Turkey Enforces National EEE Regulations

The Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change of the Republic of Turkey has issued a regulation that restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). This regulation applies to the following categories of EEE:

1. Large household appliances

2. Small household appliances

3. IT and telecommunications equipment

4. Consumer equipment

5. Lighting equipment

6. Electrical and electronic tools

7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment

8. Medical devices

9. Monitoring and control instruments, including industrial monitoring and control instruments

10. Automatic dispensers

11. Other EEE not covered by any of the categories above

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However, there are some exceptions to the provisions of the regulation. It does not apply to the following items:

a) equipment necessary for the protection of national security, including weapons, ammunition, and war equipment, especially for military purposes

b) equipment designed to be sent into space

c) electrical and electronic equipment specially designed and to be installed as a part of a product not covered by this Regulation, which can only function if it is a part of this equipment and can only be replaced with equipment designed with the same specification

d) large-scale stationary industrial appliances

e) large scale fixed installations

f) vehicles used for the transport of passengers and goods, excluding electric two-wheel vehicles that are not type-approved

g) non-road mobile machinery provided for professional use only

h) active implantable medical devices

i) photovoltaic panels intended for use in a system designed, assembled and installed by professionals for permanent use at a defined location to generate energy from sunlight for public, commercial, industrial and residential applications

j) equipment specifically designed for research and development (R&D) purposes only and made available on a business-to-business basis

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EEEs supplied to the market should not contain restricted substances, such as

Lead
Mercury
Hexavalent chromium
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)
Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) in concentrations exceeding the maximum values of 0.1% and Cadmium of 0.01%

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However, this provision does not apply to the cables or spare parts of the following EEEs used for repair, reuse, updating their functions or increasing their capacity:

a) EEEs placed on the market before 30/5/2009

b) Medical devices placed on the market before 1/1/2024

c) In vitro diagnostic devices placed on the market before 1/1/2024

d) Monitoring and control instruments placed on the market before 1/1/2024

e) Industrial monitoring and control instruments placed on the market before 1/1/2024

f) All other EEEs that were placed on the market before 1/1/2024, not covered by the abolished Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Control Regulation, but covered by this Regulation

g) EEEs benefiting from an exemption within the scope of this Regulation and placed on the market before the expiry of the said exemption period

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The Regulation has been developed in compliance with the European Union legislation, specifically the European Parliament and Council Directive No. 2011/65/EU.

The purpose of this Regulation is to ensure that electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) products meet the necessary safety requirements by requiring the EU Declaration of conformity and the affixation of the CE mark.

These requirements will become mandatory on January 1, 2024. Until then, the Ministry allows EEE to be placed on the Turkish market without the CE mark, provided that it is deemed safe.

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Links to the regulations:

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2022/12/20221226-2.htm

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2022/12/20221226-2-1.pdf
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