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WEEE, REACH & ELV
WEEE - Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
The WEEE directive is designed to reduce the amount of consumer electrical and electronic equipment that, once it reaches the end of its working life, would otherwise end up in a landfill. It is designed to work in harmony with the RoHS directive by recycling as much equipment as possible, and thereby further reducing the amount of other substances potentially causing a pollution risk. This Directive (in harmony with the RoHS Directive) was also finalised in 2003, and should now be in place in all countries within Europe. The complete text of the directive can be found at this location: Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Harwin does not supply any electrical or electronic equipment to any of its markets, and therefore is not affected directly by the WEEE Directive in terms of our product sold to market. However, as many of our customers are directly affected, we can supply Material Declarations or compositions, to JIG 101, IPC-1752 or a full list as required. Please contact leadfree@harwin.co.uk with your requirements.
All electrical and electronic equipment owned and used by Harwin is disposed of at the end of its working life as directed by the UK requirements under WEEE.
REACH – Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of CHemical substances
REACH is a new European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances, logging the manufacture or importation of all substances into the EU. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007, and currently producers and importers are in the registration phase.
Registration is required for companies that either produce or import into the EU any substance in volumes that exceed one tonne per substance. Harwin do not exceed this import amount, and will therefore not be required to register. However, if customers require further information to evaluate the content of their products, we can supply material compositions, as mentioned above. Please contact leadfree@harwin.co.uk with your requirements.
ELV – End of Life Vehicle
The ELV Directive pre-dates the WEEE and RoHS Directives, it was formalised in 2000, and came into force from July 2003. The Directive is designed to limit the amount of waste arising from the disposal of motor vehicles at the end of their useful life. The complete text of the directive can be found at this location: Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of life vehicles
There are two sides to the legislation, the first is the requirement for the manufacturer to consider the recycling of as much of the vehicle as possible, and take responsibility for the disposal and treatment of the rest. The second is to reduce the potential for hazardous substances to reach landfill, in a similar method to RoHS. The list of hazardous substances reads similar to RoHS:
- Lead (Pb)
- Mercury (Hg)
- Cadmium (Cd)
- Hexavalent Chromium (Cr6)
At the time of this legislation, Solder in electronic circuit boards was actually an exempt category. However, with the advent of RoHS, car manufacturers can now choose our compliant products, and know that they are exceeding the requirements of ELV.
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