How do the WEEE regulations affect you?
WEEE Regulations
The WEEE Directive was introduced to protect natural resources and manage e-waste for the benefit of consumers and the environment, the WEEE Regulations specify obligations that producers who place electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the UK market must meet.
The WEEE Directive is a ‘producer responsibility’ directive which means that producers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) are required to take financial responsibility for the environmental impact of the products that they place on the market, specifically when those products become waste.
In the UK, the WEEE Directive has been transposed into national law by The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013, as amended.
What is WEEE?
WEEE is waste electrical and electronic equipment. It is end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and covers virtually everything with a plug or battery. It is classed as either household (B2C) or non-household (B2B).
What’s in scope?
In January 2019, the WEEE Regulations moved to ‘open scope’, meaning that all equipment that falls under the definition of EEE is in scope unless specifically listed as exempt or excluded. In the UK, EEE must be reported in one of the 14 EEE categories, which can be found here.
More information on the definition of EEE, the exemptions/exclusions from open scope, and the 14 EEE categories, can be found in the full guidance from the Environment Agency on gov.uk.
