Are you ready for the new RoHS substance phase-in?

How do plastics users quickly find RoHS-compliant plastics? It’s an important topic – with far-reaching consequences for your business. And how do you show that your products meet the compliance criteria?

The EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (ROHS Directive 2011/65/EU) restricts the use of lead (Pb); mercury (Hg); cadmium (Cd); hexavalent chromium (Cr6+); polybrominated biphenyls (PBB); and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in plastics and other homogeneous materials.

… and meet the additional new requirements for 2019

Beginning in July of 2019, four new substances are being added to the RoHS list (RoHS 2015/863). These are Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP); Dibutyl phthalate (DBP); and Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Soon, determining and establishing total RoHS compliance will become even more challenging!

Most manufacturers are wasting valuable time and effort conducting repetitive compliance tasks to satisfy their users, including preparation of Conformity Declarations, Material Declarations, Test Reports and the like. Now, there’s a simpler way. 

Swift verification of industry requirements with RoHS Certification

UL’s RoHS Certification for plastics (QMFZ2) program streamlines the entire process, by efficiently bundling your RoHS rating with your UL94/746 plastics certification submittal.

Plastics manufacturers can instantly demonstrate their RoHS compliance by acquiring an optional rating – a searchable “Yellow Card” parameter in the publically available UL iQ and Prospector® databases.

UL utilizes the globally recognized RoHS test methods in IEC 62321 so users know that these are results that they can rely on. The 150,000 monthly UL-database searches by designers, engineers, and suppliers searching for compliant plastic materials demonstrate their confidence in the “Yellow Card”.

UL’s RoHS rating program also incorporates ongoing inspections and testing for the life of the certification to help ensure that certified products continue to comply with RoHS requirements – including new substance restrictions. To show a plastic meets the new 2019 regulations, the Yellow Card states “RoHS 2011/65/EU & 2015/863 Compliant Material”. 

Achieving compliance is more than getting good marks

Users need to know that the plastics they are seeking are RoHS compliant. However, the time and expense required for making that determination is becoming an ever-larger burden on the supply chain. Meanwhile, the substance restrictions are increasing.

Here are just a few benefits of working with the UL’s RoHS Certification for plastics (QMFZ2) program:

• RoHS compliance – clearly and credibly – from a trusted third-party certifier
• Easy to identify materials that comply with the new ROHS 2011/65/EU & 2015/863 requirements on UL’s databases
• Program evolves and expands as the RoHS regulation changes
• Elimination of repetitive and individualized testing and compliance declaration letters
• Globally recognized test methods
• Ongoing inspections and testing
• Easy discoverability on UL’s iQ and Prospector® databases
• 24/7 Printable UL RoHS Certificate of Compliance

Simply compliant

The plastics market is more competitive than ever, so establish your restricted-substance compliance credentials in the most efficient and effective way possible! UL can help you reach your customers with the information they need, simplifying the process and providing independent verification that your materials comply with all of the RoHS requirements.