Companies selling a broad range of electrical goods in the European Union must conform to WEEE (the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) and those same companies must also conform to RoHS (Restriction of Use of certain Hazardous Substances Directive). This website has reports and other information on the status of implementation, the coverage of the Directives and producer requirements and provides links to additional information resources.
Latest News
The European Commission has launched a final public consultation on options for the review of the WEEE Directive. The consultation document is available here. It addresses issues related to legal basis for the Directive, scope, targets, and producer responsibility provisions such as registration modalities. The consultation closes on June 5th.
On the 1st of April, the European Court of Justice issued its judgment in a case challenging the legality of the RoHS exemption for DecaBDE, the brominated flame retardant. The judgment finds that the Commission adopted the exemption according to the wrong criteria and procedure, and annuls the exemption. It does not challenge the science behind the exemption, however. The court has allowed a 3-month transition period before DecaBDE to be phased out. According to the court and to the European Commission (which defended the exemption), EEE placed on the market as of July 1st 2008 may not contain DecaBDE. The full implications for national laws are not yet clear, and the Commission has not indicated what it intends to do vis-à-vis DecaBDE. The European Commission is open to industry comment on this issue. More on this on our exemptions page.
The Öko-Institut will be hosting a technical experts' workshop on the subject of the annulled exemption for Deca-BDE on June 13th, 2008, in Brussels. More details on our exemptions page.
The EU may adopt a new package of RoHS exemptions in the next few weeks. Full details on our exemptions page. The package is likely to include the repeal of an exemption (exemption 22).
New to WEEE & RoHS?
Click here for the most recent US Department of Commerce overview of WEEE & RoHS.
Legislation
Click here for EU WEEE/RoHS legislation.
Review of the WEEE & RoHS Directives
Click here for information and guidance on the review of the WEEE & RoHS Directives.
WEEE
For all information related to WEEE, click here.
RoHS
For all information related to RoHS, click here.
Country Information
For country information on WEEE & RoHS, click here.
Need More?
For futher information and assistance, click here.
For companies seeking in-depth technical or legal assistance with compliance issues relating to EU WEEE & EU RoHS, the Commercial Service provides a list of business service providers who have track records in providing multi-country solutions and services. To see this list and a description of our Business Service Provider program, please click here.