Directives and labelling initiatives.

Product directives and environmental labelling

A standard gives recognised technical requirements or methods. A directive or legal requirement places requirements on products or manufacturers, while an eco-label communicates specific environmental information or certification to consumers.

For product designers, these requirements can directly affect material and component selection, product construction, disassembly, disposal, recycling and labelling.

RoHS — Restriction of Hazardous Substances

RoHS restricts specified hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, including substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium.

This can require designers to select compliant materials, finishes, solder and electronic components. Reducing hazardous substances also makes electrical waste safer to handle at the end of the product’s life.

WEEE — Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

WEEE deals with electrical and electronic equipment at the end of its useful life. It aims to reduce electronic waste going to landfill or incineration and increase reuse, recycling and recovery. This is important because electronic products can contain valuable finite materials as well as substances that require controlled treatment.

Main approaches used by WEEE

• Separate collection and return systems: electrical products are collected separately from ordinary household waste and directed to suitable treatment or collection facilities.
• Reuse: products or usable components can be used again rather than immediately becoming waste, extending their useful life and reducing demand for replacements.
• Recycling and recovery: materials and useful components are separated and recovered from discarded equipment instead of the whole product being treated as waste.
• Design for dismantling: products can use removable fixings, separable materials and accessible components so they are easier to take apart for reuse, treatment or recycling. Permanent joining methods can make recovery more difficult.
• Producer responsibility: producers take responsibility for aspects of the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally appropriate disposal of electrical waste, encouraging end-of-life considerations during product development.
• Information for treatment and recovery: information about components and materials helps waste-treatment organisations identify, dismantle and process equipment correctly.

WEEE symbol

These requirements can influence the original design of a product: making components accessible, materials identifiable and the product easier to dismantle can improve end-of-life recovery and reduce demand for new raw materials.

Battery requirements

Battery requirements aim to reduce the environmental harm caused by waste batteries and support their separate collection, treatment and recycling.

For designers, this can affect how batteries are incorporated into products. Making a battery identifiable and accessible can make removal, replacement and end-of-life treatment easier instead of forcing the whole product to be discarded with the battery still inside.

Packaging requirements

Packaging directives aim to reduce the environmental impact of packaging waste and encourage recovery and recycling.

Designers can respond by reducing unnecessary packaging, lowering its weight and volume, choosing materials that can be recovered or recycled, avoiding unnecessarily difficult material combinations and providing appropriate material identification where required. Packaging must still protect the product effectively, so reducing material should not compromise its protective function.

Polymer identification codes

Polymer identification codes show the type of polymer used in a product or component. This helps plastics to be identified and separated during recycling because different polymers can require different processing conditions.

Correct separation matters because incompatible polymers can contaminate recycled material and reduce its quality. However, an identification code does not guarantee that an item will be recycled; suitable collection and recycling facilities must also exist.

Eco-labelling

Eco-labels communicate particular environmental information to consumers. They may relate to recyclability, responsible sourcing, energy efficiency or compliance with defined environmental criteria.

They can help consumers compare products and encourage manufacturers to improve environmental performance. However, one environmental label does not prove that the whole product or its complete life cycle is sustainable. Vague or unsupported environmental claims can contribute to greenwashing.

Main labels required by AQA

The important point is to understand what each label or directive does and how it can affect a design, manufacturing or purchasing decision, rather than only recognising its logo.