Producer Responsibility – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 is the current UK legislation that sets requirements for the collection, treatment, and recycling of waste electronics aim to reform the current producer responsibility system for WEEE, and move towards an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model. Extended Producer Responsibility is a powerful environmental policy approach through which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-use stage.
Type of Change
WEEE is a statutory UK-wide scheme being reformed on a UK-wide basis to contribute to our resources and waste circular economy statutory obligations.
Affected Stakeholders
- Electrical producers/retailers/distributors/online marketplaces
- Householders
- Councils (Household Waste Recycling Centres)
- Third Sector Operators (Re-use and repair networks, charity shops)
- AATF’s (Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities) dealing in electrical and electronic equipment
Changes
- To look beyond recycling towards improving the design and lifecycle of equipment
- Develop communications campaigns to increase reuse, repair and recycling
- Assessing the introduction of a UK wide WEEE kerbside collection infrastructure,
- Prioritising re-use of unwanted working equipment by introducing producer financed collection of EEE waste from re-use charities and the community sector
- Increasing awareness to help consumers to understand their in-store take back options for unwanted EEE and end of life WEEE.
- Increasing awareness for retailers to understand their legal requirements on in store take back for unwanted EEE and end of life WEEE.
Status
Amendments to the existing WEEE regulations were laid in June 2025 by way of a UK wide SI. Work has commenced on assessing further legislative amendments to the current WEEE EPR scheme such as introducing collection of EEE waste from reuse charities, building a new mechanism to support circular EEE business models, as well as developing a separate SI to help simplify the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances in EEE) regime, and developing UK wide communications campaigns to increase reuse, repair and recycling.
Expected Timeline
Longer term legislative reform in the form of new WEEE regulations expected before 2029.