Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I have given consent to the UK Government to make and lay the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2025 (the “Regulations”) (external link).
The Regulations intersect with devolved policy and will apply to Wales. The Regulations apply in relation to England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The Regulations have been made by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in exercise of powers conferred by the Environment Act 2021.
The Regulations amend the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 which require the producers of electrical and electronic equipment who place electronic equipment on the market to meet recovery and recycling targets. Producers of electronic equipment must help finance the collection, treatment, recovery, reuse, recycling, and environmentally sound disposal of waste electronic equipment.
The Regulations are designed to fix two widely recognised deficiencies of the current UK- wide regime by:
- Placing new obligations on online marketplaces so that they contribute to the cost of collection, treatment, re-use, and recycling of waste electricals in line with those obligations that currently apply to companies defined as producers within the existing regulations. The new requirements will apply to online marketplaces only in respect of equipment placed on the UK market by their overseas based sellers.
Creating a new category of equipment for vapes to ensure that the costs of collecting and treating these items are borne solely on those who place them on the market.
Whilst it is normally the policy of the Welsh Government to legislate for Wales in matters of devolved competence, in certain circumstances there are benefits to Wales in doing so collaboratively with the UK Government where there is a clear rationale. In this case, the UK-wide Regulations will enable consistency across the UK while enabling Wales to deliver against the commitments in our circular economy strategy Beyond Recycling and sustain and build on our performance as second in the world for recycling. In turn, this will facilitate delivery of positive outcomes for Wales by allowing a uniform approach among commercial organisations as they invest, often in operations across the UK market. It is therefore appropriate that the Regulations are made on a UK-wide basis in this instance.
The Regulations were laid before Parliament on 4 June 2025. They are to be debated in the Houses of Parliament and if the regulations are approved, they will come into force on 11 August.