Geoffrey Bock of TUV Rheinland of North America discussed the sometimes complex topic of WEEE/RoHS compliance Tuesday morning at National Manufacturing Week in Rosemont, IL.
According to Bock, the main goal of the Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive is to adapt the product design for reuse, recovery, recycling and integrate recycling material into the manufacturing process. Penalties of non-compliance can include fees and import bans. "Competitors will then have access to your market and advertise your non-compliance," Bock said. The WEEE directive is broken down into several different categories:1. Large household appliances
2. Small household appliances
3. IT and telecoms devices
4. Consumer equipment, such as stereo systems
5. Lighting equipment
6. Household tools
7. Toys and sporting/recreational goods
8. Medical equipment
9. Monitoring and control equipment
10. Automatic dispensers "National security and defense products are currently exempt," Bock said. In an interview after the session by Manufacturing.net staff, Bock was asked about taking consumer goods that are compliant in one country to another country when compliance is questionable. "It is then the responsibility of the consumer to properly dispose of the product. If the registration was done correctly, the product can be traced back." Bock highly recommends "performing risk audits on your suppliers to make sure you are showing due diligence. Even if you aren't producing a high risk product, you may be a random pick for testing," Bock said.
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