International legislation
Montreal Protocol with Kigali amendment
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed by 46 countries on September 16, 1987.
Originally, the Montreal Protocol imposed the freezing and then phasing out production of the five most widely used CFCs and halons. Later amendments and adjustments to the Protocol extended the list of the controlled substances, relevant consumption, and production phase-out schedules, and measures to limit export, import, and other activities.
Today, the Montreal Protocol sets a timetable for the complete phase-out of production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), and the Kigali Amendment to the Protocol also provides for a phase-down of production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Stockholm and Basel Conventions
Stockholm Convention (PDF)
Basel Convention (PDF)
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was signed on May 22, 2001, and effective from May 17, 2004. As of December 2022, 186 parties — EU and 185 countries — ratified the convention.
The convention is aimed at eliminating or reducing the production and use of several hazardous persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the list of which extended with time.
The implementation of the Stockholm Convention is closely related to implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal which ensured development of the principles of environmentally sound waste management for wastes containing or contaminated with POPs including the list of technologies for destruction or irreversible transformation.
European Union legislation
The essential binding legal instruments the European Community (EC) uses to regulate management of ODS banks are Regulation (EU) 2024/590 on substances that deplete the ozone layer, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009, as well as Directive 2021/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (also known as WEEE directive).
Regulation (EU) 2024/590 that entered into force 11 March 2024 prohibits production, placing on the market, supply and use ozone-depleting substances.
There is a few extemptions to prohibitions:
- feedstock use;
- essential laboratory and analytical uses;
- process agents use;
- critical uses of halons;
- emergency use of methyl bromide.
The regulation extends requirements for destruction, recycling or reclamation of used ODS to refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment and heat pumps, equipment containing solvents, fire protection systems, fire extinguishers, building materials (foam insulation), as well as other equipment if it is technically and economically feasible.
Directive 2021/19/EU, inter alia, regulates equipment containing ODS and:
- establishes producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment;
- defines collection and disposal targets;
- specifies collection, recycling, and treatment obligations for all electronic equipment.
WEEE Directive is a part of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste and repealing certain Directives which establishes legal framework for waste treatment. The directive introduces concepts of polluter-pays principle and waste hierarchy and classifies waste as hazardous and non-hazardous.
Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (also known as RoHS 2 directive) does not cover ODS but imposes particular requirements to collection and disposal of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants which may be used in ODS-containing refrigerators and air conditioners.
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 covers alternatives to ODSs and introduces such mechanisms to reduce emissions as, for example, measures to prevent accumulation of refrigerant banks.
On July 15, 2019 Regulation (EU) No. 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants came into force replacing the previous regulation, Regulation (EC) No. 850/2004. The new regulation sets requirements to disposal of waste with POP content exceeding established limits. Such POPs should be destroyed or irreversibly transformed into substances that do not exhibit similar characteristics.