Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies MS
Today I have laid The Waste Separation Requirements (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 to implement the next phase of our successful reforms to workplace recycling in Wales.
Subject to Senedd approval of the Regulations, they will bring in a requirement for workplaces to present small waste electrical and electronic equipment (sWEEE) separately for collection and onward recycling from 6 April 2026. Currently workplaces are only required to separately present unsold sWEEE. This action is critical to tackling the climate and nature emergency and represents significant progress towards a stronger, greener economy as committed to in our Programme for Government.
We have recently consulted on changes to the ‘Separate Collection of Waste Materials for Recycling – A Code of Practice for Wales’ to reflect the new sWEEE requirement. In my previous statement of 18 December, I confirmed that all the proposed amendments to the Code put forward in the consultation were supported by the majority of respondents who expressed an opinion. To aid Members of the Senedd’s consideration of these Regulations, I have laid a draft version of the Code of Practice which can be found here.
The Regulations will amend the Waste Separation Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2023 so that sWEEE (not just ‘unsold’ as currently) must be presented separately for collection. The effects of these Regulations are that non-domestic premises must present sWEEE for collection separately; that those collecting the specified recyclable materials from non-domestic premises collect them separately from other recyclable materials and residual waste, and that those separately collected recyclable materials are kept separate and not mixed. These requirements will further increase the quality and quantity of recyclable materials collected from workplaces, thereby creating the opportunity for valuable and often finite resources to be recovered from this waste stream that would otherwise be lost.
These Regulations are expected to reduce CO2e by 7,437 tonnes, reduce NO2 by 6 tonnes and increase recycling by 37,757 tonnes over 10 years. The policy will also bring significant wider benefits. These include, for example, the expected creation of around 90 new waste management sector jobs and an expected reduction in waste fires caused by lithium-ion batteries found in many small electricals which may result in quite substantial additional savings.
This additional sWEEE requirement is the latest phase of the workplace recycling reforms which are modelled to deliver a cumulative net benefit of £194.6M NPV over 10 years from the combined package of measures.
A national communications campaign is underway to help workplaces prepare for the changes and be ready to comply by 6 April 2026.
The Regulations and associated Explanatory Memorandum can be accessed here. The full Regulatory Impact Assessment can be accessed here. The Integrated Impact Assessment can be accessed here.
Guidance and other resources for workplaces and waste collectors are available here: www.gov.wales/workplacerecycling and https://businessofrecycling.wales.wrap.ngo/
The final version of the revised Code of Practice, which sets out practical guidance on how to comply with the amended separation requirements will be published and laid before the Senedd after the making of the Waste Separation Requirements (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
I look forward to engaging with Members of the Senedd during the Plenary debate on the Regulations.