WEEE/RoHS

The WEEE and RoHS Directive are currently under the process of being revised by the EU. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE), which sets out the financial and other responsibilities of EEE producers with regard to the collection and recycling of waste from a broad range of EEE at their end of life. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), which bans the use of certain hazardous substances (such as lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and some polybrominated flame-retardants) in EEE. RoHS allows possible exemptions.

WEEE and RoHS lay out results that must be achieved by the European countries, but each country is free to choose the means of acheiving those results when transposing European rules into national laws. A country may even chose to implement laws that are more stringent than that required. Therefore, when exporting to Europe, you need to comply with national law in the country/countries you seek to export to, which may differ considerably from country to country. WEEE and RoHS Directives are complex pieces of legislation working together. In particular, their scope is linked which means they both apply to the same range of products (with some differences).