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Vape Compliance for Producers and Retailers

Vapes have been their own category of electrical equipment since 12 August 2025, so brands and importers report and fund them separately. Every business that sells vapes must also run a take back service for used vapes and vape parts.

Which applies to you?

I make, brand or import vapesYou are a producer. Register, report vapes under category 15 and fund their collection and treatment.I sell vapesYou are a distributor. Take back used vapes and vape parts. The Distributor Take Back Scheme is not an option for vapes.

Both? Many businesses are. Read everything

Showing producer dutiesShow everythingSwitch to retailer duties
Category 15

Vapes Are Category 15 Electrical Equipment

Since 12 August 2025, vapes and electronic cigarettes have had their own WEEE category. There are now 15 categories, not 14, and vapes are category 15.

The change came in with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/910). Before it, vapes sat in category 7 with toys, leisure and sports equipment. The Regulations list the new category as 7.1, and GOV.UK guidance and reporting call it category 15. Both names mean the same products.

The split moves the cost of collecting and treating waste vapes onto vape producers alone, instead of sharing it with toy and leisure producers.

See the GOV.UK list of equipment covered

The 15 UK WEEE categories

  1. 1Large household appliances
  2. 2Small household appliances
  3. 3IT and telecoms
  4. 4Consumer equipment
  5. 5Lighting
  6. 6Electrical tools
  7. 7Toys, leisure and sports
  8. 8Medical devices
  9. 9Monitoring and control
  10. 10Automatic dispensers
  11. 11Display equipment
  12. 12Cooling appliances
  13. 13Gas discharge lamps and LED
  14. 14Solar panels
  15. 15Vapes

Vapes moved out of category 7 into their own category 15 on 12 August 2025.

What It Covers

Vapes, electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, plus any electrical item made to form part of one.

Named 7.1 in Law

The Regulations number it category 7.1. GOV.UK numbers it category 15.

Medical Devices Excluded

Medical devices and medicinal products are outside the vape category.

Single-Use Vapes Banned

Selling or supplying single-use vapes has been illegal across the UK since 1 June 2025.

Vape Producers

Producer Obligations for Vape Brands and Importers

You are a vape producer if you make vapes, sell vapes under your own brand, or import them into the UK. Producers register each compliance year, report what they place on the market and finance the collection and treatment of waste vapes.

1

Register Every Year

Place 5 tonnes or more of electrical equipment a year, vapes included, and you must join an approved scheme by 15 November. Under 5 tonnes, you can register direct as a small producer by 31 January.

2

Report Vapes as Category 15

Report vapes separately from category 7. Scheme members report household equipment quarterly and non-household equipment once a year, through their scheme.

3

Fund Vape Collection

The cost of meeting the vape collection target is shared only among vape producers, based on each producer's market share in the category.

Selling vapes from overseas through a marketplace? Since 12 August 2025, online marketplaces supplying UK households on behalf of overseas sellers are the producer for those products.

Talk to Us About Your Vapes
Vape Batteries

Batteries Inside Vapes

Most vapes contain a battery, so most vape producers have a second set of duties under the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009. Battery producer rules apply to batteries placed on the UK market inside appliances, not only to loose batteries.

You Are a Battery Producer

If you are the first business in the UK supply chain to make batteries available, including inside a vape, you are a battery producer. This applies alongside your WEEE obligations, not instead of them.

Read about battery compliance

More Than 1 Tonne a Year

Portable battery producers placing more than 1 tonne a year must join a battery compliance scheme by 15 October before the compliance year, and pay for collection, treatment and recycling of waste portable batteries.

1 Tonne or Less

Smaller portable battery producers register with their regulator and submit tonnage and chemistry data by 31 January the following year.

Read the GOV.UK battery guidance
Deadlines

Vape Producer Deadlines

The regulator's dates for the year, with today marked. Choose the one that matches how you are registered.

Next deadline

15 November

 

Last day to join or switch scheme for next year

 days to go

To move to WERCS for next year, start the handover before this date.

Book a Free Desktop Audit
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Deadlines from GOV.UK. We collect your data before each one, so you are never filing on the day.

Vape Retailers

Take Back Duties for Vape Retailers

If you sell vapes, you are a distributor under the WEEE Regulations and you must offer a take back service. That means accepting used vapes and vape parts that customers return for recycling.

Most electrical retailers can join the Distributor Take Back Scheme instead of taking items back. Vape sellers cannot. GOV.UK is clear that if you sell vapes, you must take back waste vapes in store or set up an alternative collection point.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards may take action against retailers with no way to safely recycle vapes and vape parts, and non-compliance can lead to prosecution and an unlimited fine.

Read the GOV.UK guidance for vape sellers
You sell vapesYou are a distributor under the WEEE Regulations.
Can you use the Distributor Take Back Scheme?NoNot for vapes. Vape sellers must take back waste vapes themselves.
Take back in store, or set up an alternative collection pointAccept used vapes and vape parts such as pods, coils and batteries, including single-use vapes customers return.
Free, with at least 28 days to returnTake back is free, and customers get at least 28 days to bring an item back.
Is your electrical sales area over 400 square metres?YesAlso take back very small electricals under 25cm from anyone, whether or not they buy. Aisle, display and shelf space all count.
Keep records for 4 yearsRecord the waste you collect and dispose of.
Collections

Vape Collection for Retailers

GOV.UK says vapes should go in vape bins only, and be collected regularly for recycling. A take back service only works if the vapes you collect leave the shop on a schedule.

WERCS members' vape collections are run by Waste Experts, the business behind WERCS. Waste Experts supplies containers for vapes and collects them from single shops through to distribution centres, with the paperwork you need for your records.

See the Waste Experts vape collection service

Vape Recycling Bins

Containers made for used vapes, pods and cartridges, kept separate from other waste.

Scheduled Collections

From a single shop to bulk collections from distribution centres.

Collection Paperwork

Duty of care documents and certificates of recycling for every collection.

One Point of Contact

Your WERCS account manager links your compliance and your collections.

FAQs

Vape Compliance Questions

Not Sure What Applies?

Speak to the WERCS team on 0845 643 0304 or email [email protected]

What WEEE category are vapes in?

Vapes are category 15. Since 12 August 2025, vapes, electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, and electrical parts made for them, have had their own category under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025. The Regulations number it 7.1, and GOV.UK guidance and reporting call it category 15. Before that date, vapes were reported in category 7 with toys and leisure equipment.

Who is the producer of a vape?

The producer is the business that makes vapes, sells them under its own brand, or imports them into the UK. If an overseas seller supplies UK households through an online marketplace, the marketplace has been the producer for those products since 12 August 2025.

Do vape producers need to join a compliance scheme?

If you place 5 tonnes or more of electrical equipment on the UK market in a year, vapes included, you must join an approved compliance scheme by 15 November for the next year. Under 5 tonnes, you can register direct with your regulator as a small producer by 31 January, or join a scheme instead.

Do shops that sell vapes have to take them back?

Yes. If you sell vapes you are a distributor and must offer a take back service, accepting used vapes and vape parts such as pods, coils and batteries that customers return for recycling. The service must be free and customers get at least 28 days to return an item.

Can vape retailers use the Distributor Take Back Scheme?

No. Most electrical retailers can join the Distributor Take Back Scheme instead of taking items back, but GOV.UK states that if you sell vapes you must take back waste vapes in store or set up an alternative collection point.

Do we still take back single-use vapes after the ban?

Yes. Selling or supplying single-use vapes has been illegal across the UK since 1 June 2025, but retailers must still accept single-use vapes that customers return for recycling.

Do vape producers have battery obligations too?

Usually, yes. Batteries placed on the UK market inside appliances count under the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, so the first UK business to supply a vape with a battery in it is normally a battery producer as well as an electrical equipment producer.

How do retailers get a vape recycling bin and collections?

WERCS members' vape collections are run by Waste Experts, which supplies containers for used vapes and collects them on a schedule, with duty of care documents and certificates of recycling. Contact the WERCS team on 0845 643 0304 to set this up.

Get Your Vape Compliance Right

A free desktop audit confirms your producer, battery and take back duties for vapes, and what WERCS membership would cost. No commitment.

Book a Free Desktop AuditCheck Your Obligations

Or call 0845 643 0304 or email [email protected]