Electronic Equipment Directive Research Articles

Up to Snuff

This article highlights that companies find that “product lifecycle management” can mean steering through the regulatory tangle of their business. The automotive industry is particularly affected by changing legislation, because many automakers are now working to ensure that their vehicles comply with the End-of-Life Vehicle Directive passed by the European Union in 2000. The End-of-Life Vehicle Directive is only one of the rules and regulations in Europe. The EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive set environmental targets for the amount of hazardous materials that can be contained in electrical and electronic equipment. Sometimes an engineer can’t simply call up a CAD file for a part, because the company gets that part from a supplier and incorporates it into the final product. In these cases, it's vital to ensure that those parts meet vital standards. Ensuring that engineering products meet the plethora of existing codes and laws is a perplexing and complex task that is only going to get harder.

End‐of‐life electronics legislation – an industry perspective

Increasing awareness of man's impact on the environment and pressure to behave in a more sustainable manner are encouraging both the recycling and reuse of materials and the replacement of hazardous chemicals with more benign ones. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive, have recently been adopted into law with the specific intention of further encouraging these activities through legislation. In addition to these directives, there is a growing need to adopt sound design principles so that new products are created in a more environmentally acceptable way and that their environmental impact throughout their lifecycles is minimised. This paper gives an overview of this new European legislation and discusses its impact on the electronics industry. The potential benefits of adopting such an approach are outlined.

P‐18: Environmental Impact of LCDs and CRTs

AbstractIn this paper, we describe the product use and end of life (EOL) environmental impacts of LCD and CRT monitors, primarily from European and U.S. perspectives. Potential reductions in power consumption through the adoption of LCD technologies in relation to the U.S. Energy Star Program are addressed. As are the implications of the E.U.'s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the Directive on the Restrictions on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronics Equipment (RoHS).

Taking the WEEE [EU waste electrical and electronic equipment directive

The EU waste electrical and electronic equipment directive is already part of EU law. Now is the time to start working with solution providers to ensure you adopt a tailored, economic solution. The author discovers that logistics is key to coping with impending restrictions on the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

An update on the WEEE and RoHS directives

Outlines and comments on the waste electrical and electronic equipment and the restriction on the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment directives, which have recently become law.

Lead-free solders and processing issues in microelectronics

Recent legislation in the European Union (EU) is expected to result in a full transition to lead-free soldering technology in the near future. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) directives became European law on February 13, 2003, and the member states now have 18 months from this date to implement them. The WEEE directive seeks to increase recycling and recovery of waste equipment, while RoHS bans lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium (VI), polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers by January 7, 2006. Although there are a few exemptions, the bulk of electronic products are affected by the lead ban in RoHS. Accordingly, R&D activities will have to be intensifi ed to meet the deadline set by the EU directives and the pressure from environmentally conscious consumers. To address questions on lead-free solders and soldering technologies, TMS has been active over the last several years in organizing a series of symposia on lead-free and lead-bearing solders at its annual and fall meetings and publishing their results. At the 2003 TMS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, a technical symposium on “Pb-Free Solders and Processing Issues Relevant to Microelectronic Packaging” (organized by J. Lucas, S. Chada, S. Kang, C. Kao, K. Lin, J. Ready, and J. Yu), sponsored by the Electronic Packaging and Interconnection Materials Committee of EMPMD, was another successful forum for presenting and discussing recent fi ndLead-Free Solders and Processing Issues in Microelectronics

Just a WEEE problem [waste management

In this paper, the author outlines the benefits of the designtrack programme in helping companies adjust their manufacturing practices to the demands of the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Is Europe ready to go lead free? [electronic products

Legislation that will require lead to be eliminated from a host of electronic products across the EU is just three years away. The author looks at how well prepared industry is for this change. The EU's key initiative when it comes to tackling the mountain of waste electronic products is the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which aims to increase the collection rates of most types of equipment to around 4-6 kg per person per year. The regulations cover a range of mainly consumer, household, IT and telecom equipment, and will also dictate how waste is treated once it has been collected. The options available for lead free solder are briefly outlined. A roadmap for Europe's electronics industry in the area of lead-free solders is then outlined.

Environmental product attributes in end-of-life management in the UK. Part II: problems encountered with informational systems for the management of end-of-life IT and office equipment

The focus of this paper and its companion (Part I) is to identify producer responsibility associated with the proposed Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the need for greater information about the environmental attributes of electrical and electronic equipment to facilitate end-of-life management of discarded products. Part II Data were gathered from a series of telephone interviews conducted to determine the environmental attributes needed to facilitate treatment and general handling of discarded IT and office equipment. Analysis of the interview transcripts highlighted potential difficulties that may cause problems for the exchange of information required by Article 10 of the proposed Directive. Special reference is made to the use of an end-of-life declaration for the communication of environmental information. Difficulties were encountered with perceptions and attitudes towards the validity, accuracy, and the communication of data are discussed. It is proposed that solutions would need to be derived at an industry-wide level to ensure compliance with the proposed Directive.

Environmental product attributes in end-of-life management in the UK. Part I: an end-of-life eco-declaration for waste IT and office equipment

The focus of this paper and its companion (Part II) is to identify producer responsibility associated with the proposed Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the need for greater information about the environmental attributes of electrical and electronic equipment to facilitate end-of-life management of discarded products. Recently, a wide-ranging debate has started within the IT industry centred on the best way to define the exact nature of the information that needs to be supplied to recyclers by producers in order to comply with the proposed European Commission Directive. Using IT and office equipment as an indicative example, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with representatives of the UK electronics end-of-life management industry about the environmental attributes that are needed for compliance with the draft Directive. The results of this research indicate there is specific information about equipment that is required on a regular basis, the most important of which is centred on hazardous substances and materials contained in whole units, parts and components of that equipment. The content of an eco-declaration for end-of-life management of IT and office equipment derived from quantitative and qualitative interview data is presented.