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Register a waste electrical and electronic equipment exemption (WEEE)

A WEEE exemption allows you to repair or refurbish various types of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). This equipment, or any dismantled parts, can then be reused for its original purpose.

Examples of repair and refurbishment activities include:

A business which collects fridges with broken lights or missing doors and repairs them for resale
A furniture reclamation group that collects televisions and white goods from households and refurbishes them for reuse
A company that collects redundant IT equipment from other businesses, which it dismantles and then rebuilds at its own depot to sell on

Before you register

Apply to the correct regulator

If your business is based in Wales, you must register with us.

If your business is in England, contact the Environment Agency, in Scotland, it is SEPA and for Northern Ireland, contact NIEA.

What you cannot register as an exemption

You cannot register to:

de-gas ozone depleting substances
treat WEEE to be disposed of to landfill or incinerated
mix hazardous waste with other hazardous or non-hazardous waste
accept or treat fluorescent light bulbs or tubes

If you only store WEEE

If you only want to store WEEE before it is treated elsewhere, read about storing waste and how to register an S2 exemption.

Register your WEEE exemption

The exemption lasts for three years and costs £840.

At the end of the three years you will need to make a new exemption application.

After you apply

We will check the details in your application and arrange for one of our inspectors to visit your site. They will check your facilities to make sure that you can keep to your responsibilities.

If everything is satisfactory, we will register your site and let you know by post or email.

When you receive your confirmation of registration you can start to operate. You must not operate until you receive our confirmation.

Key conditions of your exemption

You must use the best available treatment, recovery and recycling techniques (BATRRT) when treating the waste. Read the Best Available Treatment Recovery and Recycling Techniques (BATRRT) and treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) guidance
The place where WEEE is stored or treated should have an impermeable surface with facilities for collecting spillages and, where appropriate, decanters and cleanser-degreasers
The area where WEEE is stored should have a weatherproof covering – a covered container or roofed building
Whole and dismantled WEEE components should be stored appropriately to prevent them being damaged that could stop them being reused or pose a risk to the environment
Hazardous waste, such as batteries, should be stored in suitable containers
The purpose must be to ensure that the WEEE is put back to use as whole equipment if possible. If not possible, equipment can be taken apart so that the components can be used again. If that is not possible, equipment can be taken apart so the materials can be recycled

Contacting us

If you would like help filling in this form, guidance on exemptions or want to make any changes to your registration, call 0300 065 3000 between 9 and 5 from Monday to Friday or email us at WEEE@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk.

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