Producers of electrical and electronic equipment – What you must do
If you manufacture, rebrand or import electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), you are a producer of EEE and you must:
- join an approved producer compliance scheme
- pay for the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of your market share of household waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
- label all new electrical and electronic products with a crossed-out wheeled bin symbol and producer identification mark
- make available information to WEEE treatment and reprocessing facilities about new products put on the UK market to help with effective treatment, reuse and recycling
- give your producer registration number to distributors you supply equipment to
- keep records for at least four years, including the amounts of EEE placed on the UK market, and sales to end users in other European Union member states
You can get advice on how to meet your legal requirements by contacting:
- The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) in Northern Ireland
- The Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Scotland.
These organisations regulate producers' obligations under the WEEE Regulations.
Contact your environmental regulator
Join a producer compliance scheme
You must join an approved producer compliance scheme - there are around 40 to choose from. Alternatively, you could establish your own scheme for your business or for a group of businesses. All schemes must be approved by either the Environment Agency, NIEA or Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
The NIEA and SEPA provide lists of producer compliance schemes.
See the page in this guideline: Operating a WEEE producer compliance scheme.
Design your products for recycling
You must make sure that your products comply with limits on the use of certain hazardous substances.
Restriction on the use of certain hazardous substances in Electrical and electronic equipment (ROHS)
Your products may also have to meet energy labelling and ecodesign requirements.
Energy labelling and ecodesign of energy-related products
You should design your products so that they can be easily repaired, recycled and dismantled. Improving the design, to make your products easier to recycle, can make it easier to meet your WEEE obligations, especially for non-household equipment.
If you are affected by WEEE regulations you may also have obligations under the Batteries Directive.
Further information
GOV.UK: Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) producer responsibilities