Recycle Electrical or Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

This page provides all the information you would need regarding recycling electrical or electronic equipment.

European customers outside of the UK, please click here.

According to the EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), all producers of EEE are liable to finance take-back systems, waste treatment, and recycling of equipment they place on the market, at the end of their lifecycle. Products covered by the WEEE Directive are marked with the crossed-out wheeled bin below, to indicate that they should not be disposed of along with household waste:

Important note: If you are an owner of a personal electronic device that is covered by the WEEE Directive such as a computer, mobile phone, camera or other, you should ensure to erase all personal or confidential data before recycling this device. Also, make sure to delete any personal or confidential data on any internal storage device such as a memory or SIM card. Amazon EU S.à.r.l is not liable for any data on your device.

If you have purchased your product from a Marketplace Seller, please contact that Seller to know more about the compliance solution they have in place for disposing of your old electronic equipment.

What is the WEEE Directive?

The production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing fields of manufacturing in the western world. With broad consumer take-up of products in this area, the associated generation of electronic waste is on the rise. In June 2000, the European Commission put forward proposals to address this issue, and in December 2002, these were passed as the EU Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive. Such proposals were updated in the WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU.

The major provisions of the WEEE Directive are:

• All producers (manufacturers, or anyone selling a product on the market in the EU) are liable to pay for take-back, treatment and recycling of end-of-life equipment.
• All producers have the obligation to improve re-use/recycling of WEEE.
• All producers have the obligation to ensure the separate collection of WEEE.
• All producers have the obligation to inform the public about their role in dealing with WEEE.

Why should I recycle my WEEE?

EEE may contain hazardous substances, which if exposed, may have a serious detrimental effect on the environment and human health. That is why all WEEE that you volunteer for recycling will be specifically collected and treated by designated local waste facilities and by licensed WEEE compliance schemes. By ensuring that you dispose of your old electrical and electronic equipment according to the new WEEE legislation, you are helping to preserve our natural resources and protect human health.

Learn more about WEEE Recycling here: https://www.recycle-more.co.uk and https://www.recyclenow.com/local-recycling.

Are there any other ways of disposing of my old electronic equipment?

If your old piece of EEE is still functional and/or could be repaired for further use, please consider reusing as the first option, either by donating it to a charitable organization, or by giving it to someone else in need. By extending the lifetime of your old equipment, you are also contributing to the efficient use of resources and avoiding additional waste.

What are Amazon EU S.à.r.l.'s obligations according to the WEEE Directive?

As a distributor and importer of EEE, Amazon EU S.à.r.l. must allow its customers to recycle household WEEE. For this reason, Amazon EU S.à.r.l. joined the Government approved Distributor Take-Back Scheme (DTS) set up by Valpak Retail WEEE Services Limited.

By joining the Valpak Retail WEEE Services Limited, Amazon EU S.à.r.l is contributing to the establishment of a network of Designated Collection Facilities (DCF) where consumers may dispose of their WEEE free of charge for recycling and treatment in an ecologically sound manner.

How can I return waste electrical or electronic equipment for recycling?

If you have ordered electrical or electronic equipment falling under the WEEE legislation from Amazon.co.uk for delivery to an address in United Kingdom, you may deliver your old device or equipment to recycling center, where it will be treated and recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.

You cannot dispose of used EEE through the regular household waste. You should take your old piece of equipment to a designated collection facility (DCF) run by the Local Authority in your area. Valpak Retail WEEE Services Limited operate an online search facility to help you identify a DCF near you this is available on the following website: www.recycle-more.co.uk.

How does Amazon EU S.à.r.l ensure safe disposal of my WEEE?

Amazon EU S.à.r.l. is a part of Distributor Take-Back scheme (DTS) commissioned by the British Retail Consortium. Valpak Retail WEEE Services Limited, a compliance system licensed by the United Kingdom's Government that looks after the collection, treatment and recycling of electronic equipment at the end of their lifecycle, runs this scheme. In this way Amazon EU S.à.r.l. can ensure that WEEE is disposed of by customers in a way that optimizes its re-use and recycling. The recycling and treatment of WEEE itself is part of the producer's obligation under the WEEE Directive.

Where applicable, the prices of EEE items you buy from Amazon.co.uk for delivery in the United Kingdom include environmental contributions to this system, to ensure that the WEEE is collected and recycled in a responsible manner.

Which products fall under the legislation and how do I recognize them?

The WEEE directive divides Electronic and Electrical Equipment into six categories. You can find list of categories and equipment that belongs to them below:

• Category 1 - Temperature exchange equipment (Refrigerators, Freezers, Equipment which automatically delivers cold products, Air conditioning equipment, Dehumidifying equipment, Heat pumps, Radiators containing oil and other temperature exchange equipment using fluids other than water for the temperature exchange)
• Category 2 - Screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens having a surface greater than 100 cm2 (Screens, Televisions, LCD photo frames, Monitors, Laptops, Notebooks)
• Category 3 - Lamps (Straight fluorescent lamps, Compact fluorescent lamps, Fluorescent lamps, High intensity discharge lamps - including pressure sodium lamps and metal halide lamps, Low pressure sodium lamps, LED)
• Category 4 - Large equipment (any external dimension more than 50 cm) including, but not limited to household appliances; IT and telecommunication equipment; consumer equipment; luminaires; equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers; equipment for the generation of electric currents. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3. (Washing machines, Clothes dryers, Dish washing machines, Cookers, Electric stoves, Electric hot plates, Luminaires, Equipment reproducing sound or images, Musical equipment (excluding pipe organs installed in churches), Appliances for knitting and weaving, Large computer-mainframes etc.).
• Category 5 - Small equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm) including, but not limited to household appliances; consumer equipment; luminaires; equipment reproducing sound or images, musical equipment; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipment; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers; equipment for the generation of electric currents. This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3 and 6. (Vacuum cleaners, Carpet sweepers, Appliances for sewing, Luminaires, Microwaves, Ventilation equipment, Irons, Toasters, Electric knives, Electric kettles, Clocks and Watches, Electric shavers, Scales etc.)
• Category 6 - Small IT and telecommunication equipment (no external dimension more than 50 cm) (Mobile phones, GPS, Pocket calculators, Routers, Personal computers, Printers, Telephones)

Glossary

• DCF (Designated Collection Facility): A public amenity site licensed to collect, separate and recycle WEEE for collection by a licensed producer compliance scheme
• DTS (Distributor Take-back Scheme): The WEEE compliance scheme for retailers, approved by the Department for Trade and Industry
• EEE: Electronic and Electrical Equipment
• WEEE: Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment - all end-of-life equipment falling under the WEEE Directive (for the specific categories see section "Which products fall under the legislation and how do I recognize them?" above).