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International legislation

The essential binding legal instruments the European Community (EC) uses to regulate management of ODS banks are Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer and Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (also known as WEEE directive) (as amended 2021/19/EU).

Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2009 stipulates norms for:

  • production, import, export, use, reclamation and processing of ODS and relevant reporting;
  • application of equipment containing or relying on ODSs.

Directive 2002/96/EC (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 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronical equipment 2002/95/EC (also known as RoHS 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) No. 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases 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.