RoHS Directive

Acting in accordance with the procedures regulated by article 251 of the Treaty of the European Community and in accordance with the joint text adopted by the Coordinating Committee on 8 November 2002, whereas:

(1) The differences between regulations or administrative measures adopted by Member States to restrict the use of harmful substances in electronic and electrical equipment can create trade barriers and distort competition within the community, and even have a direct impact on the establishment and function of a single market. Therefore, it is necessary to coordinate the laws and regulations of member states in this field in order to protect human health and recycle and dispose the discarded electronic and electrical equipment in accordance with environmental requirements.

(2) At its meeting held in nice from 7 to 9 December 2000, the Council of the European Union approved the decision on the principle of prevention adopted by the Council of Ministers on 4 December 2000.

(3) The European Commission's July 30, 1996 communication recalling the community's waste management strategy highlighted the need to reduce the content of hazardous substances in waste and pointed out the potential benefits of developing community regulations limiting the use of these substances in products and processes.

(4) The Council's decision of 25 January 1988 on the EC action plan for the elimination of cadmium pollution requires the European Commission to urgently develop the special measures in the plan. Human health must also be protected, so an overall strategy should be implemented to specifically limit the use of cadmium and accelerate the study of its alternatives. The decision stressed that the use of cadmium should be limited in the absence of appropriate and safer options.

(5) The evidence shows that the collection, treatment, recovery and disposal measures of waste electrical and electronic equipment stipulated in Directive 2002 / 96 / EC of the European Council and the European Parliament of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment are necessary to reduce waste management issues related to heavy metals and flame retardants involved. However, in spite of those measures, the substantial part of waste electronic and electrical equipment will continue to be found in the current waste treatment. The components of mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) are still likely to pose a risk to human health and the environment, even if the discarded electronic and electrical equipment is collected by classification and the recycling procedures are followed.

(6) Considering the technical and economic feasibility, the most effective way to ensure that the risks of these substances to health and environment can be significantly reduced and the selected protection level can be achieved in the community is to replace them with safe or safer substances in electronic and electrical equipment. Limiting the use of these hazardous substances means increasing the possibility and economic benefits of recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment and reducing their negative impact on the health of workers in recycling plants.

(7) To conduct scientific research and assessment of substances governed by this directive, they have been regulated by different measures at the level of the European Community and Member States.

(8) The measures provided for in this directive take into account existing international norms and recommendations and are based on an assessment of available scientific and technological information. Because the lack of measures may cause risks in the community, these measures are necessary to achieve the selected level of protection for human and animal health and the environment. These measures should be checked in a timely manner, and can be adjusted if necessary after considering the obtained scientific and technological information.

(9) The implementation of this directive does not affect the community's legislation on safety and health requirements and the community's special legislation on waste management, in particular Council Directive 91 / 157 / EEC of 18 March 1991 on batteries and batteries containing certain hazardous substances.

(10) The technical development of electronic and electrical equipment without heavy metals, PBDE and PBB should be considered. Once scientific evidence has been obtained and the precautionary principle has been taken into account, it should be checked whether other harmful substances can be banned and replaced with more environmentally acceptable substitutes that ensure that consumers are protected at least at the same level.

(11) If there is no substitute from the perspective of science and technology, or the negative impact of substitute on the environment and health is greater than its benefits to the environment and health, then the requirement of implementing substitute can be exempted. The development of substitutes for harmful substances in electronic and electrical equipment should be continued to meet the health and safety needs of users of electronic and electrical equipment.

(12) Because reuse, refurbishment and extended life of the product are beneficial, necessary parts need to be provided.

(13) The modification of scientific and technological progress related to the exemption from the requirement of phasing out and banning the use of hazardous substances shall be implemented by the European Commission in accordance with the Commission's procedures.

(14) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure for the implementation of the powers delegated to the Commission as set out in Council resolution 1999 / 468 / ECS of 28 June 1999.

By this Directive:

Article 1

Objective the objective of this directive is to bring the laws of Member States on the restriction of the use of harmful substances in electronic and electrical equipment into line, and to contribute to the protection of human health and the environmental recovery and disposal of discarded electronic and electrical equipment.

Article 2: scope

1. Subject to Article 6, this Directive shall apply to category 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 electronic and electrical equipment, as well as household light bulbs and lighting facilities, as specified in Annex I a of Directive 2002 / 96 / EC (WEEE).

2. The implementation of this Directive shall not violate the community's legislation on safety and health requirements and the community's special legislation on waste management.

3. This Directive