RoHS/WEEE - where does the buck stop?

When it comes to fully satisfying the requirements of the RoHS and WEEE Directives, the devil is in the detail as Paul Chinery, Managing Director of Dionics explains.

The imminent RoHS and WEEE Directives have become part of the everyday language of the electronics industry.

Most organisations exporting electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) into Europe have a pretty good idea what is required, and by when.

But are you doing too much or not enough to satisfy the requirements of the legislation? The beginning of the supply chain is fairly clear-cut.

For example, without compliant alloys, you can't manufacture a compliant lead-frame.

Without a compliant lead-frame you will never manufacture a compliant component.

And without conforming components, RoHS compliant equipment simply isn't achievable.

As a single noncompliant lead-frame can cause an entire electronic system to fall foul of the legislation, all parties have to trust their preceding supply chain partners, allowing time for compliance to filter down stream.

At the other end of the supply chain is the consumer, who it was thought remained untouchable in all aspects of environmental legislation.

However, this is not strictly true as the following scenario demonstrates.

The consumer's immediate neighbour within the supply chain is perhaps a local agent or importer.

Both RoHS and particularly the WEEE Directive pose a potentially Herculean challenge for these often-anonymous functions.

Although they typically have no control over the design or manufacturing processes, they are expected to bear the brunt of any legal, financial and logistical responsibilities.

This is because, from a legislative perspective, an importer is considered the "principal producer".

In simple terms, the principal producer is the party that places the equipment on the EU market regardless of who or where the equipment was originally manufactured - in this scenario an importer would effectively "inherit" responsibility from the OEM, if the OEM were in North America.

Although RoHS may have a limited impact on the relationship between the OEM and his or her importer, the legislation would still require the importer to have exercised "due diligence".

He or she must be able to confirm the products he or she sells on behalf of the manufacturer comply with RoHS if he or she is to avoid future legal liability for any nonconformances.

WEEE on the other hand is far more challenging, placing even more responsibilities on the importer.

As the principal producer, an importer is obliged to register within his or her country if the products he or she sells fall within the scope of the directive.

He or she is required to provide a financial guarantee and supply detailed information relating to the volumes and weights of products placed on the local market.

The importer is also responsible for the take back of products at their end of life.

Although much of this information and financing will undoubtedly come from the original OEM under some form of a contractual agreement, it is apparent that an importer of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) into Europe is no longer simply a "box shifter".

One must question whether an importer or agent would want the responsibility and additional burden the legislation imposes, and at what cost.

It is worth remembering producer registration can cost thousands of Euros within each EU member state for each product registered.

However, noncompliance may amount to millions in fines and lack of market access.

What might happen if a US based OEM lost the services of a local agent or importer within Europe and decided to deal direct?.

Most (but not all) EU member states only permit WEEE registration for organisations with a legal entity within their borders.

In this scenario, for business to business (B2B) transactions, the North American OEM would be considered a distance seller and as such, would not be required or allowed to register within many of the 25 EU member countries.

The OEM must still ensure the exported equipment complies fully with RoHS, however he or she would not be expected to register as a producer with regard to WEEE.

Moreover, the OEM would no longer be required to provide the necessary financial guarantees and wouldn't even be required to collect or recycle his or her equipment as responsibility would now rest with the end user.

Modern supply chains within the electronics industry are complex structures, which look set to get even more intricate following the introduction of environmental legislation.

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