WEEE and RoHS: An Overview

WEEE and RoHS: An Overview

Companies selling electrical and electronic goods in the European Union must conform to the EU legislation for electrical and electronic equipments (EEE), which includes:

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.

Each Directive imposes obligations and outcomes that EU Member States must achieve. However, each Member State may choose the best framework to fulfill its obligations. Therefore, when exporting to Europe, U.S. exporters need to be mindful that national rules for implementing each Directive will differ from country to country.

WEEE and RoHS Directives are complex pieces of legislation that apply to a similar range of products.