Business Alert - EU
Business Alert - EU |
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WEEE and RoHS update for some Member States The current implementation status of Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) will be of interest to Hong Kong businesses importing electronic goods into the EU. Business Alert-EU is continuing to provide reports in this and forthcoming issues on eventually all 25 Member States (Issue 25/2005 already covers the UK, Germany, France and Italy). The following text provides an update of the current situation in Hungary, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands: Hungary: National Legislation -- The RoHS Directive was transposed into national law by the Ministerial Decree 16/2004 on 8 October 2004 and the provisions will come into force from 1 July 2006. The WEEE Directive was transposed into Hungarian law by three pieces of legislation; the Government Decree 264/2004 on the take-back of WEEE of 23 September 2004; the Ministerial Decree 15/2004 of 8 October 2004 transposing the treatment provisions of the WEEE Directive; and the amendment 103/2004 to the Product Fee Act LVI. The Hungarian Decrees on WEEE are now in force, with producer registration commencing on 1 January 2005 and producer financing for business WEEE commencing in August 2005. Competent Bodies -- The ministry in charge of transposing the legislation was the Environment Ministry. The National Directorate for the Environment, Nature and Water is responsible for enforcing the Hungarian WEEE legislation and for the national register (www.ovf.hu). Main requirements -- Producers are required to register with and report to the National Directorate for the Environment, Nature and Water. Producers are required to finance WEEE collection by means of a product fee (a tax on products) on a number of electrical products covered by the WEEE Directive (e.g., mobile phones, refrigerators and freezers). However producers can obtain an exemption from these charges proportionate to their compliance with the Hungarian WEEE legislation. Producers are also required to mark EEE produced after 13 August 2005 in accordance with the WEEE Directive. Notable differences with Directives - Hungary was granted a 24 month extension to the collection target laid down in the WEEE Directive. Thus, the deadline for onset of the target is 31 December 2008. Schemes -- Full responsibility for WEEE collection is placed on producers. Producers can either reimburse local authorities if these provide separate collection of WEEE from private households, they can obtain a permit from the environmental protection authorities and establish and operate collection centres or they can join a collective scheme in order to fulfil their obligations. WEEE schemes include: Electro-Coord Kht. (CECED) which producers from outside Hungary can join. (www.electro-coord.hu/en/index.php); Okomat Kht Okomat ; and Elektro-Waste Kht (www.elektrowaste.hu/). RoHS testing laboratories are also available in Hungary, such as SGS Hungaria Ltd. Penalties -- Penalties under the Hungarian WEEE legislation include fines from 25,000 HUF to 350,000 HUF. Penalties are imposed for failure to fulfil or adequately fulfil obligations with regard to the take-back (maximum fine of 350,000 HUF), distribution, collection (maximum fine of 25,000 HUF), reception, disposal (maximum fine of 300,000 HUF) of WEEE and data reporting (maximum fine of 200,000 HUF). If the general prohibition under the Hungarian RoHS legislation is breached, a waste management fine will be imposed. Spain: National Legislation - Spain adopted the "Royal Decree 208/2005, of 25 February 2005, on Electric and Electronic Equipment and the Management of Waste Thereof", which transposes both the WEEE and RoHS Directives. The Decree is in force but the provisions under the RoHS Directive apply to EEE put on the market after 1 July 2006. Competent Bodies -- Spain's Ministry of the Environment (www.mma.es) is responsible for the transposition of the legislation. The National Register of Industrial Establishments is Spain's registration authority. Main requirements - All producers of EEE will need to be registered at the National Register of Industrial Establishments as well as complying with the parallel obligation of registering at the regional level (where the region requires this). The registration obligation is set to start in January 2006. All EEE producers will be responsible for the financing, collecting, treatment and recycling of products that are placed on the market after 13 August 2005. For products placed on the market before this date, producers will be responsible for products in proportion to their market share. Additionally, the Decree establishes an adaptation period of the RoHS Directive ending July 1, 2006 for newly manufactured products. Schemes - The consumer may return the WEEE to a distributor from whom they are buying an equivalent or replacement product, or may drop them off at an authorised location. A distributor must receive the item and store it until it can be processed correctly. The local authorities of towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants will also be responsible for ensuring the separate collection and storage of household WEEE. However, for towns with 5,000 inhabitants or less, regional legislation will provide for separate collection rules. In most cases, the WEEE producer will bear the cost and responsibility of the collection, treatment, and final disposal of the item. Producers may fulfill their WEEE management, collection and treatment, obligations individually (in which case a financial guarantee is required) or through a collective scheme. Regional authorities, in the region in which the company operates, must authorise the collective schemes. Authorisations can be granted for a five-year period, on a renewable basis. Schemes include: ECOTIC (www.aetic.es, for consumer electronics); and ECOLEC (www.ecolec.es/english/, for household appliances). RoHS testing is available in Spain by companies such as SGS Espania (www.es.sgs.com/es/). Notable differences with Directives - Producers must design and manufacture EEE in such a way as to facilitate their dismantling, repair and reuse. Collection of private household WEEE is free of charge for the final consumer but not necessarily for distributors, in contrast with the WEEE Directive. WEEE sent to treatment facilities within other Member States of the EU or in third countries may be taken into account for producer targets, if the operations are carried out in accordance with EC environmental rules and the Spanish legislation. Penalties - Criminal and administrative sanctions can be imposed for breach of the Decree. These include: fines of up to £á 1,202,000 for serious infringements; the disqualification of a person from carrying out waste management activities for up to ten years; the temporary or definitive closing of the whole or part of waste management facilities or factories; and the withdrawal or the suspension of authorisations for up to ten years. The Netherlands: National Legislation -- In the Netherlands, the WEEE and RoHS Directives have been transposed by the WEEE Management Regulations which were adopted on 19 July 2004. The WEEE Management Regulations entered into force on 13 August 2004, with the exception of the provisions on the restriction on hazardous substances (the RoHS provisions) which do not come into force until 1 July 2006. Competent Bodies -- The Regulations were transposed by the Ministry for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment which also monitors the Regulations and runs the register (www.vrom.nl). Main requirements -- Producers, importers or a collective acting on their behalf must register with the Ministry of Housing Spatial Planning and the Environment, providing details of the compliance actions that they will be undertaking in order to comply with the Regulations and of the amount of EEE which was placed on the market during the year concerned. The Minister can impose conditions on his approval of these compliance actions. Approval can be granted for a maximum of five years and thirteen weeks before the end of the validity of the Minister's approval a new notice must be submitted. Producers must guarantee that they will finance the management of WEEE from private households for EEE produced by them and placed on the market after 13 August 2005 and they must finance the costs of WEEE management in proportion to their market share for products placed on the market before that date. The Regulations impose a ban on the use of six hazardous substances in EEE where an exemption does not apply, as per the RoHS Directive. Schemes -- Producers are allowed to introduce and operate their own systems for the collection of WEEE from private households provided that such systems comply with the WEEE Directive. For business user, producers must ensure that such WEEE if originally produced by them is separately collected. Producers have to ensure that the household WEEE collected by municipalities and distributors and the non-household WEEE is transported and treated. Producers have to use the best available techniques for the treatment. WEEE collective schemes include: NVMP (www.nvmp.nl); and ICT Milieu -- (www.ictmilieu.nl). Intertek is an example of an organisation providing RoHS compliance testing in the Netherlands (www.itscb.com). Notable differences with Directives -- For the RoHS requirements, the Netherlands goes further than the Directive as it makes the possession for commercial purposes of refrigerators and freezers from private households or other sources (provided that they are comparable to refrigerators and freezers from private households) containing CFC and HCFC prohibited items. This prohibition entered into force on 13 August 2004. Penalties -- Scope for enforcement exists under both administrative and criminal law. The powers provided for in Part 18 of the Environmental Management Act may be used for administrative enforcement (involving, for example, administrative coercion or penalties). Infringement of these regulations is punishable under the Economic Offences Act. Thus, for example, fines may be imposed if a business does not comply with the regulations. Poland: National Legislation -- The RoHS Directive was transposed into Polish law by the "Ordinance on Hazardous Substance Restrictions in Electronic and Electrical Equipment", adopted on 6 October 2004 and which will enter into force on 1 July 2006. The WEEE Directive has been transposed by the WEEE Act and entered into force on 20 October 2005. Competent Bodies: The transposition of the WEEE and RoHS legislation in Poland was carried out by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP, www.mos.gov.pl). The General Inspector for Environmental Protection (GIEP, www.gios.gov.pl), a central administration agency, is responsible for carrying out the overall coordination and monitoring of the take-back and treatment of WEEE. Main requirements - Producers must register with the GIEP. The registration fee and an annual fee are calculated with reference to the producer's annual net turnover (the maximum fee is 8000 zloty). A detailed fee schedule is due to enter into force on 1 July 2006. Producers must register by 30 September 2006 (1 July 2006 for producers who were only active after 21 October 2005) and must ensure that their registration number is displayed on all financial documents. Producers also have an obligation to keep data and information and to report and provide information to: the GIEP, users and treatment facilities. As for the Polish RoHS legislation, this is consistent with the RoHS Directive, imposing a ban on the use of six hazardous substances in EEE where an exemption does not apply. Schemes -- Producers are responsible for the separate collection, take-back, treatment, recovery and disposal of WEEE. They can fulfil their duties independently and at their own expense (in which case a financial guarantee is required) or by means of a collective scheme. Collective schemes include: CECED Polska (www.cecedpolska.pl); and ERP-Recycling (www.erp-recycling.org). Intertek Poland Sp. ZO.O.is an example of an organisation providing RoHS compliance testing in Poland (www.itscb.com). Notable Differences with Directives - In the Polish legislation, point of purchase is when goods are considered to be put on the Polish market, a narrower definition than under the WEEE Directive. Poland has been granted a two-year extension to the deadline for meeting the collection, recovery and reuse/recycling targets in the WEEE Directive. The RoHS Directive was transposed into Polish law without any significant changes. Penalties: Infringements of the Polish RoHS and WEEE legislation are subject to fines and criminal penalties. Traders should be watchful of complying with the rules, as fines/penalties may vary in accordance with the gravity of the infringement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
