Policies & Legislation

Electronic Equipment and Product Stewardship

International Policies and Legislation

Canada Canadian Environmental legislation is enacted and governed by individual provinces.

British Columbia
On October 7, 2004, British Columbia passed the Recycling Regulation of the Environmental Management Act (B.C. Reg. 449/2004) requiring producers of designated products to submit a stewardship plan for approval by the BC Ministry of Environment. All producers are required to have an approved plan and comply with the approved plan in order to sell, offer for sale or distribute the product in BC. In February 2006, the BC government amended the Recycling Regulation by adding the Electronic Product Category to bring computers, desktop printers and televisions under regulation by the legislation. In April 2008, the Electronic Product Category was expanded to include stereos, cell phones, hand-held devices and other household electronics. Beginning in April 2011, the Electronics and Electrical Product Category was expanded to include small appliances and smoke detectors. Electronic manufacturers are required to submit a product stewardship plan to recycle the products sold within the province.

Electronic Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC), an industry group created to promote "industry-led solutions" to the e-waste problem, collaborated with retailers, local government, non-profits, environmental groups, the general public and other interested parties to submit the ESBC Stewardship Plan (PDF file, 2.8MB), which was approved in December 2006 and took effect in 2007. The ESABC (the Electronics Stewardship Association of British Columbia) contracted with an already existing not-for-profit stewardship organization, Encorp Pacific Ltd., to provide administrative and collection services for the program. The stewardship program is financed by environmental handling fees paid by the consumers at point of sale. Fees vary by product due to the variability in recycling costs for each product. The plan establishes a convenient collection system for recycling electronic products and a public education program. Processors are required to meet qualification standards established by the ESABC.

In May 2011, the ESABC released a draft five-year stewardship plan (2012-2016) for public comment. The 2012-2016 plan includes a review of the 2007 plan. It will also expand the Electronics and Electrical Product Category to include, on July 1, 2012, large appliances, electrical and electronic tools, medical devices, automatic dispensers, lighting equipment, toys, leisure and sports equipment, monitoring and control instruments, IT and telecommunications equipment, and the batteries found in these items. The draft 2012-2016 plan also commits to three performance indicators: total volume of material collected, percentage of the population with access to a collection site or event, and public awareness (percentage of the public aware of the program).

See British Columbia’s Ministry of the Environment Electronics program overview for additional information regarding the electronic recovery plan. And see Encorp's Return It Electronics Recycling website for more information.

Nova Scotia
In February 2007, Nova Scotia Environment adopted the Electronic Product Stewardship Regulations (PDF file, 47KB) requiring brand owners and retailers of electronic products to provide the collection, transportation, and recycling of unwanted electronics. Brand owners must submit a written proposal to the Minister of Environment and Labour including where collection facilities will be located, the methods in which the program will be accomplished, and their consumer education program. As an alternative, brand owners can enter into agreement with a third party to operate all or specific components of an electronic product stewardship program. The costs of recycling unwanted electronics covered in the program will be funded by an Environmental Handling Fee at the point of purchase for new regulated products.

Electronic Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC), the industry-led group made up of the 16 leading electronics manufacturers in Canada, formed the non-profit Atlantic Canada Electronics Stewardship Association (ACES) in Nova Scotia to develop and implement an efficient collective take-back system. ACES has created a network of drop-off centers throughout the province as part of the requirements in the stewardship regulations. EPSC contracted with an existing non-profit stewardship organization, Resource Recovery Fund Board, Inc. (RRFB Nova Scotia), to provide the administrative and collection services for the program.

The first phase of the regulations came into effect February 1, 2008 targeting laptops, desktop computers, peripherals, printers, monitors, and televisions. Phase 2 began February 1, 2009, and targeted computer scanners, telephones, fax machines, cell phones, other wireless devices, VCRs and DVD players.

Ontario
In June 2002, Ontario passed the Waste Diversion Act (PDF file, 83KB) creating Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO). WDO is a non-governmental organization including manufacturers, local officials, representatives from other non-governmental organizations and the Ministry of the Environment. WDO is responsible for developing, implementing and operating waste diversion programs for designated wastes. The Minister may require that the program be developed in co-operation with an existing industry funding organization or an industry funding organization to be incorporated by WDO for the purpose of the program. If the Minister does not request that a program be developed in co-operation with an existing industry funding organization, WDO will cause an Industry Funding Organization (IFO) to be formed.

In December 2004, the Minister of the Environment designated electronic waste under the WDA. Electronic products covered include household appliances, information technology equipment, telecommunications equipment, audio-visual equipment, electric tools, toys and monitoring equipment. For a detailed product list see Ontario Regulation 393/04, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Fees that are paid by electronic manufacturers go directly to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment IFO which funds the removal of electronic waste material.

In June 2007, the Minister requested WDO to develop a final report detailing a program plan which phases in the implementation of the WEEE regulations. WDO submitted the Final Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Program Plan (PDF file, 637KB) to the Minister covering Phase 1 of the program which went into effect on July 10, 2008. Phase 1 requires manufacturers to implement recovery programs for laptops, desktops, notebooks, keyboards, mice, printers, monitors and televisions. Specific targets provided in the program include increasing collection locations, increasing reuse of electronic material and increasing overall collection/recycling of electronic material. See the WDO Overview of the WEEE Program Plan (PDF file, 26KB) or the Ontario Electronic Stewardship Backgrounder for the WEEE Program Plan for more information.

Within one year after approval of Phase 1, WDO will have to submit to the Minister the second phase of the program detailing the recovery of copiers, PDAs, scanners, typewriters, telephones, answering machines, modems and audio/video equipment.

Saskatchewan
On February 1, 2007, the Saskatchewan Waste Electronic Equipment Program (SWEEP) took effect, legally requiring companies who sell, manufacture, import or distribute electronics in the province to be part of the SWEEP product management program. SWEEP is a non-profit corporation established by manufacturers, retailers and other stakeholders to collect and recycle waste electronics in a responsible manner. View Saskatchewan's Waste Electronic Equipment Regulations (PDF file, 104KB).

For more details about product stewardship legislation in Canada, read these articles by Green Supply Line.

China On March 1, 2007, the Administrative Measure on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products went to effect. The measure, also know as the China RoHS, mandates a phase out of heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, lead, and hexavalent chromium as well as brominated flame retardants in future electronic products.

China’s law is to be implemented in two phases, with the first phase imposing marking and disclosure requirements. As of March 1, 2007, products within the scope of the law must be appropriately marked and manufacturers must provide written disclosure for products that contain any of the identified toxic substances. The second phase will restrict toxic substances from new products. The catalogue as described in the law will define which products are restricted, the timeline of the restriction, and the substances to be restricted.

For more information on China's electronic waste regulations, see the article RoHS/WEEE Regulations and Standards: RoHS in China (PDF file, 853KB). Design Chain Associates provides detailed information for businesses about the China RoHS. AeE (formerly the American Electronics Association) provides a China RoHS Overview.

European Union In November 2002, the European governments and European Parliament concluded two years of negotiation over legislation that revolutionizes product stewardship and producer responsibility.

The two Directives are designed to tackle the increasing waste stream of electrical and electronic equipment and complements European Union measures on landfill and incineration of waste. In February 2003, the publication of the EU's official journal put into force the EU laws dealing with the management of electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) and hazardous substances (RoHS).

Deadlines for implementation of these two laws extend over the next 6 years. Member nations must have the legislation passed in their own states by August 2005, at which time electronics firms will be required to implement a takeback system to responsibly deal with obsolete electronics.

Directive Of The European Parliament And Of The Council on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
The WEEE Directive makes individual producers responsible for the financing and takeback of electronic wastes from their own products. Businesses will not be allowed to charge the customers for the cost of recycling the materials at the time they are recycled. This could give producers more incentive to design environmentally friendly products, which are easier to recycle, reuse and manage at end-of-life. View the WEEE Directive (PDF file, 288KB).

Directive of the European Parliament and Council on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment
In 2003, European Parliament and Council adopted Directive 2002/95/EC (RoHS), which mandates a phase-out of heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, lead, and hexavalent chromium as well as brominated flame retardants in future electronic products by 2006. The ban on brominated flame retardant Deca-BDE in electrical and electronic equipment was lifted by the Commission of the European Communities in October 2005. However, in 2008, the European Court of Justice annulled this decision and the ban on Deca-BDE in electrical and electronic equipment will be effective July 1, 2008. The RoHS Directive phase out certain hazardous chemicals from electronic equipment, including batteries. View the RoHS Directive (PDF file, 114KB).

Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) Legislation
In December 2006, the European government and the European Parliament also achieved victory in moving producer responsibility-based legislation forward with the passage of the world’s most stringent law aimed at protecting people and the environment from thousands of toxic chemicals.

Introduced in 2003, the legislation for the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals (REACH) requires manufacturers and importers of products into the European Union (EU) to register all chemicals used in the manufacturing process. The legislation also requires industries to submit health and safety data on chemicals into a central data base and to replace the most hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives. Under the new EU regulatory framework for chemicals, 40 existing rules will be replaced with a comprehensive program. A new European Chemicals Agency, based in Helsinki, Finland, will become a central regulatory authority.

The law will take effect in June 2007 and be implemented over an 11-year period. For more information see the European Commission.

Japan Although Japan does not have a regulation that mandates elimination of lead, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) requested the decrease of lead in electronics by 75 percent by year 2005. Implementation of this request was voluntarily because the largest market for Japanese electronics is Europe. In order to comply with European RoHS (PDF file, 114KB), Japan had to adjust its manufacturing process by decreasing heavy metals in production.

Additionally, effective July 1, 2006, METI requires manufacturers and importers of computers, televisions, refrigerators, washers and dryers, microwaves and air conditioners to label their products to indicate presence of the six European RoHS substances: lead, mercury, chromium VI, cadmium, PBB and PBDE.

Japan’s Law for the Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources (often referred to as the Recycling Promotion Law) was enacted in 1991 to promote increased recycling of a variety of products and materials. In 2001, the law was revised to address personal computers, televisions and other electrical products. By 2001, businesses in Japan were required to recycle electronics such as PCs, and in 2003, the law was also applied to households. Learn more about the law from INFORM's fact sheet PC Recycling in Japan (PDF file, 15KB).

For more information on recycling efforts in Japan, read the article in The Japan Times and an Overview of Japanese Legislation on Waste Management from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

New Zealand In July 2005, Environment Minister, Marian Hobbs, released Product Stewardship and Water Efficiency Labeling (PDF file, 360KB), a discussion document outlining the government’s options for encouraging businesses and consumers to accept responsibility for the environmental effects of products.

This document addresses wastes that are particularly hard to manage or dispose of, such as electronic waste, cars, used oil. The preferred option is voluntary agreements by industry that can be finalized as a product stewardship policy, and its adoption by government will be determined after consultation.

South Korea On April 2, 2007 the National Assembly of Korea passed legislation similar to RoHS, called The Act for Resource Recycling of Electrical/Electronic Products and Automobiles.

According to the legislation, the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy will determine and publish methods for analyzing hazardous substances, and methods to evaluate improvement in design and material choice relating to recyclability and recoverability. Manufacturers will be responsible for collecting and managing the material composition data that shows their compliance to the law and provide this information to appropriate government officials on demand.

The act emphasizes the penalty provision. Failure to provide data to government officials regarding the material composition could result in one year in jail and a fine of up to $50,000.

For more information, see an English Translation of the Act for Resource Recycling of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Vehicles (PDF file, 494KB) or see the presentation Introduction to Korean Recycling Policy.

Sweden The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has issued regulations and general guidelines on treatment of waste from electrical and electronic products. Extended producer responsibility for these products went into force in Sweden on 1 July 2001. Products covered in the regulation consist of appliances using between 1,000 to 1,500 Volts of electricity.

Manufacturers are required to report to the agency describing how many products are placed on the market and how they will fulfill their take-back responsibilities. Responsibilities include establishing a collection, transportation and recycling system within the country, labeling all products, communicating with municipalities and processors, and ensuring proper funding is allocated towards the individual take-back system. Manufacturers have the ability to establish a joint take-back program with other manufacturers as long as it meets EPA standards.

Inform, Inc. is an independent environmental research firm that looks at business practices and how they impact human and environmental health.

They have developed a summary and analysis of both the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (PDF file, 106KB) and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (PDF file, 59KB) directives.

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