The Commission of the European Union (EU) has issued a new directive that clarifies the requirements of its revised directive restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (2011/65/EU, also known as EU RoHS 2).
Published in mid-November in the Official Journal of the European Union, the new directive, 2017/2102, eliminates the requirements applicable to secondary market operations, such as the repair, refurbishment or retrofitting of electrical and electronic equipment, or the replacement of spare parts, in connection with the July 2019 deadline for compliance with the provisions of RoHS 2. The Commission notes that such requirements would place an “unnecessary administrative burden” on secondary market operators and should be removed.
Separately, the new directive also excludes from the scope of RoHS 2 certain niche product groups, as their inclusion would bring “negligible environmental or health benefits.” These include pipes in organs using a specific type of lead-based alloy, for which no alternative is currently available, and non-road mobile machinery with an on-board power source intended only for use by professionals.
