 
Environmental Briefing Note 2007-01
WEEE Regulations and ROHS Regulations
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations places requirements on producers of electrical and electronic equipment to finance the collection, treatment, recovery and disposal of products placed on the market after 13th August, 2005 (subsequently put back to June 2006). Different arrangements apply for WEEE arising from products put on the market before 13th August, 2005 (subsequently put back to June 2006) (known as historic WEEE). If historic WEEE from businesses is being replaced by new equivalent products, the EEE producer is responsible for financing the collection, treatment, recovery and disposal when supplying the new products. In other cases, for example where the historic WEEE is being disposed and not replaced, the end user (the business) has to pay.
Producers of electrical and electronic equipment have to register as such during January and February 2006. Products affected by WEEE will have a crossed out wheelie bin label on them. Implementation has however been delayed until June 2006.
Suitable arrangements should be made with waste operators to deal with any equipment being disposed of following this legislation.
The ROHS Regulations
The ROHS Regulations place maximum limits on certain elements and compounds in certain electrical and electronic products from the 1st July, 2006. The list for metals is as follows:
Lead 0.1% by weight
Mercury 0.1% by weight
Hexavalent Chromium 0.1 % by weight
Cadmium – 0.01% by weight
Exemptions are:
Copper alloys containing up to 4% lead
Aluminium containing up to 0.4 % lead
Steel containing up to 0.35 % lead
The chromium in stainless steels will not be in the hexavalent form unless subjected to extreme heat – e.g. from welding.
Although the regulations apply to the manufacturers of electrical equipment, they are likely to be applied to component suppliers through purchasing specifications. Many metals and alloys should not be affected but if you are concerned about a specific alloy, please contact Jon Donohoe on 0114 2537801 or j.donohoe@castingstechnology.com.
We are continuing to monitor how this is to be applied by the manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment and will keep Members informed. Many metals and alloys should not be affected but if you are concerned about a specific alloy, please contact Jon Donohoe at Cti.
For further information follow the links below:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability/weee/page30269.html
http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file35992.pdf
http://www.rohs.gov.uk/
Europa: Environment – WEEE Directive
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/weee_index.htm
Help from Envirowise:
http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/page.aspx?o=weee
http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/page.aspx?o=rohs
Jon Donohoe
Manager – Cti environmental
16 February 2007
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