New UK Consultation on 2025 WEEE Compliance Fee: Stakeholder Input Welcomed
On 13 October, the UK Government launched a new consultation on the 2025 compliance fee under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013.
Under these regulations, producer compliance schemes (PCSs), like Beyondly, are set annual collection targets to ensure that a share of the UK’s electronic waste is properly collected and recycled. This share is a proportion of the amount of new equipment PCS members have placed on the market in the previous compliance year. The collection targets are designed to drive up recycling rates, reduce the volume of electrical items sent to landfill, and encourage producers to take greater responsibility for the full life cycle of their products.
To demonstrate that they have met their targets, PCSs obtain evidence notes from Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities (AATFs). Each evidence note confirms that a specific quantity of WEEE has been properly treated and recycled in line with regulatory standards. PCSs must collect or purchase enough evidence notes to match their collection targets which is the basis of compliance within the UK’s producer responsibility system. Should a PCS fall short of its target, it may pay a compliance fee as an alternative route to meeting its legal obligations.
The compliance fee methodology
The compliance fee mechanism was first adopted in 2014 to ease rigidities in the original system, allowing PCSs greater flexibility while ensuring all producers contribute financially even when collections fall short. Over time, the fee has helped stabilise the e-waste system and prevent distortions in the evidence note market, such as sudden price spikes or limited access to recycling evidence when collections are low.
For 2025, FTI Consulting LLP, a global business advisory firm engaged by the Joint Trade Association (JTA) to manage and propose the annual compliance fee methodology, has proposed using the same methodology as in 2024. After reviewing current market conditions, the JTA concluded that last year’s model remains appropriate. This approach, previously approved by Defra for 2021 and 2022, also includes the Reuse Adjustment Premium which was first introduced in 2023 to encourage greater reuse of electrical equipment.
The JTA considered updating this Reuse Adjustment Premium to align with the new government’s circular economy strategy. However, it determined that introducing such a change for 2025 would not allow sufficient time for PCSs and AATFs to adapt. Instead, the JTA plans to increase the Reuse Adjustment Premium from 1 to 2 in its 2026 proposal, effectively giving twice as much credit to evidence from reused materials.
The purpose of the consultation
The consultation seeks stakeholder input on whether a WEEE compliance fee should be set for 2025, and whether the proposed methodology meets the evaluation criteria of fairness, cost reflectivity, and environmental incentive.
Stakeholders, including producers, recyclers, local authorities, and environmental groups are encouraged to respond to help shape how the UK funds e-waste recycling in a fair, transparent, and effective way.
Comments must be submitted by 10 November 2025 via citizen space: WEEE Compliance Fee Methodology 2025 - Defra - Citizen Space