© 2018 Thorlabs
5 Appendix
21
5.6 Thorlabs 'End of Life' Policy
As required by the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) of the
European Community and the corresponding national laws, Thorlabs offers all end users in the
EC the possibility to return “end of life” units without incurring disposal charges.
This offer is valid for Thorlabs electrical and electronic equipment
·
sold after August 13th 2005
·
marked correspondingly with the crossed out “wheelie bin” logo (see figure below)
·
sold to a company or institute within the EC
·
currently owned by a company or institute within the EC
·
still complete, not disassembled and not contaminated
As the WEEE directive applies to self contained operational electrical and electronic products,
this “end of life” take back service does not refer to other Thorlabs products, such as
·
pure OEM products, that means assemblies to be built into a unit by the user (e. g. OEM
laser driver cards)
·
components
·
mechanics and optics
·
left over parts of units disassembled by the user (PCB’s, housings etc.).
Waste treatment on your own responsibility
If you do not return an “end of life” unit to Thorlabs, you must hand it to a company specialized
in waste recovery. Do not dispose of the unit in a litter bin or at a public waste disposal site.
WEEE Number (Germany) : DE97581288
Ecological background
It is well known that waste treatment pollutes the environment by releasing toxic products dur-
ing decomposition. The aim of the European RoHS Directive is to reduce the content of toxic
substances in electronic products in the future.
The intent of the WEEE Directive is to enforce the recycling of WEEE. A controlled recycling of
end-of-life products will thereby avoid negative impacts on the environment.
Crossed out
"Wheelie Bin" symbol
