What is the difference between Directive 2002/95/EC (RoHS) and Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS 2 or RoHS recast)?

Directive 2002/95/EC was issued in 2002 by the European Commission to reduce or eliminate hazardous materials in products worldwide. In July 2011, the Recast RoHS 2 Directive 2011/65/EU was published by the European Commission.  The scope of RoHS was expanded with this Directive to all electrical and electronic equipment, cables and spare parts with full compliance required by 22nd July 2019 or sooner depending on product category.  The most notable change is that now RoHS compliance is an integral part of the requirement for CE-marking of products.

All manufacturers of electrical/electronic products, devices or equipment must comply with the latest RoHS Directive before the CE mark can be placed on their products.  Other markings for RoHS compliance are no longer required as the CE mark now includes RoHS compliance. The Recast RoHS Directive is now a CE-marking directive. In plain English, what this means is that if you manufacture

According to old RoHS there are 6 hazardous substances which are as follows :-

• Lead (0.1%)
• Mercury (0.1%)
• Cadmium (0.01%)
• Hexavalent chromium (0.1%)
• Polybrominated biphenyls (0.1%)
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) (0.1%)

RoHS2 Directive has proposed 4 more substances :-

• Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) (a brominated Flame Retardant)
  
• Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) ( a commonly uses plasticizer)
• Butyl benzyl phthalate (BPP) ( a commonly used plasticizer)
• Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) ( a commonly used plasticizer)

Before the recast there were 8 categories of products as follows:

• Large Household appliances
• Small Household appliances
• IT and Communications equipment
• Consumer Equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Electrical and electronic tools
• Toys, leisure and sports equipment
• Automatic Dispensers

After recast 3 product categories has been added

• Medical devices
• Monitoring and Control Instruments
• All other electrical and electronic equipment not covered by any of these categories.
• Who should go for RoHS2 Compliance?

Compliance with the RoHS2 directive is the responsibility of the Economic Operators, they are:

• Manufacturer
  
• Authorized Representative
• Importers
• Distributors

RoHS2 outlines each parties specific responsibilities in Articles 7,8,9, and 10.