Product category: Electronics Manufacturing Services
News Release from: Zirkon
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 21 May 2004
Don't let an RoHS
loophole turn into a noose
Tony Inskip, Director of Zirkon, comments on a potential loophole in the RoHS Directive
Following recent, misleading, reports in the news regarding possible changes to the RoHS Directive, I would like to express my concern that many companies will now be more confused than ever as to their responsibilities. I find the idea that the authorities could contemplate making changes to an already ambiguous piece of legislation so close to the implementation date is astounding.
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Zirkon has been working with clients to raise awareness of the implications of the introduction of the WEEE directive in August 2005, and the RoHS Directive in July 2006
As an environmentally responsible, proactive business, Zirkon has been working with its customers for the last 18 months to prepare them and their products for the change in requirements and there was already a worrying lack of knowledge and information surrounding the legislation.
These potential changes and the way they have been reported only serves to add to that confusion, allowing companies to believe that they are no longer required to comply.
The fact is that until the legislation, and the terms contained within it, has been finalised companies must continue to prepare to comply with the exclusion of Sn/Pb plated components.
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Contracts and CRM - the way forward
Tony Inskip, Director at Zirkon reviews the importance of the supplier/customer relationship and wonders whether such contract guidelines are really necessary in the UK and what the alternatives are
At the 17th March meeting of the Technical Adaptation Committee, the Trade Association EICTA (European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations) advised that the term "unit" "shouldn't apply to a circuit board as has been reported in the specialist press, but that they understood it to mean a component on a circuit board, for example".
If the association's recommendations are accepted, the loophole will be closed and many companies will find that they are several months behind the point they should have reached in achieving compliance.
Zirkon continues to aim to be compliant with the RoHS directive by the end of 2004, regardless of the loophole, because to risk not complying would result in a far greater cost.
This legislation is not going to go away, and will affect the manufacturing industry, regardless of any loopholes.
The lack of clarity in this latest announcement should not be taken as another excuse for businesses to bury their heads in the sand and not act, because sooner or later they will be caught out and the price will be high, both in monetary terms and damage to brand and reputation.
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