Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment: scope of the Directive

PURPOSE: to contribute to the protection of human health and the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment 

(EEE) by means of the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in EEE.

LEGISLATIVE ACT : Directive (EU) 2017/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

CONTENT: the Directive provides for the exclusion of pipe organs and non-road mobile machinery with a traction drive powered by an external power source from the scope of application of Directive 2011/65/EU.

It also provides for the promotion of promote a circular economy in the Union by lifting the prohibition of secondary market operations (which involve repair, replacement of spare parts, refurbishment and reuse, and retrofitting) for EEE that fell outside the scope of the previous Directive 2002/95/EC, but which would not comply with Directive 2011/65/EU.

The Directive specifies that reused spare parts, recovered from EEE, shall be exempted provided that reuse takes place in auditable closed-loop business-to-business return systems, and that the reuse of spare parts is notified to the consumer.

The Commission will be required to provide to the applicant, the Member States and the European Parliament a timeline for the adoption of its decision on granting, renewing or revoking an exemption within one month of receipt of the a request for exemption.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 11.12.2017.

TRANSPOSITION: by 12.6.2019.