
The Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment 2002/95/EC (commonly referred to as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive or RoHS) was adopted in February 2003 by the European Union. The RoHS directive took effect on 1 July 2006, and is required to be enforced and become law in each member state. This directive restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC which sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic e-waste. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
RoHS Enforcement Giudance Document
Producer responsibility in the UK is a policy tool that is an extension of the "polluter pays" principle, and is aimed at ensuring that businesses who place products on the market take responsibility for those products once they have reached the end of their life. At this stage, producer responsibility has been the policy approach taken in relation to the management of waste products, but there is no reason why a similar policy should not be developed to address the environmental issues connected with, for example, the manufacturing stage of a product's life cycle. More information....
WEEE - Waste Electrical and Electronic - The Directives
WEEE - What is the EU Legislation?
WEEE - EU Funding Opportunities - Could you apply for funding?
European Environment Agency - Useful additional resources
Environment and Small to Medium Enterprises - How aware are you of your resonsibilities?
UK WEEE Regulations Directive Document
What do the WEEE Regulations mean for business users?
Additional Useful Links
| B2B Compliance | B2B Compliance is the largest WEEE compliance scheme in the UK. |
| BERR | Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform |
| Bruce Metals | Offer a “one-stop” solution to recycling |
| DEFRA | Recycling & Waste pages from the Dept of the Environment. |
| DTI | See BERR |
| ECHA | The European Chemicals Agency manages REACH processes across the EU. |
| Electrocycle | Specialist WEEE recycler. |
| Environment Agency | Comprehensive guides to Battery, WEEE, ELV and other directives. |
| Envirowise | Government agency promoting profitability through environmental awareness. |
| ERA Technology | Independent consultancy providing RoHS compliance and reliability advice. |
| Europa | Detailed guide to the specifics of the Directives. |
| Global Legislation | Electronics industry news, information and support on Global Legislation. |
| Green Supply Line | Covers the impact of global environmental standards on the supply chain |
| ICER | Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling. |
| Letsrecycle.com | Provides information on Directives such as WEEE, Landfill, ELV and Packaging. |
| National Weights and Measures Laboratory | The National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) is an Executive Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry with responsibility for ensuring that all trade measurements are accurate, legal, and fair to buyer and seller. |
| NEMI | Consortium of manufacturers, suppliers and related organisations. |
| NetRegs | NetRegs provide free environmental guidance for small businesses in the UK. NetRegs is a partnership of UK environmental regulators, Environment Agency, SEPA and EHA. |
| NPL | UK's national standards laboratory. |
| Orgalime | Orgalime is a European Engineering Trade Association which has produced its own guide to the scope of WEEE and RoHS. |
| Recycling. co.uk | Recently installed a WEEE processing line to help cope with WEEE mountain |
| RID UK Ltd | An electrical and electronic recycler specialising in WEEE Directive category 9 and 10 equipment. |
| RoHS International | Provide commercial services to businesses for RoHS compliance. |
| Soldertec | Tin Technology's comprehensive website on "lead-free" |
| Smart Group | European technical trade association representing the electronics manufacturing industry. |
| Wastecare | WasteCare are one of the UK’s leading waste management companies. |
