective basis, to provide for the
recovery of WEEE collected separately.
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The producer is
required to arrange for the transportation of private
household WEEE from Collection Centers to Treatment Centers.
The B2B producer is required to arrange for the transporting
of WEEE from business users to treatment
centers. |
Business-to-Business Electrical & Electronic
Equipment: Under the WEEE-D the responsibility for
collection, treatment and recovery of Waste Electrical &
Electronic Equipment from “other than private households” (B2B) is
deemed to rest with the producers, or third parties acting on their
behalf.
Affect on
Producers:
It has yet to be
finally determined precisely how producers in all the various Member
States would be made to pay for the three types of operation
mandated by the WEEE-D; it is foreseen that ultimately there will be
an effect on end-user pricing.
From the point of view of Manufacturers, Importers or
Distributors the opportunity to dispose of their own equipment is
not necessarily a disadvantage especially if money can be made or
saved by re-using certain items and/or recycling whole items as
spares or for new installations. It may be possible to claim market
advantage by offering to dispose of customer’s existing equipment,
particularly if competitive suppliers are reluctant to do
so.
Historic Equipment & Business to Business (B2B)
Sales: Currently the text of the WEEE-D states that the ‘Producer’
is responsible for recycling those of their own products that are
already on the market, regardless of any new sales. This would have
a huge impact on balance sheets and so it is proposed that Producers
should finance B2B end of life recycling (historic waste only) when
selling new products on a like for like basis. For example if a
producer sells 100 new phones to a business customer, the seller
would be responsible for collecting, treating and recycling up to
100 old phones from that customer if so required to
do.
This would not affect the arrangements for products sold
after the Directive comes into force, (determined by a date code
that must be printed on the labels of all products placed on the
market after August 2005).
Record Keeping: The requirements of the WEEE-D will
involve the manufacturer establishing recording systems to track
their internal recovery statistics, those of third party suppliers
and those of any recycling/reuse contractors.
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The practical
implementation of the WEEE Directive is likely to vary from
Member State to Member
State. |
Targets to be set for producers are as
follows:
·
75% to be recycled - by weight of product; of
which
·
65% to be for reuse
Provision of information:
Information will need to be provided by producers so that
recycling centers can determine which materials can be recycled or
recovered. User Instructions will need to provide users, recycling
agents and treatment facilities with information on how to
disassemble, process and treat Electrical & Electronic
Equipment. This information could be published in User Manuals, on
the Internet or in separate literature/CD ROMs. But who
pays?
Historical WEEE – Who Pays? The producer is
required to pay for collection, recycling and recovery of all types
of WEEE sold before the effective date of the legislation regardless
of the historical supplier. It is proposed that this be financed by
a levy on producers, which will be assessed according to the
producer’s current market share – by type. Producers will be allowed
to add an amount to the end user cost of new products for this
purpose. The cost must be itemized on the equipment receipt and can
only be levied for the financing of historical
waste.
New Equipment – Who Pays?
For Electrical & Electronic Equipment sold after the
effective date of the legislation producers must finance the
collection, treatment and recovery of their own
equipment.
Producers will be able to group together and/or contract
out their responsibilities under the WEEE-D; the principal of the
WEEE-D and main onus on producers being the financing of the WEEE
activity.
If third party involvement is the route chosen to comply
with the requirements of the WEE-D the producer is still required to
contribute financially to this process. Manufacturers and suppliers
in the European Union will be required to facilitate the disposal of
its own and/or other suppliers’ equipment when new equipment is
installed in customers’ premises.
Status Of
Legislation:
These two
pieces of legislation have been published in the European Union
Official Journal (OJ), and have been passed into national law in
each of the European Union’s Member States. There will doubtless be
further and more detailed implications for manufacturer’s and
suppliers now that this has happened.
The European Union is currently debating with member
states’ governments the practical mechanics of adapting these
Directives for use. The adoption of these Directives is being
steered by a committee of representatives from each Member State -
known as the Technical Adaptation Committee (TAC), which meets
regularly to plan this adoption process. Until they have finished
their work there are a lot of unanswered questions as to how these
Directives (particularly the WEE-D) will work in practice in each
Member State.
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If third party involvement is the route chosen for
compliance the producer is still required to contribute
financially to this
process. |
·
The RoHS-D had to be brought into (legal) force in all Member
States by July 2004.
·
The WEEE-D had to be brought into (legal) force in all Member
States by 13 August 2004
Under the WEEE Directive producers must take
responsibility for their products from the effective date of the
legislation in that Member State.
The RoHS Directive will be brought into effect on
1st July 2006
Penalties for
Non-Compliance:
In most cases
indication of compliance will be by product marking. Compliance with
the WEEE-D will be indicated using a special symbol (showing a
crossed out dustbin!).
Both Directives detail penalties for non-compliance such
as product bans, recalls, fines and even imprisonment (unlikely). In
practice the penalties would be felt in the commercial impact of bad
publicity, lost market share etc.
Next
Actions:
- Choose which of their product range does and
does not fall under these Directives.
- Choose a policy that meets the WEEE-D requirements for
Collection (separating and transferring) of Waste Electrical &
Electronic Equipment from the end user (B2B) or a centralized
collection point and whether this will be by return at the point
of sale, collection as part of the delivery/installation process
for new replacement equipment etc.
- Choose a policy that meets the WEEE-D requirements for
Treatment to remove hazardous materials and liquids from Waste
Electrical & Electronic Equipment. Will this be an internal
operation or will it be contracted to a third party
etc?
- Choose a policy that meets the WEEE-D requirements for
Recovery to enable re-use, recycling, burning with energy recovery
and composting of WEEE material. Will this be an internal
operation or will it be contracted to a third party
etc?
- Review supplier agreements to make sure that their
policies for compliance with the RoHS & WEEE Directives are in
place and satisfactory.
How Can
Patton & Associates Help Producers
Comply?
We can assist producers in
the following ways:
1. Generate a plan of action for compliance with the
requirements of RoHS and WEEE Directives.
2. Conduct a review of existing product content to ensure
compliance with these new Directives and ensure that products
continue to comply with existing Directives.
3. Conduct a review of existing products and identify
which components need to be re-specified
4. Conduct re-tests/re-certification of products as
required.
5. Determine suppliers’ level of preparedness with the
Directives.
Useful
Websites:
Author
biography
– John Roche is Managing
Director of Patton & Associates (United
Kingdom) – the European
office of Patton & Associates Inc. of Prescott Arizona. Patton
& Associates provide Telecommunications Consulting, Design and
Type Approval services for Europe, North America and The Pacific
Rim.
John
Roche can be reached at: jroche@patton-assoc.com
[1]
Producer can mean the European Union based manufacturer, the
European Union importer, distributor or reseller.
[2]
Collection centers are defined (typically) as centralized
collection points to which the public can take WEEE; they can be
also be a store or somewhere similar where buyers would be
encouraged to take WEEE when purchasing new items.
[3}
The European term that is being adopted for business EEE commerce
is Business to Business (B2B)
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