Electrical waste: retailer and distributor responsibilities

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1. Your responsibilities

You have certain responsibilities if you sell electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

You must provide a way for your customers to dispose of their old household electrical and electronic equipment when you sell them a new version of the same item.

The waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations apply regardless of how you sell the products, whether direct or by internet, mail order or telephone.

You must either:

If you do not have your own take back service, you must join the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS).

You can be prosecuted if you do not comply with the regulations.

Tell your customers which service you provide

You must provide free written information to your customers on:

  • which take back service you provide, including collect on delivery
  • how they can reuse and recycle electrical and electronic equipment
  • why this waste needs to be separated from other waste
  • the damaging effects of not recycling electrical and electronic equipment
  • the meaning of the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol

Shops

You can provide this information by, for example:

  • displaying posters in your store about which service you provide
  • including information leaflets with the electrical and electronic equipment you sell

Online retailers

You must publish this information on your website. You can download free customer information if you offer a take back service. DTS members can get these from the scheme.

You have other responsibilities if you’re a ‘producer’ - for example you make and sell EEE under your own brand, or sell it in UK from abroad.

2. Take back waste in store

You must offer to take back waste of the same type as the item your customers buy from you, regardless of:

  • whether they buy in-store, online or by mail order
  • the brand of the item

You must also take back items that have the same function. For example, you would:

  • take back a customer’s old kettle when they buy a new one
  • take back a video player if the customer buys a DVD player

You must:

  • offer the in-store service for free - but you can charge to cover transport costs if you’re collecting items from customers’ homes
  • give customers at least 28 days to bring back their waste item
  • take back all types of electrical and electronic equipment that you sell - you can choose to extend your service to cover all kinds of electrical and electronic waste

Small electronic equipment

‘Very small WEEE’ are items of waste electrical and electronic equipment that are less than 25cm on their longest side.

You must take back all items of ‘very small WEEE’ in store if your electrical and electronic equipment sales area is greater than 400 square metres including aisle, display and shelf space.

You must provide this service to everyone for free, regardless of whether they’ve bought anything from your store.

You’re exempt if you’ve joined the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) or an assessment shows you already have an effective system.

Store waste

Check the conditions to see if you can store the waste temporarily before you dispose of it.

Dispose of waste

To dispose of the waste you’ve collected you can do one of the following.

Producer compliance schemes

Contact a producer compliance scheme (PCS).

The PCS will arrange for the waste to be recycled or prepared for re-use at an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF).

You may be charged for the collection and transportation of the waste to the AATF or the PCS collection point.

Transport the waste yourself

You can transport the waste to an AATF or PCS collection point yourself.

You need to register as a waste carrier in:

You may also need to follow the rules on transporting hazardous waste in:

Keep records

You must keep records of all electrical and electronic waste that you collect and dispose of - you can use a template.

Include the number of units you’ve received through take back and say how many of these were returned to a PCS.

You need to keep all documentation you make, or are given by the PCS or the AATF, when you dispose of electrical and electronic waste.

You also need to keep records of how you tell customers about your take back scheme.

Keep all your records for 4 years.

3. Set up an alternative take back service

You can set up a ‘designated collection facility’ (DCF) where your customers can take all types of electrical and electronic waste.

You can do this on your own or with other distributors.

You must follow the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations, other waste management legislation and local planning requirements when managing a DCF.

You must agree with a producer compliance scheme (PCS) to return the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) direct to an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF).

4. Use the Distributor Takeback Scheme

You can use the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) instead of providing a takeback service, if either of the following apply:

  • your business sells less than £100,000 of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) per year
  • you only sell online

If your business sells £100,000 or more of EEE per year and has physical stores, you cannot use the DTS. You’ll need to take back waste in store or set up an alternative collection point instead.

How the scheme works

You pay a fee that covers your waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) obligations until 31 December 2023. The amount you pay depends on:

  • the size of your business
  • whether you only sell online
  • how much EEE you sell

This money goes towards supporting the recycling centres run by local authorities.

You’ll need to keep a record of what information you give to your customers about where they should take their WEEE.

5. If you do not comply

If you fail to comply with the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations, you can be prosecuted and get an unlimited fine from a magistrates’ court or a Crown Court.

You may sometimes get warning letters and formal cautions before a prosecution.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards enforces these regulations. You can contact them if you have any questions on compliance or suspected non-compliance.

Office for Product Safety and Standards
OPSS.enquiries@beis.gov.uk
Telephone: 0121 345 1201
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

You can also write to:

Office for Product Safety and Standards
4th Floor Cannon House
18 The Priory Queensway
Birmingham
B4 6BS
United Kingdom