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1 Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL) ORDINANCE ON THE RETURN, THE TAKING BACK AND THE DISPOSAL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES (ORDEA) of 4 January 998 Please note: This translation is for your convenience. It is not legally binding

2 84.06

3 84.06 Ordinance on the return, the taking back and the disposal of electrical and electronic appliances (ORDEA) of 4 January 998 The Swiss Federal Council in pursuance of Articles 30b, 30c Paragraph 3, 30d Letter a, 30f, 30g, 30h and 39 Paragraph of the Law on Protection of the Environment of 7 October 983 ) and in the execution of the Basel Convention of March 989 ) on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, ordains: Section : General Provisions Art. Purpose and area of validity This Ordinance should guarantee that electrical and electronic appliances: a. do not reach municipal refuse; b. are disposed of in an environmentally tolerable way. It governs: a. the return, taking back and disposal of electrical and electronic appliances; b. the export of electrical and electronic appliances for disposal. 3 The regulations of the Ordinance of November ) on movements of special wastes and the Ordinance relating to Environmentally Hazardous Substances of 9 June ) are reserved. Art. Definition Appliances in the sense of this ordinance are electrically powered: a. appliances of electronic entertainment; b. appliances of office, communication and information technology; c. household appliances. SR ) SR 84.0 ) SR ) SR ) SR

4 84.06 The regulations of this ordinance are also valid for the electronic components of appliances under Paragraph and pre-switches of lamps which contain PCBs 5 ). 3 The Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (the Federal Office) can, after a hearing with the affected commercial branches, publish guidelines containing a list of the appliances. Section : Return, taking back and disposal Art. 3 Obligation of return A person who disposes of an appliance shall return it to a retailer, manufacturer or importer, or to a disposal facility. Return by public collection of appliances or to a collecting point for appliances is also permitted. Art. 4 Obligation of taking back Retailers must accept back appliances of the kind which they normally stock. Retailers have the obligation to accept appliances only from consumers. Manufacturers and importers must accept appliances of the trade-mark which they manufacture or import. 3 Retailers who pass appliances on only to other retailers, as well as manufacturers and importers, may commission third parties to take back appliances. 4 The obligation to take back under Paragraphs and is not valid for the electronic components of appliances. Art. 5 Obligation of disposal Persons obliged to accept back appliances shall dispose of them, if they do not use them further or do not pass them on to other persons who have an obligation of taking back. They may engage third parties to do this. Art. 6 Requirements of disposal A person who disposes of appliances shall guarantee that the disposal be carried out in an environmentally tolerable way, according to state-of-the-art technology; in particular: a. components which contain harmful substances such as nickel-cadmium batteries, switches containing mercury, capacitors containing PCB, and heat insulation containing CFC should be disposed of separately; 5) PCB: Polychlorinated Biphenyls 4

5 84.06 b. cathode ray tubes and metal-containing components such as diodes, metal casings, metal frames, cables with a high proportion of metal and plug devices which are primarily of metal, should be recycled, insofar as this is commercially acceptable; c. organic chemical components which are not recycled such as plastic casings, cable insulation or epoxy plates, shall be incinerated in the appropriate installations. Art. 7 Disposal permit A person who receives appliances for disposal shall require a permit of the Canton. No permit is required by a person who: a. merely collects or transports appliances; b. is under an obligation to take back appliances and is merely storing appliances temporarily; c. accepts back appliances of his own production and merely dismantles them to their component parts. The Cantonal authorities shall issue a permit if it is proved in an application that the installations and professional staff necessary for the environmentally tolerable disposal of the appliances are available. 3 In the permit the authorities shall set in particular: a. the kind of disposal; b. the type and extent of the information required by the authority on the appliances disposed of; c. further conditions, if necessary for the environmentally tolerable disposal of the appliances, such as limits on the type and amount of appliances which may be received. 4 The permit has a time limit of five years maximum. Art. 8 List of permits The Cantons shall provide the Federal Office with copies of the permits they issue. The Federal Office shall publish periodically a list of the permit holders, the type of appliances which may be received, and the type of disposal permitted. Section 3: Export of Appliances for Disposal Art. 9 Export permit A person who exports appliances for disposal shall require a permit from the Federal Office. The application for this permit shall contain: a. type and amount of appliances; b. the name and address of the disposal facility; 5

6 84.06 c. evidence that the planned disposal is environmentally tolerable, in particular by a written contract with the disposal facility, and documentation from which it follows that the installation for the planned disposal is in accordance with the regulations of the import country; d. evidence that the import country and any transit countries have been notified of the export. 3 The Federal Office shall issue a decision as soon as possible, as a rule 40 days at most after receipt of the application. It shall permit the export, if: a. the application fulfills the requirements of Paragraph ; b. the import country and transit countries have agreed the import in writing; with the exception of divergent regulations in international agreements or resolutions; c. the export does not contravene international agreements or resolutions on the transboundary movement of wastes; d. the export does not contravene other Federal regulations or regulations of import or transit countries. 4 It shall limit the permit to one year at most. Art. 0 Movement/Tracking forms For exports of appliances for disposal into member states of the OECD, the tracking form of the OECD for transboundary movement of wastes shall be used, for exports into member states of the EU, the appropriate EU tracking forms 6 ). For exports into other states, the Federal Office shall announce which tracking forms are to be used 6). In the permit for export to OECD member states the Federal Office can lay down that no tracking forms are to be used, if a. international agreements or resolutions or the regulations of the import country and of transit countries do not prescribe the use of tracking forms and b. the use of tracking forms would be excessive. Art. Duties of customs offices The customs offices shall refuse the export of appliances for disposal, if: a. the Federal Office permit is not available; b. the required movement/tracking forms are not enclosed, or important information is missing. They shall send copies of tracking forms to the Federal Office. 6) Source: Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape, CH-3003 Bern 6

7 84.06 Section 4: Final provisions Art. Transitional provisions A person who is already accepting appliances for disposal at the time of this ordinance coming into force must submit a permit application under Article 7 at the latest before 3 December 998. She or he may receive appliances without a permit until 3 December 999 at the latest. 3 The authorities shall make a decision on the application at the latest by 3 December 999. Art. 3 Entry into force This ordinance comes into force on July 998. (4 January 998) In the name of the Swiss Federal Council President of the Confederation: Cotti Federal Chancellor: Couchepin 7