| EU law | Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE recast), as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/849 and Directive (EU) 2024/884 |
| UK law | The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3113), as amended, most recently by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/910) |
| Extent | The 2013 Regulations apply across the UK, including Northern Ireland, apart from a few provisions listed in regulation 1(5) |
| Regulators | Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales and DAERA for producers and schemes. OPSS enforces marking and distributor duties |
| Related pages | RoHS (GB and EU), REACH and UK REACH, UKCA and CE marking |
What it covers
The WEEE rules make producers finance the collection, treatment and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment. EEE has the same definition as in RoHS: equipment dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields, or for generating, transferring and measuring them, rated at not more than 1000 V AC or 1500 V DC.
Both regimes now have an open scope: all EEE is covered unless excluded. In the EU this applies from 15 August 2018, with six categories in Annex III. In the UK it applies from 1 January 2019. The UK uses 15 reporting categories, including category 3 IT and telecommunications equipment and, since 2025, a separate category for vapes and electronic cigarettes.
Exclusions include large-scale stationary industrial tools and large-scale fixed installations. In the EU text, equipment that is not specifically designed and installed as part of a large-scale fixed installation is not excluded.
How cables are treated
The European Commission WEEE FAQ (April 2014), question 3.8, says, in summary:
- Antennas and cables used for the transfer of electrical currents and electromagnetic fields meet the definition of EEE and fall within the scope of the Directive.
- Cables that are components of another EEE, either internal and permanently attached, or externally connected and removable but sold together or marketed or shipped for use with the EEE, do not fall within the scope.
- Cables placed on the market individually that are not part of another EEE are considered as EEE themselves.
Environment Agency guidance on EEE covered by the WEEE Regulations (updated 12 August 2025) says:
- Reels of cable with unfinished ends are out of scope. The guidance says this interpretation is not legally binding.
- HDMI cables are listed as EEE in category 3, IT and telecommunications equipment. This interpretation is also stated to be not legally binding.
- An accessory that can work with more than one product, such as an aerial cable, is EEE.
- Components and sub-assemblies supplied to a business to build a finished product are not EEE.
- All categories cover household (B2C) and non-household (B2B) EEE. Dual-use products are classed as household EEE.
Producer obligations in the UK
A producer includes a business that makes and sells EEE under its own brand in the UK, rebrands EEE, imports EEE commercially, or sells by distance selling directly to UK end users from outside the UK. Since 12 August 2025, where a non-UK seller supplies EEE to UK households through an online marketplace, the marketplace operator is the producer for that EEE (an “OMP producer”).
| Duty | UK requirement |
|---|---|
| Registration | Register each year. Producers placing under 5 tonnes of EEE on the market in a compliance period can register directly as a small producer. Others must join a producer compliance scheme, normally by 15 November of the year before the compliance period |
| Non-UK sellers | Appoint a UK authorised representative or join a scheme |
| Symbol | Mark each item with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol (Schedule 6), visible, legible and indelible. Where size or function makes this necessary, print it on the packaging, instructions and warranty |
| Date mark | Mark each item so it can be identified as placed on the market after 13 August 2005 |
| Information | Make information on reprocessing available within one year of placing new EEE on the market |
| Records | Keep relevant documents for at least four years |
Government guidance refers to BS EN 50419 for the size of the symbol.
Distributor take-back in the UK
- A distributor supplying new EEE must accept household WEEE free of charge on a one-to-one, like-for-like basis. This applies in store, online and by mail order.
- A distributor supplying new EEE from retail premises with an EEE sales area of at least 400 m² must also collect very small WEEE (no external dimension more than 25 cm) free of charge, with no purchase needed, at or near the premises.
- Distributors must keep records of WEEE taken back for at least four years and give customers written information about the service.
- Distributors selling less than £100,000 of EEE a year, or selling only online, can instead join the Distributor Takeback Scheme. Vape retailers are excluded.
What it means in practice
- Under FAQ 3.8, cables placed on the market individually are EEE in their own right. In the UK, producers of EEE must register, report and mark it with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol.
- Cables supplied with a device as its accessory are covered as part of that device, not separately.
- Under UK regulator guidance, cable sold on reels with unfinished ends is out of scope.
- Products sold for both trade and household use are reported as household EEE.
- Distributors of EEE must offer take-back or, where eligible, join the Distributor Takeback Scheme.