Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

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 United Kingdom 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

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) regulates producers' obligations under the WEEE Regulations. It provides advice on how producers can meet legal requirements.

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 the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Design your products for recycling

You must make sure that your products comply with limits on the use of certain hazardous substances.

Your products may also have to meet energy labelling and ecodesign requirements.

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.