Author Archives: ECD_admin

China – China RoHS 2 Takes Effect

China RoHS 2 came into effect on July 1, 2016. On the same date, the revised China RoHS marking standard SJ/T 11364-2014 “Marking for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products” also came into effect. The implementation of SJ/T 11364-2014 had been on hold since its publication in 2014, awaiting the China RoHS 2 regulation to catch up.

The FAQ document published by MIIT in May 2016 clarifies some of the questions raised by the China RoHS 2 regulation (The Management Methods).  Our June Monthly Environmental Report started to provide a summary of some key pieces of information in the FAQ document.  Some  information (for general indication)  based on unofficial English translation is provided below (refer to original Chinese document for official FAQ):

  • Products must comply to the new China RoHS 2 requirements if their final date of manufacture is on or after July 1, 2016. The FAQ explicitly states (Q6) that this is also the case for imported products and that the enforcement date does not have anything to do with the date of customs clearance or when the product is sold.
  • Accessory products referred to in the definition of “Electrical and electronic products” is intended to mean components, parts, and materials used in or with the EEP. This will include spare parts used to repair, refurbish, or upgrade a product. Accessory products that are part of the EEP must comply with the requirements of the Methods. (Q10)
  • Batteries are generally included in the scope of the Methods (Q15);
  • Electric wires and cables, even if sold on their own, are included in the scope of the Methods (Q16);
  • Consumables are in scope of the Methods if they are provided with the EEP or if they need to be powered up to operate. (Q17)
  • The requirements for efficient resource utilization and ease of recycling and disposal in Articles 9 and 10 of the Methods, are provided to encourage environmentally conscious design (ECD) of products. There are no mandatory requirements at this time. (Q52)
  • Article 12 specifies that product packaging comply with relevant standards. The FAQ (Q53) clarifies that at the present time, this Article is to to encourage ECD of the product packaging.

EU – One SVHC Added to REACH Candidate List

One June 20, 2016, one additional substance was added to the EU REACH Candidate List of SVHCs. This is one of four substances that had been proposed for this round of Candidate List additions and had been posted in February for public consultation.

Table 1: SVHC added to REACH Candidate List

Substance nameEC number  CAS numberExamples of use(s)
Benzo[def]chrysene
(Benzo[a]pyrene)		200-028-550-32-8Impurities in carbon black, which is used as coloring agent in plastics and softener in rubbers

Two of the other three substances that went out for public consultation did not receive unanimous support from the Member State Committee (MSC) for listing and were sent to the European Commission for final decisions. This includes the phthalate DCHP which has known uses in plastic materials used in EEE. The third proposed SVHC that was not added, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, was withdrawn by Germany in order to further elaborate on the justification.

IPC – IPC-1754 Data Exchange for Aerospace and Defense Industries

A new material declaration standard for the aerospace, defense and heavy equipment industries is being developed as IPC-1754. The standards development committee officially kicked off development of the standard in October 2015. The IPC-1754 standard came out of a initiative started by the International Aerospace Environmental Group (IAEG(tm)).

ECD Compliance principal, Walter Jager, has been appointed as co-chair and will help lead the committee (which now includes over 100 members) in developing the standard.

India – Moves Forward with Revised WEEE Regulation

The India E-Waste Management Rules, 2016 were recently finalized and published in the Gazette of India by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The new Rules come into effect on October 1, 2016, superseding the e-waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2011. They tighten up responsibility for funding e-waste management and for the operation of the entire e-waste collection, reuse and recycling chain. The India e-waste Rules also include requirements for RoHS compliance of products sold in India (changes are also discussed below).

A draft of the revised rules were posted and notified to the WTO in 2015 (“India – Proposed Revision to RoHS Provisions” in our November 2015 report). The Ministry says that it received 584 suggestions and objections in response to the draft rules and subsequently made several changes to address some of the comments.

WEEE requirements

In addition to tightening up responsibility for funding and operations of the entire e-waste reverse logistics, the new Rules also provide some additional flexibility to producers in setting up their own collection and reuse/recycling system under Extended Producer Responsibility. We’ve provided a brief summary of some changes in the Rules:

  • Several additional economic actors have been added to the Rules, including: manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO).
  • The applicability of the Rules has been extended to components, consumables, and spare parts of EEE products that within the scope of the Rules;
  • Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and other mercury containing lamps are included in the scope of the rules
  • Collection mechanisms, particularly with regard to Extended Producer Responsibility
  • Deposit Refund Scheme
  • Clarification of government bodies that have authority and responsibilities with regard to e-waste management and enforcement.

The Rules are available on the government website along a “What’s New?” and a summary of “Salient Features”. Schedule 1 of the Rules specifies the EEE products that are within scope of the Rules (excerpted in Figure 1 below).

Figure 1: Categories of EEE in scope of the revised WEEE regulation

Figure 1: Categories of EEE in scope of the revised WEEE regulation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RoHS Requirements

In general, the Ministry has tried to align the RoHS substance restrictions with the requirements specified in the EU RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU), including the substances that are restricted, the thresholds, exemptions, and the requirement to provide technical documentation that conforms to the European standard EN 50581.  The RoHS requirements are specified in Chapter V (Rule 16). RoHS exemptions are listed in Schedule II.

However, there are a few sub-rules which raise questions about additional requirements that could prove challenging, depending on exactly how they are implemented. This includes sub-rule (5) and sub-rule (8):

(5) Every producer shall provide the detailed information on the constituents of the equipment and their components or consumables or parts or spares along with a declaration of conformance to the Reduction of Hazardous Substances provisions in the product user documentation.

(8) Every producer while seeking Extended Producer Responsibility – Authorisation will provide information on the compliance of the provisions of sub-rule (1) of rule 16. This information shall be in terms of self-declaration

No additional information is provided on the nature of the “detailed information on the constituents” stated in sub-rule (5), making it difficult to judge the impact of this provision.  With regard to sub-rule (8), Form-1 specifies that the “information on compliance” must be technical documents based on EN 50581.

To enforce the substance restrictions, sub-rule (9) places responsibility for conducting random sampling of EEE product on the “Central Pollution Control Board”; however, sub-rule (9) also states that the Producer must cover the cost of acquiring a sample product and for conducting the testing.  The Central Pollution Control Board is also responsible for publishing the methods for sampling and analysis of hazardous substances.

 

 

Canada – Uses Rolling Action Plan for CMP 3

A representative has said that Environment Canada will be using a rolling workplan for assessing substances under the upcoming third phase of the Chemical Management Plan (CMP). CMP 3 is expected to consider 1,550 substances, the last batch of the 4,300 substances identified in 2004 under Canada’s prioritization process. The rolling workplan will include a list of substances for assessment over the upcoming 2 years and will be updated regularly. The approach is modelled after the European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) for substance evaluation under REACH.

EU – Revised Blue Guide

The ‘Blue Guide’ on the implementation of EU product rules 2016 was published on April 5, 2016. The ‘Blue Guide’ provides EU Guidance on how European Union regulations apply to products that are manufactured in the EU or imported into the EU. It also describes the rules surrounding the free movement of products within Europe.

The Blue Guide is very important to foreign manufacturers in understanding how and when regulatory requirements apply to their products, especially when a new regulation is implemented and new requirements need to be met.

With regard to the EU RoHS Directive, the Blue Guide provides guidance on the interpretation of what is a finished product and on the terms “placing on the market” (section 2.3) and “making available on the market”.

Most of the changes in the 2016 Blue Guide compared to the previous 2014 version are to provide additional detail and clarification in the guidance, particularly with regard to new business models. The Guide provides:

  • additional clarification of several terms used in EU regulations and that the rules are applicable to the EU market as whole and not individual national markets;
  • more information about responsibility when products are sold online and then shipped to the end user;picture1
    • Section 2.2 titled “Placing on the Market” provides examples of when an online sales channel is “specifically targeted at EU consumers”.
  • Section 2.4 on “Products Imported From Countries Outside the EU” is nearly twice as long in the new version, and now explicitly addresses the responsibility of customs authorities and market surveillance authorities.

EU – BPA to Be Classified as Category 1 Reproductive Toxin

The EU is on the verge of classifying bisphenol A (BPA) as a category 1B substance, toxic for reproduction. This classification makes it much easier to regulate BPA and products containing BPA in the EU. For example, substances classified as category 1 carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxin can be banned from use in consumer products in the EU via a simplified procedure. The category 1B classification also opens the door to BPA being listed as an SVHC on the REACH Candidate List. See the article below on REACH registry of intentions.

The Member State committee backed the classification change in early February during its review of a series of changes to be implemented in the CLP (Classification and Labelling Protocol). The Commission will now send the draft Regulation to the European Parliament for scrutiny. Based on standard timelines, the new regulation could be published in the EU Official Journal around mid-2016. According to the draft regulation, the classification change would take effect 18 months after the regulation enters into force.

 

EU – Proposed Amendments to Waste Management Directives

As part of the Commission’s December package on the Circular Economy , amendments to several waste management Directives were proposed, including WEEE, batteries, packaging and end of life vehicles (ELV). The amendments are mainly focused on how EU Member States report their takeback and recycling results; however for certain types of waste, such as packaging, the recycling levels have been increased.

The Commission has set the following target for waste management:

  • a common EU target for recycling municipal waste of 65% by 2030;
  • a common EU target for recycling packaging waste of 75% by 2030.
  • material-specific targets for different packaging materials;
  • • a binding landfill reduction target of 10% by 2030;

The last bullet means that by 2030, the Commission expects that only 10% of all waste in the EU goes to landfill. The other 90% needs to be recycled or used for energy recovery.

For packaging, the proposed Directive sets the following long-term recycling targets:

(i) no later than 31 December 2030 the following minimum targets by weight for preparing for reuse and recycling will be met regarding the following specific materials contained in packaging waste:

(i) 75% of wood;
(ii) 85% of ferrous metal;
(iii) 85% of aluminium;
(iv) 85% of glass;
(v) 85% of paper and cardboard.

China RoHS 2 – Expanded Scope takes Effect on July 1, 2016

After years of uncertainty surrounding China RoHS 2, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published the revised regulation on January 21, 2016. Starting July 1, 2016, companies that manufacture, import or sell Electrical and Electronic Products in China will need to comply with the new requirements. China RoHS 2 aligns more closely with EU RoHS than the original China RoHS but it still retains the unique labeling and documentation requirements and expands the requirements to many products that weren’t previously in scope.

The expanded scope combined with the short timeline for compliance will certainly be a challenge for many product manufacturers. Eliminating the exclusion for exported products also affects companies that have their products manufactured in China.

Manufacturers of products that are already EU RoHS compliant should have sufficient information on hand to compile the new China RoHS documentation; but products that aren’t yet EU RoHS compliant may present a challenge to their manufacturers.  For example, industrial monitoring and control instruments and products that fall into Category 11 “Other EEE not covered by any of the categories above” aren’t subject to EU RoHS requirements until 2017 and 2019 respectively, but both need to meet the China RoHS 2 requirements this year. The requirement to identify all presence of the six hazardous substance groups, including uses that are covered by EU RoHS exemptions, can create a particular challenge.

The Regulation

The regulation, officially titled “Management Methods for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products”, is generally aligned with the China RoHS 2 draft that was circulated in May 2015 with only a few minor surprises. As expected, the scope of the regulation is extended to all electrical and electronic products except for power generation, transmission and distribution equipment.

Definition of Electrical and Electronic Products

The definition of “Electrical and electronic products” refers to devices and accessory products which function by means of electric current or electromagnatic fields with rated working voltage up to and including 1500V DC and 1000V AC or which generate, transmit or measure such currents or electromagnetic fields. However, the definition explicitly excludes power generation, transmission and distribution equipment.

Hazardous Substances

The six original EU RoHS substances are still the basis for hazardous substances in China RoHS 2; although a seventh entry of “Other harmful substances as regulated by the State” leaves the door open to additional substances such as the four phthalate substances added to EU RoHS.

Labelling and Hazardous Substance Disclosure

A hazardous substances table that indicates presence of any of the six substances and where in the product they are located was carried forward from China RoHS to China RoHS2 (Article 13). The “environmental protection use period” (EPUP) label is also still required (Article 14). The regulation states that both the substance table and the EPUP label should be displayed directly on product; although the regulation provides an alternative if necessary.

With the expanded scope of China RoHS 2, many additional products will need to display the EPUP label and the hazardous substances table as of July 1, 2016. The details of the hazardous substances table and the environmental protection use period are specified in the China standard SJ/T 11364-2014.

Substance Restrictions

Similar to the substance restriction mechanism in its predecessor, China RoHS 2 includes a “Compliance Management Catalog” to implement substance restrictions, specify exemptions and provide timelines.

Compliance to China RoHS 2 will be based on a “conformity assessment system” instead of the CCC certification specified in the original China RoHS — details will be provided later. The regulation only states that MIIT working together with other organizations will “establish a creditable mechanism based on the result of the assessments”.

End of Life Information and Design for Environment

A number of subtle provisions have been added into the regulation for design for environment and to facilitate recycling. The exact expectations of these provisions aren’t specified in the regulation but may emerge over time in China national standards and the FAQ that’s expected sometime this year.

To provide some insight, we’ve pulled out a few examples of DfE implications from the regulation:

  • Article 13 states that the hazardous substances table should provide information on what parts of the product may be recycled and information on possible impact on inappropriate use or disposal on the environment or health.
  • Article 10 states that the producer/manufacturer shall adopt materials and technologies that protect the environment and human health, are easy to recycle and allow high product recyclability rates.

Product Packaging

In the draft regulation released in May 2015, MIIT had removed the requirements on product packaging that were included in the original China RoHS. However, packaging was added back into the final version of China RoHS 2, although somewhat ambiguously. The new requirement states that mandatory standards and laws related to packaging must be met and that packaging materials must be nonhazardous, recyclable/biodegradable, and comply with national or industry standards.

Exported Products

The China RoHS 2 regulation applies to EEE products manufactured in China, imported into China or otherwise sold in China. Unlike the original China RoHS, it does not provide an exemption for EEE products that are manufactured for export.

Impact on Manufacturers

Companies that manufacture their product in China or sell product into China will likely be impacted to some degree by the new China RoHS 2 regulation. Products that were previously out of scope will need to comply with all of the marking and labeling requirements as of July 1, 2016.

The China RoHS 2 regulation is available from the MIIT website (in Chinese). An English translation of the regulation has been made available by Foley & Lardner LLP: English reference translation of the new China RoHS 2 regulation.

 

UAE Updates RoHS Proposal to Address Phthalates

The United Arab Emirates has updated its RoHS proposal to align the timing of the phthalate restrictions with those of the EU RoHS Directive. The original proposal had the phthalate restrictions coming into effect at the same time as all other substance restrictions.Picture1

The restriction on the four phthalate substances is now specified in the proposal (clause 9.1.2) as coming into effect on July 22, 2019 for most EEE products (see text box).  The reference to clause 9.1.1 is with respect to medical devices and monitoring and control instruments.

In a subsequent comment from the EU, the EU reiterated additional concerns about the mechanism by which exemptions were being implemented and maintained.