If you are a producer of electrical or electronic equipment (EEE), you are likely to have responsibilities under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations.
1. Find out if you have to comply with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations
If your product uses electricity for its main purpose, then it's likely to be covered by the WEEE Regulations which you will need to comply with.
The WEEE Regulations apply to electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) which:
- is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly, including equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields
- is designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000V for alternating current and 1,500V for direct current
- falls into one of the 10 categories in Schedule 1 to the WEEE Regulations (the finished product list)
A product needs to have all three conditions above for it to be classed as EEE.
There are a few exclusions, so check the 10 categories in the finished product list. If your product does not fall into any of these categories then you don't need to comply with the WEEE Regulations.
Do I need to comply? Find out if you are governed by the WEEE Regulations.
2. Join a producer compliance scheme
If you've checked and you do need to comply, you must join an approved compliance scheme.
If you need to comply and you aren't currently a member of a compliance scheme, you are breaking the law.
We can't advise you on which scheme to join, but if you delay you could be fined up to £5,000 in a magistrates' court, or receive an unlimited fine in a Crown Court.
3. Provide information on how to dismantle and recycle your products when they come to the end of their life
You need to finance the cost of treating and recovering the types of products you import, rebrand or manufacture.
There are separate collection and funding arrangements for non-household equipment: your compliance scheme should be able to advise you on this.
You will need to have information on how any new product might be reused or recycled. You can find government guidance from the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) website.
4. Mark your products
You should be marking all new electrical products with:
- the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol
- a producer identification mark
- a date mark
The wheeled bin mark aims to help minimise the amount of WEEE disposed of as unsorted household waste. In some cases, because of the size or the function of the product, the symbol can be printed on the packaging, the instructions or on the warranty.
European standards marking body CENELEC has developed a standard for WEEE Directive marking.
The British Standard Institute (BSI) has published this standard as BS EN 50419:2005, which can be obtained from BSI by phone on 0208 996 9000 or British Standards Online.
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Regulations
As a producer of EEE you may also be affected by the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Regulations.
Our guidance on whether you comply with the WEEE Regulations should not be used to assess whether your products need to comply with the RoHS Regulations. You will need to check this on the RoHS website.
More information
Our factsheet (PDF, 117KB) summarises your obligations under the WEEE Regulations.
Contact
Our National Customer Contact Centre: 08708 506 506.
