I’m free

Every product has an impact on the environment – while it is being made, while it is being used and after it has been disposed of. At each stage, it uses up scarce natural resources, consumes energy from potentially polluting processes or can cause discharges of hazardous waste into water or landfill.

It is no longer acceptable to make products with only their quality and the final cost to the consumer in mind. Responsible manufacturers must be as concerned about the environment as they are about their production methods, the way they treat their employees and the other governmental or legislative regulations.

To ensure manufacturers play their part in protecting the environment, the European Union has published the RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC), which restricts the use of certain substances (including additives in specific maximum concentrations) in electrical and electronic equipment.

Those substances include heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury, along with a number of other elements limited to particular products.

The requirements of the Directive came into force in July 2006, and many manufacturers of electrical equipment have already eliminated substances that pose a risk to human health and the environment from their products. Even before that date, several forward-thinking manufacturers of electrical equipment had progressively removed RoHS substances from all low-voltage products destined for the European Union or for unknown destinations.

What about electrical installation products? Many, including cable management systems, do not specifically require electricity to fulfil their basic functions, so they are not covered by the RoHS Directive.

Manufacturers of electrical installation products now have an opportunity to seize the initiative and pledge that all their cable management products will comply with the directive, irrespective of legislative requirements.

Contractors should ensure that they specify and install only the most environmentally friendly products

Why should they do this? Because, whilst there is no specific regulatory demand to remove lead-based stabilisers from cable trunking or conduit, there are indications that many public bodies prefer to use more environmentally friendly materials, helping them comply with their own green policies. Manufacturers should take a responsible attitude to environmental issues, and considering the potentially long life span of most of our products, we should protect and future-proof any installations containing these.

Of course, there are still many of the older electrical products on distributors’ shelves, including those that are covered by the RoHS legislation. And it is perfectly acceptable to stock and sell them as long as they were purchased before July last year. Distributors do not have to return or exchange cable management products, so there are still large quantities of lead-based plastics in circulation and indeed, there will be for some time.

For this reason, it can be difficult to spot products that contain restricted substances and a CE Mark is not an indication that a product complies with the RoHS Directive. It remains the responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure that any applicable electrical product that entered the supply chain since July 2006 should conform. Cable management products remain outside the scope of the Directive.

As a result, if you are concerned that the cable management or other products you specify and install might contain restricted substances, you are advised to to contact the manufacturer direct for information.

For example, over the past two years Mita has removed lead-based stabilisers from its plastic extrusions and moulded components in line with its accreditation to the ISO 14001 environmental standard. The core of its plastics range is already produced using original virgin compound, and any recycled material used in future will therefore be based on the newer lead-free materials.

But why should you go to the trouble of checking the environmental credentials of cable management products? Looking to the future, it seems likely that some US states and China are ready to follow the European Union’s lead and restrict the use of similar substances in electrical products. And who knows what further changes may be around the corner?

For this reason, I think it is vital that responsible manufacturers stay one step ahead of the legislators, and that contractors ensure they specify and install only the most environmentally friendly products.