Reference

WEEE Compliance Glossary

A plain-English reference for the acronyms and concepts you'll meet in UK WEEE compliance — from AATF to Settlement Statement.

A

AATF: Approved Authorised Treatment Facility. A site permitted by the Environment Agency (or SEPA / NRW / NIEA) to treat waste electrical and electronic equipment and issue Evidence Notes used by producer compliance schemes.
AE: Approved Exporter. A facility approved to export WEEE for treatment overseas under equivalent standards and issue Evidence Notes for the exported tonnage.

B2B WEEE: Business-to-business WEEE — electrical equipment intended for use by businesses rather than households. Different financing and take-back rules apply compared with B2C (household) WEEE.
B2C WEEE: Business-to-consumer WEEE — also called household WEEE. Producers must finance the collection, treatment and reporting of household WEEE through a Producer Compliance Scheme.

CENELEC: European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. CENELEC TC111/WG6 develops the EN 50625 series of WEEE treatment standards used across the UK and EU.
Compliance Fee: An end-of-year payment mechanism in the UK WEEE system. Where schemes cannot meet their household collection obligation through Evidence Notes, members pay a Compliance Fee whose proceeds fund WEEE projects.

DTS: Distributor Take-Back Scheme. A retailer-funded scheme that historically allowed UK distributors to discharge their in-store take-back obligation by paying into a central fund. Reform proposals are under consultation.

EEE: Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Any product that depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to function, designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1,000V AC / 1,500V DC.
EN 50625: European treatment standards covering the safe collection, logistics and treatment of WEEE. The series is increasingly referenced in permits and contracts as the benchmark for AATF and AE operators.
Environment Agency: The regulator responsible for WEEE producer registration, scheme approval and AATF/AE permitting in England. SEPA covers Scotland, NRW Wales, and NIEA Northern Ireland.
ESA: Environmental Services Association — the UK trade body for the resource and waste management industry. Dan Cronin chairs the ESA WEEE Working Group.
EURIC: European Recycling Industries' Confederation. Represents the European recycling industry across material streams including WEEE.
Evidence Note: A tonnage-based document issued by an AATF or Approved Exporter, used by Producer Compliance Schemes to demonstrate that household WEEE has been collected and treated on behalf of producers. WEEE UK guide

Household WEEE: WEEE arising from private households, or of a nature and quantity similar to that arising from private households. Producers fund household WEEE collection via a Producer Compliance Scheme.

PCS: Producer Compliance Scheme. An organisation approved to discharge producers' WEEE obligations — collecting Evidence Notes, reporting and (for household WEEE) financing collection. Compare schemes
Producer: Under UK WEEE law, a producer is any business that manufactures EEE under its own brand, rebrands EEE made by others, or imports / distance-sells EEE into the UK from abroad. Am I a producer?

Reg 9 Notice: A notice issued by the Environment Agency under Regulation 9 of the WEEE Regulations 2013, typically used to require information or compliance action from producers and schemes.
RoHS: Restriction of Hazardous Substances. A separate but closely-related regime limiting hazardous substances (lead, mercury, cadmium and others) in EEE placed on the UK / EU market.

SAP: Small Authorised Producer. A producer placing less than 5 tonnes of EEE on the UK market in a compliance year — currently exempt from joining a PCS but still required to register and report.
Settlement Centre: The body that allocates collected household WEEE between Producer Compliance Schemes in proportion to their members' market shares.

WEEE: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The waste stream covered by the UK WEEE Regulations 2013 and the EU WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU. Full UK guide
WEEE Categories: The 14 categories used in UK reporting since 2019: e.g. large household appliances, small household appliances, IT and telecoms, consumer equipment, lighting, displays, cooling, photovoltaic panels, and others.
WEEE Directive: Directive 2012/19/EU — the EU framework legislation that established producer responsibility for electrical waste. Retained and amended in UK law as the WEEE Regulations 2013.
WEEE Settlement Statement: The reconciliation statement produced after each compliance year confirming each scheme's obligation, Evidence Notes raised, and any compliance shortfall.