If you manufacture or place electrical or electronic equipment on the market in the Netherlands, you must limit the concentration of hazardous substances in these devices. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) oversees this.
Hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)
Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) may contain substances that are hazardous to people and the environment. Many of these substances are harmful, toxic or even carcinogenic. To protect people and the environment, only a limited concentration of certain hazardous substances is permitted in this equipment. The rules governing the use of hazardous substances in EEE are set out in the:
- RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU) (Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances).
- Regeling gevaarlijke stoffen in elektrische en elektronische apparatuur, Rgseea (Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, in Dutch).
Products covered by RoHS
The rules set out in the RoHS Directive to restrict the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment apply to:
- Large household appliances
- Small household appliances
- IT and telecommunications equipment
- Consumer equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Electrical and electronic tools
- Toys, leisure and sports equipment
- Medical devices
- Measuring and control equipment, including industrial monitoring and control instruments
- Automatic machines
- Other electrical and electronic equipment not covered by any of the above categories.
Hazardous substances covered by the RoHS Directive
The RoHS Directive specifies the maximum concentration of hazardous substances permitted in electrical and electronic equipment. The limits on the substances are as follows:
| Hazardous substance | Maximum limit (% by weight) | Maximum limit (ppm) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | Pb | 0.1 | 1,000 |
| Mercury | Hg | 0.1 | 1,000 |
| Cadmium | Cd | 0.01 | 100 |
| Hexavalent chromium | Cr6+ | 0.1 | 1.000 |
| Polybrominated biphenyls | PBB's | 0.1 | 1,000 |
| Polybrominated diphenyl ethers | PBDE's | 0.1 | 1,000 |
| Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate | DEHP | 0.1 | 1,000 |
| Butyl benzyl phthalate | BBP | 0.1 | 1,000 |
| Dibutyl phthalate | DBP | 0.1 | 1,000 |
| Di-isobutyl phthalate | DIBP | 0.1 | 1,000 |
Organisations subject to oversight
The ILT monitors whether organisations are complying with the laws and regulations governing the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment in the Netherlands. Your obligations depend on your role in the market.
Please note: if your role in the market is unclear, answer the questions on Ondernemersplein.nl to determine your role as a market participant.
Your organisation manufactures electrical and electronic equipment, or you have it designed and manufactured by another organisation, but sell the equipment under your own name or trade mark. To ensure your product complies with RoHS, you must:
- Carry out internal production checks.
- Establish a procedure to ensure compliance.
- Affix the CE marking.
- Draw up the required technical documentation.
- Draw up an EU declaration of conformity.
- Keep the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation for 10 years.
- Indicate your name, trade name and address on the product.
- Affix a unique identification number (type, serial and batch).
If you discover that your product does not comply with RoHS, you must:
- Take corrective action or withdraw your product from the market.
- Notify the ILT about a breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch) or notify the competent authority outside of the Netherlands.
- Provide the necessary information if the ILT requests it.
- Keep a register of which products are non-compliant.
If the ILT finds that your product does not comply with RoHS, you must:
- Provide the necessary information if requested by the ILT.
- Cooperate with measures to resolve the breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch).
You carry out specific tasks on behalf of a manufacturer of electrical or electronic equipment. You have received a written mandate from that manufacturer to do so. You must:
- Keep the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation for 10 years.
- Provide the necessary information if the ILT requests it.
- Cooperate with measures to remedy the breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch).
You import electrical and electronic equipment from outside the EU and sell it within the EU. To ensure your product complies with RoHS, you must:
- Keep the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation for 10 years.
- Keep a register of which products are non-compliant.
- Indicate your name, trade name and address on the product.
- Check that the manufacturer has carried out a conformity assessment and drawn up the technical documentation.
- Check that the CE marking is present, including the required documentation.
- Check that the manufacturer has affixed a unique identification number (type, serial and batch) and their name, trade name and address.
If you find that your product does not comply with RoHS, you must:
- Take corrective action or withdraw your device from the market.
- Notify the ILT about a breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch) or notify the competent authority outside of the Netherlands.
- Provide the necessary information if the ILT requests it.
- Keep a register of which products are non-compliant.
If the ILT finds that your product does not comply with RoHS, you must:
- Provide the necessary information if requested by the ILT.
- Cooperate with measures to resolve the breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch).
You make electrical and electronic equipment available for sale or supply within the EU, but you are not a manufacturer or importer. To ensure your product complies with RoHS, you must do the following:
- Check that the manufacturer has a procedure in place to ensure compliance.
- Check that the manufacturer maintains a register of non-compliant products.
- Check that the CE marking is present, including the required documentation.
- Check that the manufacturer has affixed a unique identification number (type, serial and batch) and their name, trade name and contact address.
If you find that a product does not comply with RoHS, you must:
- Take corrective action or withdraw your product from the market.
- Notify the ILT about a breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch). The ILT is the competent authority.
If the ILT finds that your product does not comply with RoHS, you must:
- Provide the necessary information if requested by the ILT.
- Cooperate with measures to resolve the breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch).
RoHS inspections
The ILT monitors the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment in various ways. This is mainly done through inspections at companies that sell such equipment. The ILT examines business processes and procedures, as well as product documentation. The ILT also takes samples of equipment and analyses them. This enables the ILT to determine whether the equipment contains any prohibited substances.
In addition, the ILT works with the Douane (Customs) to screen imported products. If Customs discovers during analyses that devices do not comply with the RoHS regulations, it alerts the ILT. The ILT then imposes measures on the organisation.
Common faults involving hazardous substances in EEE
The ILT encounters a relatively high number of non-compliances in cheap devices. Examples include fairground and market toys, fans, table fans and USB cables. Common non-compliances include:
- Using solder containing more lead than the permitted limit of 0.1 per cent.
- Using hexavalent chromium as an anti-corrosion coating on metal.
- Using banned phthalates (plasticisers) to soften hard plastics.
- Analysis reports submitted as part of the conformity assessment that do not include photographs of the analysed products and components.
- EU declarations of conformity that do not reference the RoHS Directive and other relevant legislation and regulations.
Devices that do not comply with RoHS
If you manufacture, import or distribute a device that does not comply with the requirements of the RoHS Directive, you face the following risks:
- You may face a sales ban on the device in its current state.
- You must take corrective action.
- You must withdraw the device from the market so that nobody can buy it any longer.
- You may be fined.
- You will no longer be permitted to import the device.
Notify the ILT of RoHS breaches
If you are a manufacturer, importer or distributor of EEE, and your organisation or another organisation has a product that may not comply with the RoHS Directive, it is mandatory to notify the ILT of a breach of the RoHS Directive (in Dutch).