1cc Presents at Electronics Goes Green 2016 Conference in Berlin, Germany

The upcoming Electronics Goes Green Conference 2016 is an outstanding event for the growing global community of scientists, product developers, and business managers working on the task of improving the environmental properties of technologies and products along the value chain of the electronics and ICT industry. The conference will take place from September 7 – 9, 2016 at Seminaris Campus Hotel in Berlin, Germany.

1cc Senior Consultant Eva Hink will give the presentation “Challenges and Difficulties Deriving from Extension of Annex II of the RoHS Directive” on Friday, Sept 9, 2016 at 8:30 am.

At the same day, Stefanie Enders, Legal Counsel at 1cc GmbH, will give a speech on “WEEE Legislation in Africa – Status and Future Developments” at 13:30 pm.

Furthermore, she will provide an insight into “WEEE Legislation in Africa – Status and Current Development” during the poster session slots on:
Sept 7, 2016 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Sept 8, 2016 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Sept 9, 2016 12:30 – 1:30 pm

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Further information: http://electronicsgoesgreen.org

WEEE: German Associations Complain Lack of Take-Back Offers

Since July 24, 2016, customers can return their used electrical and electronic equipment at Point-of-Sale, including distance sellers. This new return possibility also applies to smaller devices, even if no new device has been bought.

However, according to recent press releases published by the German Umwelthilfe (environmental association) and the German Bundesverband Onlinehandel (German Association for Distance Selling), some distance seller, among them some bigger players, do not comply with this requirement. Customers who wanted to return their used devices could not do so.

Anyway, distance sellers are obliged to take back small devices (maximum side length of 25 cm) free of charge and, if there is no return station at reasonable distance, bear the costs for shipping.

1cc supports distance seller who have not yet established a take-back solution, with a respective service: Together with our sister company TechProtect, we have set up WEEE Collect4U. Besides the collection of outdated electrical and electronic equipment, WEEE Collect4U offers comprehensive consulting and services, e.g. with respect to new notification, reporting and information requirements.

For more information, please contact info@1cc-consulting.com.

Singapore: RoHS-like Legislation Published

On June 1, 2016, Singapore has published an Order amending the Second Schedule of the Environmental Protection and Management Act.
Coming into force one year later, on June 1, 2017, certain so called „controlled EEE (Electrical and electronic equipment)“ has to comply with the well-known RoHS substance restrictions in homogeneous material by weight:

Lead: 0,1 %
Cadmium: 0,01 %
Mercury: 0,1%
Hexavalent Chromium: 0,1%
Polybrominated Biphenyls: 0,1%
Polybrominated Diphenylether: 0,1%

Restrictions are limited to certain products as specified in the Act, e.g. Air conditioners, Televisions, mobile phones, portable computers or washing machines, etc. Several exemptions, following the wording in Annex III of EU RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, are also applicable.

Restrictions apply for manufacture, import, sale or offer for sale but are not applicable for second hand-products.

Singapore is just one of several countries now adopting restrictions similar to EU ROHS Directive 2011/65/EU in order to restrict certain dangerous substances in EEE.

Need more information on RoHS worldwide? Contact us!

We are looking for a Country Research Specialist

Holzgerlingen, June 16 2016

1cc GmbH as one of the leading providers of full-range consulting services for waste and product related environmental compliance, seeks a Country Research Specialist to be based in Irving/Texas or Washington/District of Columbia.

Position Summary
This position is responsible for conducting research on legislative changes related to waste management, producer responsibility, restriction of hazardous substances and chemicals, energy efficiency, pollution control and related fields as well as copy right levies for electronic equipment occurring in the Americas region. This job can be based in Irving/Texas or Washington/District of Columbia. Candidates must be able to legally work in the United States.

Responsibilities
• Ensuring up to date knowledge of legislative changes in assigned countries through a variety of sources, such as governmental websites and authorities;
• Interpreting and documenting new and changed legislation for specific countries;
• Work closely with project management to determine regulatory requirements;
• Maintain processes required to deliver timely and accurate legislative and regulatory updates;
• Be committed to a team-oriented work environment and high quality standards.

Qualifications/skill
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills;
• Legal knowledge would be an advantage;
• Ability to perform research using the internet and various data bases;
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
• Must be able to prioritize and work independently;
• Must be able to work in an accurate, timely and reliable manner;
• Must be bi-lingual: English and either Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean or Japanese.

Education and work experience
• Bachelor’s Degree related to law, business administration or management, environmental science or engineering;
• 2+ years of work experience in a related field;
• Proven ability to research effectively from a computer through the internet.

1cc offer
• Challenging scope of duties and involvement in various projects for international customers;
• Professional, supportive and motivated team;
• We value creativity, initiative and commitment!

Please send your application to Johanna Terry (jobs@1cc-consulting.com).      

1cc Webinar: REACH 2018 – How to determine and handle your registration obligations easily

The end of the last deadline for registration of pre-registered substances under REACH is approaching quickly. Phase-in-substances that are manufactured in or imported to the European Union in metric tons between 1-100 per year are obliged to register until June 1, 2018.

Eva Hink, 1cc Senior Consultant, will outline the process of registration and provides you with input how to determine and handle your registration obligations easily.

Language: English
Date: Tue, Jun 28, 2016 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM CEST
Speaker: Eva Hink, Senior Consultant at 1cc GmbH

Sign up: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1653647171746362113

PS: Participation in this 1cc Webinar is free. However, the number of participants in the webinar will be limited to 20 attendees.

African Copyright Levy Systems in motion

Copyright Levy Systems are gaining popularity: More and more countries worldwide are implementing these mechanisms in order to ensure adequate remuneration for right holders. This being true for several African countries, here some light is being shed on three countries which just activated or amended their copyright levy system by legislative revisions. The following shall give a brief overview of the characteristics.

Morocco: Exemption for private copying and payment obligations had already been introduced by mid-2014. Now, tariffs as well as reporting and payment regulations have been implemented by a Royal Decree on 17 March 2016. While manufacturers obligations arise when putting the product into circulation, importers are required to declare product information, quantity and origin before the product will be imported to Morocco. The entitled collecting society BMDA (Bureau Maroccain du droit d´auteur) authorized customs to collect copyright levies on their behalf. 1cc received stakeholder information that preparations are ongoing and personnel is being trained in order to enforce the legal provisions at customs.

Mauritius: Mauritius is about to revise thoroughly its Copyright Act of 2014. The law provides for a private copying exemption and requires to pay an “equitable remuneration” to authors. However, it leaves room for interpretation for the remuneration. In addition to many organizational issues, for example, with regard to the representation of authors, many questions should be clarified now by law-amendments. Copyright levies on blank media are expressly included in the considerations of a consultative body.

Ivory Coast: Already since 1996, the Copyright Act allows the private copy and requires manufacturers and importers to pay remuneration. Competent authority BURIDA (Bureau Ivoirien du Droit D’Auteur) is empowered “[…] To collect and distribute all rights to remuneration recognized by the Act […] in particular the remuneration for private copying, equitable remuneration, the remuneration for reprographic reproduction […]”

We will keep you updated on the further developments.

1cc Presents at Chemspec Europe in Basel – Non-EU Chemicals Legislation: Emerging issues

This year’s Chemspec Europe – a leading conference for the chemical industry – will take place in Basel June 1 and 2, 2016.

1cc consultant Nadiia Kaiun will participate at the conference with the presentation “Non-EU Chemicals Legislation: Emerging issues”.

The presentation held on Thursday, June 2, from 13:30 to 14:00 (Regulatory Services Zone) will provide an overview of upcoming deadlines for manufactures and exporters of chemicals to South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan and an update on TSCA Reform in USA. Furthermore, certain aspects of organizing compliance efficiently will be discussed.

Further Information: www.chemspecevents.com/europe

Proposal for New Energy Efficiency Labelling Directive: Opinion of rapporteur Aldo Patriciello published

The EU Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) has sent its opinion on the proposal for the new Energy Efficiency Labelling Directive to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). ITRE is the responsible committee in the EU Parliament. The report, which has been prepared by rapporteur Aldo Patriciello, includes three major proposals for changes.

First of all, the ENVI Committee suggests that instead of fully emptying the top two product classes A and B, there should be a percentage limit that automatically triggers a rescaling review when more than 25% of the products sold to the EU market fall into class A, respectively 45% fall into classes A and B.

Besides, ENVI Committee does not agree with a periodic 10 year review cycle of the energy efficiency classes, but prefers a review upon product specific needs. Finally, the Committee proposes a few changes to clarify the use of electronic labels instead of labels affixed to the product.

The ITRE Committee is now called upon to consider this opinion and include the proposals into its position towards the Commission proposal. Overall, Members of Parliament have already filed over 500 amendments to the Commission proposal.

The ENVI opinion is available here:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fNONSGML%2bCOMPARL%2bPE-573.039%2b03%2bDOC%2bPDF%2bV0%2f%2fEN

CE marking – transposition of EU-directives following the „New Approach“

In the context of the “new approach” of the European Single market, the EU Commission has recasted several CE directives. It’s the aim to harmonize the obligations for economic operators and the structure of the directives.

The new approach as an example, has different obligations for manufacturers, importers and distributors of relevant products, requires a risk analysis, harmonizes labelling obligations and specifies the necessary action in case of determination of suspicion of non-compliance.

From April 20th, assuming that EU member states have transposed the directives in time, the obligations of the new CE directives come into force, e.g. on electromagnetic compatibility (2014/30/EU) or low voltage (2014/35/EU). Already in 2011, the directive 2011/65/EU on restriction of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) was published, ruling stricter obligations on labelling and language-requirements in the context of the new Approach.

It’s always the national transposition that is the applicable law for economic operators. Enterprises have to proof which directives, respectively their national transpositions are relevant for their products and what obligations they have to comply with.  Not till then, the EU-declaration of conformity can be issued and the CE marking affixed.

Tags | CE marking

WEEE: Debate About the Planned Treatment Ordinance

Compared to the German ElectroG of 2005, the revised ElectroG foresees important changes. One difference refers to the fact that according to §§ 11 and 24 governments are empowered to establish more detailed legal requirements via ordinances.

Based on § 24 ElectroG and asked by the Federal Environmental Ministry, the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) kicked off the preparatory work for a so-called treatment ordinance. For doing so, UBA organized a working committee and four working groups. Stakeholders such as the Federal Environmental and the Federal Ministry for economic affairs, representatives of the German Bundesländer, the associations of the municipalities, industry associations and representatives of the academia were invited to join them.

It is the political objective of the new treatment ordinance to establish requirements for the treatment of WEEE aiming at improving the recuperation of critical secondary raw material such as rare earth metals and the withdrawal of harmful substances. The first draft of the treatment ordinance shall be available within the next 12 to 18 months.

We will keep you updated about this new legislation Project.