Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 22nd July 2025
Amends: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013
Mini Summary
Duties
Various duties apply and are available to view on the Legislation Update Service.
Amendment
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 are amended from 12th August 2025 to include producer requirements for non-UK suppliers* of EEE and online marketplace operators** who supply EEE to the UK market.
*A non-UK supplier means those who are not established in the UK and supply goods via:
- an online marketplace; or
- by distance sales other than on the internet.
**An online marketplace is a website or mobile application which facilitates the sale of goods using the internet.
The definition for a producer of EEE is updated to include:
- those established in the UK who have EEE manufactured under their name or trademark which is marketed in the UK;
- those established in the UK who resell EEE under their own name or trademark which has been manufactured by other suppliers;
- those established in the UK who place EEE on the UK market where the EEE comes from another country;
- non-UK suppliers who supply EEE directly to private households or other users in the UK; and
- operators of online marketplace operators who supply EEE in the UK from non-UK suppliers (OMP producers).
Non-UK suppliers and OMP producers who place EEE on the UK market must:
- appoint an authorised representative in the UK to fulfil their producer obligations; or
- become a member of an EEE producer compliance scheme.
N.B. Producers who place less than 5 tonnes of EEE per year on the UK market must register with the relevant regulator as a ‘small producer’ instead of becoming a member of a producer compliance scheme.
OMP producers who are required to be a compliance scheme member must report information to the scheme, detailing:
- the amount in tonnes of EEE placed on the market from non-UK suppliers; and
- a description of the methodology used to determine this figure.
Operators of EEE compliance schemes must report a breakdown of the total amount of EEE which originates from non-UK suppliers.
Transitional requirements are set out in Part 3, including that OMP producers and authorised representatives that are already producer compliance scheme members must:
- confirm whether they are an OMP producer with the compliance scheme by 22nd August 2025; and
- provide a description of the methodology they will use to determine the amount in tonnes of EEE placed on the market from non-UK suppliers by 15th November 2025.
Vapes, electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and items which form them are added to the non-exhaustive list of types of EEE.
Various amendments are made throughout the regulations to support the change to producers defined in the Regulations.