RoHS will affect your business if any of the following apply:
- You create or supply components for any device that is powered by an electric current.
- You are the company that introduces (distributes/imports) any electrical product to geographic markets where restrictions exist.
- You supply any functional and non-functional component (every last part and accessory) to an electrical device.
What if your product contains a critical amount of the banned substances?
- Your product could be banned from import or sale into the EU member states or other geographies where legislation exists.
- Your company could pay heavy fines for violations.
- Your company could face recall of a product from the market.
- Your component could be removed from an OEM's supply chain.
- Your company could be banned from an approved list of suppliers to major OEMs.
The recycling implications of WEEE and ELV
The Waste Electronics & Electrical Equipment (WEEE) directive is stimulating the electronics recycling industry in Europe and possibly other countries in the long-term. The End of Life Vehicle (ELV) directive will have the same effect as WEEE only applied to the automotive industry. Plastics, metals, and compound materials have been recycled for many years. The legislation increases the amount of recycling, and requires a higher level of product sorting. Recyclers will analyze and classify waste streams so they can meet the higher demands of the material re-use and incineration industries.