elni Review 2006, pp. 36-41. https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2006.007

The EU Directive 2002/96/EC on restriction of use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS Directive) stipulates that from 1st July 2006 onwards new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market will not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). This restriction shall not apply to applications listed in the Directive’s Annex. Article 5 (1) (b) contains criteria for exempting materials and components from the abovementioned restriction in order to adapt the Annex to scientific and technical progress. Stakeholders have been invited to apply for exemptions from restriction of use according to the criteria in Article 5 (1) (b) against the background of adaptation of the Annex to scientific and technical progress. Prior to an amendment of the Annex, a public stakeholder consultation has to take place. Öko-Institut e.V. (the Institute for Applied Ecology) and Fraunhofer IZM (the Institute for Reliability and Microintegration) have been appointed by the European Commission to review the requests. This paper introduces the experience gained during this work, i.e. it outlines how the requirements of the RoHS Directive affect ecodesign, energy efficiency and waste treatment of domestic appliances and lighting (DAL) and what opportunities and drawbacks could arise as a consequence thereof.

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References

1. Directive 2002/96/EC of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment, OJ 2003 L 37/24.
2. Directive 2002/95/EC of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, OJ 2003 L 37/19.
3. Pfeiffer, R.; Produktlinienanalyse “Glühlampe versus Energiesparlampe”. Öko-Institut e.V., 1994 and AEA Technology Environment. Revising ecolabel criteria for lamps. A report produced for the European Commission DG XI.E.4, March 1999.