WEEE and RoHS transposition update -- Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
In this report, Business Alert-EU reports on the status of implementation of Directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) in Switzerland and two of the States which are signatories to the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement: Liechtenstein and Norway.
As signatories to the EEA Agreement, Liechtenstein and Norway are required to regulate the treatment of electrical and electronic waste products and the reduction of use of hazardous substances in the same way as the EU Member States. As Switzerland is not a member of the EU or a signatory to the EEA Agreement, it is not required to implement EU legislation. However, Switzerland, by and large, follows EU environmental legislation, often due to pressure from industry which seeks to avoid barriers to trade being erected as a consequence of different legislation in Switzerland and the EU.
Norway -- National Legislation -- The RoHS Directive was transposed in Norway by Regulation no. 46 of 24 January 2005 which amended Chapter three of the Regulations relating to restrictions on the manufacture, import, export, sale and use of chemicals and other products hazardous to health and the environment (Regulation FOR-2004-06-01-922 "Product Control Regulations"). The Norwegian RoHS provisions entered into force on 1 July 2006. Norwegian legislation on WEEE was enacted by the Ministry of the Environment on 16 March 1998, pursuant to Section 33 of the Act of 13 March 1981, No. 6 concerning Protection against Pollution and concerning Waste, and entered into force on 1 July 1999. Further minor amendments have been made since then.
Competent Bodies -- The legislation was transposed by the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment (http://odin.dep.no/md/english/bn.html) working with the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (http://www.sft.no/english/). The National Enforcement Body for both RoHS and WEEE is the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority.
Main requirements -- For WEEE, every producer and importer must be a member of a take-back company which has been approved by the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority. A WEEE Register has been established for producers of all types of EEE. Businesses can deliver WEEE to dealers selling the same types of products, provided they make a new purchase. Businesses can also deliver WEEE to municipalities. Consumers can deliver WEEE free of charge to dealers selling the same types of products, without having to make a new purchase and can deliver WEEE free of charge to municipalities, regardless of the type of product. As for the Norwegian RoHS legislation, this is consistent with the RoHS Directive, imposing a ban on the use of six hazardous substances in EEE where an exemption does not apply from 1 July 2006.
Notable differences with Directive -- The Norwegian Waste legislation includes a definition of EEE that is slightly broader than the definition in the WEEE Directive, i.e. it also includes distribution and metering of electric currents and electromagnetic fields, including the components necessary for cooling, heating, protection etc. of the electrical and/or electronic components. The Norwegian definition also states that in borderline cases the Pollution Control Authority, or another agency so authorised by the Ministry of the Environment, shall determine what is to be regarded as EEE. The Norwegian legislation defines WEEE ("EE Waste") simply as "scrapped EE Products". It also includes a broader definition of "Recycling", than the WEEE Directive including "energy recovery". Finally, it should be noted that there is no definition or distinction made in the Norwegian legislation with respect to "historical waste" and "new waste". This is because, in Norway, rules regarding producer responsibility for WEEE have been in place since 1999.
Penalties -- Violations of the Norwegian RoHS and WEEE provisions are subject to penalties under the terms of the Product Control Act. The Product Control Act provides that breaches of the Act shall be penalised by fines, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or both, unless more stringent penalty provisions apply. Contravention of the RoHS provisions shall be penalised only if such contravention is wilful or caused by gross negligence. Aiding and abetting is to be penalised in the same way.
Switzerland -- National Legislation -- The Swiss WEEE law, the "Ordinance on the Return, the Take-Back and the Waste Management of Electric and Electronic Equipment" ("VREG"), as last amended in June 2005, has been in place since 1998. However, in Switzerland, well-functioning collection and recovery schemes, founded by producers, importers and retail chains, existed on a voluntary basis even before this legislation was enacted.
RoHS provisions are regulated by the Ordinance on the Reduction of Risks from Chemicals ("ChemRRV"). Under the ChemRRV, on 1 July 2006 the same restrictions on the six hazardous substances as in the RoHS Directive entered into effect.
Competent Bodies -- The responsibility for implementing the VREG and for supervising the prohibitions under the ChemRRV falls to the Swiss Cantons. There is no clearing house in Switzerland. Instead, the three private organisations: Swiss Association for Information, Communication and Organisational Technology ("SWICO", www.swico.ch), Swiss Foundation for Waste Management ("S.EN.S", www.sens.ch) and the Swiss Association for Illumination ("SLG", www.slg.ch), founded by producers, importers and retail chains, share responsibility for the management of WEEE (see below).
Main requirements -- Generally, financing of the treatment of WEEE in Switzerland differs from the system envisaged by the WEEE Directive for the EU insofar as buyers of EEE (private users and industry alike) pay an advanced recycling fee on top of the price of the product. This fee finances the collection and treatment of WEEE. Retailers, distributors, producers and importers have to take back WEEE of the kind of goods they market, manufacture or import. SWICO and S.EN.S have published lists with the advanced recycling fees payable for different EEE categories.
Holders of WEEE are obliged to return it to a distributor, producer or importer or to a public collection point operated by the collective schemes SWICO, S.EN.S and SLG. The schemes organise the transport of WEEE from collection points and from sales points/retailers to treatment partners. In principle, the VREG also allows producers or importers to fulfil their take-back obligations on their own and at their own expense. However, since this is rather burdensome and costly, in practice almost all producers and importers of EEE organise the collection and treatment of WEEE through the collective schemes.
Notable differences with Directive -- The main difference with the WEEE Directive is, as mentioned above, that in the Swiss system it is the buyers who finance WEEE collection and treatment by way of an advanced recycling fee.
Schemes -- The three collective schemes SWICO, S.EN.S and SLG (please see above) share the work according to product categories as established by the VREG: SWICO takes care of entertainment electronics and office, IT and communication appliances, appliances from the graphics industry and dental appliances, and S.EN.S. is responsible for household appliances (including fridges and freezers), tools, sports and leisure equipment and toys, and, together with SLG, for luminaires and illuminants.
Penalties -- The VREG itself does not contain specific provisions on sanctions in case of infringement. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the Swiss Cantons to take administrative action to enforce the obligations set out in the VREG. The same applies with regard to the implementation of the relevant provisions of the ChemRRV.
Liechtenstein -- Based on the Customs Treaty between Switzerland and Liechtenstein on the accession of Liechtenstein to the Swiss customs territory, a considerable part of Swiss legislation has been declared applicable by the government of Liechtenstein to its territory. This includes the VREG and the ChemRRV. WEEE collection and treatment is essentially organised by the Swiss collective schemes.
