January 2003, the European Union (E.U.) adopted two important environmental directives
-- the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the
Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). These directives
represent an important milestone in fostering a safer and healthier environment
for future generations.
IOGEAR continues to be committed to protecting people
and the environment and has and will meet all RoHS and
WEEE standards on or before the stated E.U. deadline of
July 1, 2006.
For the last 10 years, IOGEAR has actively sought out and
developed alternatives that enabled ourselves and our customers
to reduce waste associated with the electronics industry. We
have constantly worked to reduce the amount substances and
materials within each of our products in order to reduce
the burden on our environment. In a study done in August
2004, it was determined that IOGEAR alone reduced the number
of monitors needed in multiple computer environments, enough
to fill Angel Stadium of Anaheim to the lights at the top
of the stadium. IOGEAR is proud to state that all of
our factories have been RoHS and WEEE ready since 2005, and
look forward to making our customers environment safe and
healthy for years to come.
RoHS Directive - 2002/95/EC
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive was established by the European Union (E.U.). It affects manufacturers, sellers, distributors and recyclers of electrical and electronic equipment containing lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chrome, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). After July 1, 2006 the use of these materials will be banned in new products sold in Europe; however each E.U. member country will apply its own laws in regards to the directives.
In 2003, IOGEAR began the process of converting all of its products to be built
without any of the banned materials. The qualification of RoHS-compliant
components supplied by our vendors and the implementation of new manufacturing
processes related to this Directive was undertaken in 2004 and 2005.
Most of IOGEAR’s products and their packaging materials sold worldwide will be fully RoHS-compliant by July 1, 2006. An exception to this will be certain legacy products for which RoHS-compliant components are unavailable from the suppliers. Such products will later be marked with a R on the packaging and other area to help everyone identify those that meet the RoHS directive.
WEEE Directive - 2002/96/EC
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) applies to companies that manufacture, sell, and distribute electrical and electronic equipment in the E.U. It covers a wide range of large and small household appliances, IT equipment, radio and audio equipment, electrical tools, telecommunications equipment, electrical toys, etc.
The Directive aims to reduce the waste arising from electrical and electronic equipment, and improve the environmental performance of everything involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment. This is translated into the following requirements:
- Producers (manufacturers or importers) of electrical and electronic equipment will be required to register in their countries.
- Private households will be able to return their WEEE to collection facilities free of charge and producers will be responsible for financing these facilities.
- Producers will be required to achieve a series of demanding recycling and recovery targets.
- Producers will be required to mark their products with the ‘crossed out wheeled bin’. This symbol indicates that the equipment carrying this mark must NOT be thrown into general waste but should be collected separately and properly recycled under local regulations.
The WEEE directive has been or will shortly be transposed
into each EU member state’s legislation and so
the exact timing and details will vary slightly from
country to country, but the above principles will apply.
In particular, the arrangements for the separate collection
of WEEE will vary in each country but might include for
example: public collection points, retailers take back
schemes, collection from households, etc. The Directive
encourages reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery
in order to prevent WEEE. Users of electrical and electronic
equipment in the E.U. can therefore play an important
role in reducing WEEE and helping the environment by
separating out WEEE and disposing of it properly.
IOGEAR is dedicated to minimizing the impact our products have on the environment and to comply with the WEEE Directive.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above
statement or IOGEAR’s commitment to the RoHS and WEEE
directives please email: RoHS_WEEE@iogear.com
or go to: http://www.iogear.com/corp/rohs_weee for
more information.
