So if it turns out that the case was made of plastic with 2,300 ppm (0.23%) PBB used as a flame retardant, then the entire radio would fail the requirements of the directive.

It also contains a programme for more ambitious recycling of industrial, automotive, and consumer batteries, gradually increasing the rate of manufacturer-provided collection sites to 45% by 2016.

Of course, given the fact that the regulation is applied at the homogeneous material level, data on substance concentrations needs to be transferred through the supply chain to the final producer.

All told, the EPA estimates that in the U.S. that year, between 1.5 and 1.9 million tons of computers, TVs, VCRs, monitors, cell phones, and other equipment were discarded.

"[13] In addition to the high-tech waste problem, RoHS reflects contemporary research over the past 50 years in biological toxicology that acknowledges the long-term effects of low-level chemical exposure on populations.

For paste solders, bismuth/tin/silver had the lowest impact scores among the lead-free alternatives in every category except non-renewable resource consumption.

This assessment is also allowing industry to redirect efforts toward products and processes that reduce solders' environmental footprint, including energy consumption, releases of toxic chemicals, and potential risks to human health and the environment.

[citation needed] Other differences include new responsibilities for importers and distributors and markings to improve traceability to the technical files.

There has been a recent additional amendment 2017/2102 to 2011/65 The RoHS 2 directive (2011/65/EU) contains allowance to add new materials and 4 materials are highlighted for this attention in the original version, the amendment 2015/863 adds four additional substances to Annex II of 2011/65/EU (3/4 of the new restrictions are recommended for investigation in the original directive, ref Para 10 of preamble).

Despite these limits, XRF remains a top choice for detecting heavy metals and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations[30] like RoHS.

Products within scope of the RoHS 2 directive must display the CE mark, the manufacturers name and address and a serial or batch number.

The regulation also requires most actors in the supply chain for the product (importer and distributors) to keep and check this document, as well as ensuring a conformance process has been followed and the correct language translation for instructions are provided.

[31][citation needed] RoHS did not require any specific product labelling, but many manufacturers have adopted their own compliance marks to reduce confusion.

RoHS 2 attempts to address this issue by requiring the aforementioned CE mark whose use is policed by the Trading Standards enforcement agency.

[33] The closely related WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive), which became law simultaneously with RoHS, depicts a waste-can logo with an "X" through it and often accompanies the CE mark.

[citation needed] On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom completed its withdrawal from the European Union and subsequently entered a transition phase spanning from February 1 to December 31, 2020.

In 2012 Sweden's Chemicals Agency (Kemi) and Electrical Safety Authority tested 63 consumer electronics products and found that 12 were out of compliance.

[47] One criticism of RoHS is that the restriction of lead and cadmium does not address some of their most prolific applications, while being costly for the electronics industry to comply with [citation needed].

[49] Additionally wetting force is typically lower,[49] which can be disadvantageous (for hole filling), but advantageous in other situations (closely spaced components).

[citation needed] Cracks can occur due to thermal or mechanical forces acting on components or the circuit board, the former being more common during manufacturing and the latter in the field.

[50] The editor of Conformity Magazine wondered in 2005 if the transition to lead-free solder would affect long-term reliability of electronic devices and systems, especially in applications more mission-critical than in consumer products, citing possible breaches due to other environmental factors like oxidation.

[54] Fortunately, experience thus far suggests deployed instances of RoHS compliant products are not failing due to whisker growth.

For example, tin whiskers were responsible for a 5% failure rate in certain components of Swiss Swatch watches in 2006, prior to the July implementation of RoHS, reportedly triggering a US$1 billion recall.

[65] Contrary to the predictions of widespread component failure and reduced reliability, RoHS's first anniversary (July 2007) passed with little fanfare.

For example, the AMD website states: Although lead containing solder cannot be completely eliminated from all applications today, AMD engineers have developed effective technical solutions to reduce lead content in microprocessors and chipsets to ensure RoHS compliance while minimizing costs and maintaining product features.

For example, Motorola reports that their new RoHS wireless device assembly techniques are "...enabling a smaller, thinner, lighter unit."

[70] Research into new alloys and technologies is allowing companies to release RoHS products that are currently exempt from compliance, e.g. computer servers.

The lead-free packaging technology "...offers economical advantages in relation to traditional bumping processes, such as solder waste reduction, use of bulk alloys, quicker time-to-market for products and a much lower chemical usage rate.

"[72][73] Test and measurement vendors, such as National Instruments, have also started to produce RoHS-compliant products, despite devices in this category being exempt from the RoHS directive.

Similarly, good developers (and users) should carefully validate the product info to make sure they get the exact material safety expected.