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Producer responsibility regulations

Producer responsibility laws in the UK cover packaging, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), batteries and end of life vehicles (ELVs).

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Environment Agency and Office for Product Safety and Standards
Published:
3 October 2014
Last updated:
11 June 2026
Show all updates

  1. Removed reference to the older Producer Responsibility Regulations which have now been revised

  2. Added the Packaging producer responsibility monitoring plan 2026 to the 'packaging' collection.

  3. This guidance has been updated to state that the guidance belongs to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs rather than the Department for Business and Trade. Added 'Business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) EEE and WEEE: how to correctly identify', 'Report the amount of EEE you place on the market' and 'When electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) becomes waste (WEEE)' to the WEEE collection.

  4. Updated the 'packaging' section to remove the link to older guidance on producer responsibility and add a link to the new guidance 'Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees'. Added a link to the latest packaging producer responsibilities monitoring plan.

  5. Added new guidance on 'Packaging waste: prepare for extended producer responsibility' to the packaging section.

  6. Added Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, Environment Agency and Office for Product Safety & Standards 'classifying portable and industrial batteries' guidance to the collection.

  7. Added 'Restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) exemptions: how to apply' and a link to the exemption form.

  8. Link added to the Environment Agency's 'Packaging producer responsibility monitoring plan 2019'.

  9. 'Packaging producer responsibility monitoring plan 2018' added under the 'Packaging' heading.

  10. Added 'Collecting used and waste electrical and electronic equipment' document to the collection

  11. First published.

Producer responsibility is about making sure businesses that manufacture, import and sell these products are responsible for their end of life environmental impact.

The regulations require businesses to:

  • minimise waste arising from these products and promote their re-use
  • ensure the waste products are treated and meet recovery and recycling targets for the waste materials
  • design products by reducing material use and enhancing reusability and recyclability

Enforcing compliance: the regulators

The UK environmental regulators for producers, producer compliance schemes and treatment facilities are:

Packaging

Guidance for businesses that handle and supply packaging, packaging compliance schemes, reprocessors and exporters of UK sourced waste packaging for recovery.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

For manufacturers, importers, re-branders and distributors of EEE, WEEE producer compliance schemes, treatment facilities and exporters of WEEE.

Restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)

Batteries

For manufacturers, importers and distributors of batteries, battery compliance schemes, treatment operators and exporters of waste batteries.

End of life vehicles (ELVs)

For vehicle producers, vehicle owners and waste treatment facilities of end of life vehicles.

Public registers

Use the WEEE public registers to find information about:

  • EEE producers
  • WEEE approved producer compliance schemes
  • WEEE approved authorised treatment facilities and approved exporters

Use the National Packaging Waste Database to find public registers of:

  • battery or packaging producers
  • compliance schemes
  • battery treatment operators or exporters
  • packaging reprocessors
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