The Reduction of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Regulations 2006 (RoHS) came into force on the 01 of July 2006. Any electrical product sold within the European Union after this date has to comply with the RoHS Regulations.

The RoHS Regulations apply to the brand owner or the importer of electrical products and applies to the following categories of products:

•  large household appliance
•  small household appliances
•  IT and telecommunications
•  consumer equipment
•  lighting equipment
•  electrical and electronic tools
•  toys, leisure and sports equipment
•  automatic dispensers

Medical devices and Monitoring and Control equipment are currently exempt from these regulations.

To comply with the RoHS Regulations, electrical products must meet the criteria for maximum concentration levels of a number of hazardous substances in each homogenous material, listed below:

0.1% by weight for lead
0.1% by weight for mercury
0.1% by weight for hexavalent chromium
0.1% by weight for polybrominated biphenyls
0.1% by weight for polybrominated diphenyl ethers
0.01% by weight for cadmium

Medical devices and Monitoring and Control equipment are currently exempt. Details of all exceptions are found in the UK regulations.

We have partnered with analysts Giraffe Innovations to offer members both destructive and non-destructive testing of EEE to assess compliance at a special reduced cost.

To find out more call the Valpak WEEE hotline on 08450 682 572