September 2013

RoHS 2 and WEEE 2

1) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)

A recast of the Directive 2002/95/EC, restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS 1), took place and on 21st July, 2011, the Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS 2) came into force. It must be transposed into national law by 2nd January, 2013.

Following points remain unchanged:

- No variation of the Directive (based on article 114 TFEU) in the member states possible.

- No new prohibition of certain substances, no list of candidates.

- Various exceptions of the prohibition of substances.

- Defined duties for manufacturers, importers, and distributers.

Reforms being done:

- Addition of a category 11 in Annex I with a so called open scope (all electrical and electronic equipment fall under the scope); however: There is a transition period for appliances, which now fall under the scope until 22nd July, 2019.

- Extension of the scope via an addition in the definitions (term: "Dependent")

- Explicit mentioning of 10 exceptions, which do not fall under the scope (further information, see last page of Annex).

- New: The representative.

- Certification of the "RoHS conformity" by CE marking. 

Important dates:

- 2nd January, 2013: RoHS 2 must be transposed into national law.

- 22nd July, 2014: Period of review for the scope and the restriction of certain substances.

- 22nd July, 2017: Validity of the prohibition of certain substances for industrial surveillance and control instruments.

- 22nd July, 2019: Validity for appliances that did not fall under the scope of RoHS 1, but, are under the scope of RoHS 2 (see category 11).

2) Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment WEEE

- A recast of the Directive 2002/96/EC, Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE 1), took place and on 24th July,
2012, the Directive 2012/19/EU came into force (WEEE 2). It must be transposed into
national law by 14th February, 2014.

Following points remain unchanged:

- An important point is that until 14th  August, 2018, the scope of WEEE 2
is identical with the scope of WEEE 1.

A short overview of the Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE 2):

- Variation of the Directive (based on article 192 TFEU) in the member states possible.

- Scope: Legal situation as in WEEE 1 until 14th August, 2018.

- Until 14th August, 2018: 10 application categories in the scope.

- From 15th August, 2018: 6 application categories and a broader scope.

- Explicit mentioning of 10 exceptions that are outside of the scope.

Important dates:

Collection rates:

- Until 31st December 2015, a collection rate of at least 4 kilograms on average per inhabitant per year of WEEE.

- From 14th August, 2016: Collection rate of 40-45 % of WEEE.

- From 2019: A minimum collection rate to be achieved annually shall be 65 % of the average weight of EEE placed on the market
in the three preceding years in the Member State concerned, or alternatively 85 % of WEEE generated on the territory of that Member State.

Further dates:

- Until 14th February, 2013: Request to the European standardisation organisations to develop European standards for the treatment, including recovery, recycling and preparing for reuse, of WEEE.

- Until 14th February, 2014: Adoption of delegated acts laying down detailed rules for the shipment of WEEE.

- Until 14th February, 2015: Verification period for the scope. Additionally, adoption of implementation acts concerning calculation methods and reports concerning internalization of costs.

- Until 14th February, 2016: Review of the targets regarding recycling.