Revisions to the Separate Collection of Waste Materials for Recycling: A Code of Practice for Wales: Frequently asked questions

What is a small waste electrical or electronic equipment (sWEEE)?

Small waste electrical or electronic equipment (hereafter referred to as ‘small waste electricals’) is anything with a plug, battery or cable which has come to the end of its life that measures 50 centimetres or less in every external dimension. This includes all your organisation’s unwanted small tech and electricals including for example, laptops, phones, kettles, hairdryers, toasters, medical devices, lamps and lighting and power tools.

Why shouldn’t I put my small electrical waste in my black rubbish bag? 

75% of the materials in old electricals can be recycled. If old electricals go to landfill or incineration, valuable and often finite resources such as such as gold, copper, aluminium and steel are lost forever. Using recycled materials from waste electricals to create new products reduces carbon emissions and reduces our reliance on the extraction of virgin materials and the associated environmental damage and biodiversity loss this can cause. 

In addition, many small electrical items contain lithium-ion batteries. When placed in the residual (black bag) waste stream, these items are often subject to compaction during the collection process which is a known cause of waste fires which are both environmentally and economically damaging. 

I have small electricals that I no longer need, what should I do next? 

If you have small electricals that you no longer need or no longer work, you should first consider if they can be repaired and/or re-used, by selling them, or by donating to local reuse organisations or passing onto staff. If repair and/or re-use is not an option for your small electricals and you decide you must discard the item/s you will need to ensure they are recycled. 

How can I ensure my small electricals are recycled?

Where repair and reuse isn’t possible, electricals should be recycled.  Workplaces should first look to the producer of their electricals, who often have a responsibility to take back these electricals at end of life. If the small electrical item is dual-use (i.e. a common item that can be used in both a household and non-domestic setting like a kettle, hairdryer or toaster), you can check if it can go back to a local in-store take back scheme. 

Where this isn’t possible, you should make arrangements with professional waste collectors, such as commercial waste companies or local authorities, or make direct arrangements with specialist electrical recyclers (Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities), to make sure that your unwanted electricals are appropriately recycled.

Why are you excluding hazardous sWEEE from the workplace recycling separation requirements, when some small waste electrical and electronic equipment (sWEEE) is classified as hazardous? 

Some small electrical waste is classified as hazardous due to the presence of harmful substances like lead, mercury, and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), commonly found in components such as circuit boards, fire-retardant plastics and batteries. However, not all of it is. The hazardous classification depends on the quantity of these substances and some small electricals may not contain these elements. 

The Hazardous Waste (Wales) Regulations 2005 already require that hazardous waste, and therefore hazardous small electrical waste, is handled separately from other waste. The proposed new requirement under the workplace recycling regulations to separate non-hazardous small electrical waste will now ensure that all small waste electricals from workplaces (both hazardous and non-hazardous) must be kept separate from other waste for onward processing and not be put in your residual (black) bag by law. 

Despite the existence of the hazardous waste regulations, we know that hazardous (and non-hazardous) small waste electricals are still disposed of in residual waste streams in Wales each year leading to a loss of valuable resources and posing a fire risk. These two regulatory frameworks will now work together to ensure all small waste electricals are diverted from residual waste streams to support the safe re-use or recycling of small waste electricals.

We will be running a digital information campaign in advance of the proposed new requirement to separate out small electricals under the Workplace Recycling Law coming into force on 6 April 2026 to help ensure workplaces are aware of their legal obligations to keep all small waste electricals out of the residual (black bag) waste. 

How will I know if my small electrical waste is hazardous or not?

Some workplaces will know whether their small electrical waste is hazardous, for example, due to the specialist nature of their business (e.g. engineering firm, small electricals manufacturer) or because of data sheets or manufacturer’s guidance supplied with the small electricals. If you are not sure, the Code of Practice provides links to guidance that can help you work this out. However, if you have assessed your waste and are still unsure whether it is hazardous or not, the Code explains that you should apply the precautionary principle and class it as hazardous waste and manage it accordingly. If in doubt, speak to your waste collector to agree how your items need to be collected and managed.