Please note that from 2023 the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency have new IBAN and bankgiro numbers on notices relating to producer responsibility.

5981-6918 (IBAN SE64 1200 0000 0128 1010 1566)
Notices regarding regulatory fees for electrical equipment, batteries, packaging, wet wipes, fishing gear, balloons, tobacco filters, PRO and the product fee for littering.
5981-6843 (IBAN SE86 1200 0000 0128 1010 1558)
Notices regarding cadmium charges, return system and the annual fee for littering.

Notices will be sent in the autumn.

About producers responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment

What regulations apply?

Anyone who places electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the Swedish market is defined as a producer and has a producer responsibility. The producer responsibility implies an obligation to accept returned products when they have become waste as well as covering the management of WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) and financial responsibility for such activities.

A producer is obliged to register with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The registration is mandatory independent of whether or not the producer has joined a collective waste collection scheme for WEEE. You register as a producer in the EEB register (Register of electrical and electronic equipment and batteries).

Products with integrated batteries are covered by two regulations

All EEE with built in batteries is subject to two regulations, the Ordinance (2014:1075) on producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment and the Ordinance on producer responsibility for batteries (SFS 2008:834).

Who is a producer?

The Ordinance on producer responsibility of EEE is the Swedish implementation of the Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).A producer of EEE is any natural or legal person who

is established in Sweden and manufactures EEE or has EEE designed or manufactured and markets it under his name or trademark within Sweden,
is established in Sweden and resells equipment under his own name or trademark which is produced by other suppliers, if the reseller is not being regarded as the ‘producer’ as provided for in point 1,
is established in Sweden and places EEE from a third country or from another EU Member state on the Swedish market, or
sells EEE by means of distance communication directly to users in an EU Member State where the seller is not established.

Anyone subject to any of the above listed criteria fall under the producer responsibility provisions provided that the equipment is within scope of the Ordinance (2014:1075) on producer responsibility of EEE, see “Products in scope” in the menu.

Producer of household EEE

Products that are normally used in households can become household waste when discarded and are therefore referred to as household EEE. Being used professionally does not automatically exclude an EEE from being household EEE.

It is the product’s construction, function and normal area of use that determines if it is household EEE or other EEE. The buyer of the product you supplying is of no significance. For example, a personal computer is household EEE, regardless if it is used professionally or in a household.

Producer responsibility, household EEE

A producer who sells household EEE has responsibility for:

taking financial responsibility for WEEE from equipment sold in Sweden from August 13, 2005.
taking financial responsibility for WEEE from equipment sold in Sweden before August 13, 2005.

A producer shall also:

join to an approved WEEE collective system,
within a year after commenced sale provide information about the product´s contents to waste management operators,
be able to present how the above obligations of information are fulfilled to the Swedish EPA when requested,
label the products and
design the products in order to promote recycling and reuse.

Producer of other EEE

Electrical and electronic equipment which is not household EEE (professional EEE) is defined as other electronic equipment.

Producer responsibility, other EEE

Producers of other EEE shall:

accept to take back equipment that has become waste, that has been provided by the producer in Sweden from August 13, 2005.
accept to take back WEEE that is replaced by a new equivalent equipment fulfilling the same function,
within a year after commenced sale provide information about the product´s contents to waste management operators,
be able to present how the above obligations of information are fulfilled to the Swedish EPA when requested,
label the products,
design the products in order to promote recycling and reuse,
give information to users about how equipment that has become waste can be taken care of,
secure that collected waste is transported, pretreated, reused, recycled, energy recovered or managed in an otherwise environmentally acceptable manner and
achieve the recycling targets according to the Ordinance of producer responsibility of EEE.

Foreign producers or Swedish producers who sell from distance within EU

According to the WEEE- directive member states shall make sure that those who are producers in another member state than where it is established appoint an authorised representative. The authorised representative takes over the responsibility for fulfilling the obligations of a producer in that member state and needs to be established in that member state.

It is mandatory for a Swedish producer selling EEE by means of distance communication to a user in another member state to appoint an authorised representative.
For a producer selling EEE by means of distance communication from another member state to Swedish users it is mandatory according to the WEEE-directive to appoint an authorised representative in Sweden. The same obligation applies to a branch, since they are part of a foreign-based company
Producers that are established in a third country and sell by means of distance communication to Swedish users have to be registered or may instead register through an authorised representative.
Producers inside EU that sell to a Swedish producer but want to report for the Swedish producer has to appoint an authorised representative in Sweden.

The implementation of the Directive may differ between the member states. More information on the implementations in the different member states can be found at the European Weee Registers Network.

European Weee Registers Network

EU Standards for WEEE

The following standards are under progress by CENELEC and will replace the previous “Weeelabex” standards:

EN 50614 Preparing for re-use
EN 50625-1; TS 50625-3-1 General treatment and depollution requirements
EN 50625-2-1; TS 50625-3-2 Lamps
EN 50625-2-2; TS 50625-3-3 Displays (CRT FPD)
EN 50625-2-3; TS 50625-3-4 Temperature exchange equipment
EN 50625-2-4; TS 50625-3-5 Photovoltaic panels
TS 50625-5 * Final treatment

Link to CENELEC

It is not mandatory to follow the standards in Sweden.

Report electrical and electronic equipment

Manufacturers of electrical equipment (and batteries) can here register and provide information for the annual reporting. It is also possible to extract previously provided information.

Report before March 31

Reports for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and batteries for previous year should be submitted to the Swedish EPA by the 31st of March every year. The quantity is in kilograms. You submit in the report through the EEB-register.

Producers that fail to report in time may receive an environmental sanction charge. The report is due by March 31. The fees are regulated in the Ordinance (2012:259) on environmental sanction charges.

EEE shall be reported separated according to product categories in Appendix 1 in the Ordinance (2014:1075) on producer responsibility of EEE. All the components, equipment parts and consumables are accounted for as parts of the equipment.

Liability to report

A producer is responsible for the report to arrive in time and for the information to be correct even if there is an agreement with someone else to report on his behalf.

Report put on the market

Producers shall report the quantity of EEE and/or batteries that has been put on the market in the previous year.

Report collected and treated waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

1. The collective systems shall report collected and treated household WEEE

Producers of household EEE shall only report the quantity placed on the Swedish marked. They do not report collected or treated WEEE, since it is reported by the compliance scheme.

Producers shall report collected and treated other WEEE (professional)

A producer of other EEE than household EEE should describe in the report how much waste from other EEE that has been collected and treated. The recycler who receives the waste should be able to provide the producer with information on how the waste is treated, to enable the producer to report.

Producers shall report collected and treated waste batteries

A producer is responsible for reporting the quantity of batteries that has been collected and treated.

To report electrical and electronic equipment with built in batteries

When reporting EEE with integrated batteries that is put on the market as well as such collected and treated WEEE is reported, the battery weight shall be included in two reports:

the total weight of the product, including the battery in the EEE report and
the weight of the battery in the battery report.

Thus, the quantity of integrated batteries shall be reported twice.

Environmental sanction charge if you report late

If you report to late, you risk an environmental sanction charge. The Swedish EPA will enable for the producer to comment in the matter before a decision is made.

E-service producer responsibility

Companies and organisations affected by producer responsibility can submit (or update) their information to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency via the e-service for producer responsibility.

Products in scope

Equipment in scope of the producer responsibility is that which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1 000 volts for alternating current and 1 500 volts for direct current

If your product meets the above listed criteria, the function of the product determines whether it is included in the producer responsibility. The products included have a function that is listed in the Ordinance of producer responsibility.

New categories since 2018

A regulation change has been introduced in 2018, which changed the categories. The following sex categories has replaced the earlier ten categories:

Temperature exchange equipment
Screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens having a surface greater than 100 cm2
Lamps
Large equipment
a) Includes equipment with any external dimension more than 50 cm
b) This category does not include equipment included in categories 1 to 3.
Small equipment
a) Includes equipment with any external dimension up to 50 cm
b) This category does not include equipment included in categories 1,2, 3 and 6.
Small IT and telecommunication equipment

Exceptions

Products considered out of scope:

equipment included or made and sold only to be a part of an EEE which is not in scope,
equipment which is necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, including arms, munitions and war material intended for specifically military purposes;
filament bulbs and luminaires in households,
medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, where such devices are expected to be infective prior to end of life, and active implantable medical devices,
large-scale stationary industrial tools,
large-scale fixed installations.

Design and labelling

Regulations for how products shall be designed and manufactured to encourage reuse and material-reuse, according to the producer responsibility.

Products with built in batteries

Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) with built in batteries shall be

designed so that the batteries can be easily removed by the consumer or by independent professionals,
accompanied by an instruction manual that clarifies which type of battery is built in and how it can be safely removed.

This provision does not apply on products that need continuous energy supply by a consistent connection between because of the product of safety, medical safety, performance and data integrity.

Label the equipment

The following labelling is mandatory:

The crossed-out wheeled bin
Information to show if the equipment is put on the market after August 12, 2005 (symbolised by a thick line under the bin, or a date according to SIS standard SS-EN 50419)

Every producer need to label their product. If the label does not fit the products size or shape it may be put on the products´ packaging or in the instruction manual.

Hazardous substances in EEE

Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in EEE applies according to EU Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS) which has been implemented through a Swedish Ordinance . The enforcement authority of RoHS is The Swedish Chemicals Agency.

Collection of waste

Every producer is responsible for taking care of electrical and electronic equipment, (EEE), and when its becomes waste, (WEEE), and treat it in an environmentally correct way. If you are obligated under the obligations of producer responsibility for household EEE, you are liableobliged to join a collective scheme that has a permit from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (, EPA). Such approved collective schemes are the only actors except from municipalities, who shall may collect household WEEE. There are two collective system for WEEE in Sweden with a permit; El-Kretsen AB and Recipo Ekonomisk förening.

For other WEEE than household WEEE (professional equipment) the provisions for waste management in general are applicable, but there is no obligation to join a collective scheme.

Obligation for retailers to accept waste

When supplying a new product, distributors are responsible for ensuring that similar waste can be returned to the distributor free of charge. It should work like on a one-to-one basis as long as the equipment is of equivalent type and has fulfilled the same functions as the supplied equipment.

Distributors at retail shops with sales areas relating to EEE of at least 400 m2 have to provide for collection of small WEEE (with no external dimension more than 25 cm) free of charge to end-users and where there is no obligation to buy EEE of an equivalent type.

The WEEE collected by distributors shall be handed over to a collective scheme with permit to collect household WEEE.

The distributor shall inform end users of the possibility to return WEEE. In case of new products that becomes avaible on the market the producer should also inform about the environmental and health risks referred to improper treatment of WEEE.

Internet distributors

It is inappropriate to send WEEE by mail and therefore distributors of EEE that sell by means of distance communication are not able to collect WEEE in the same way as a physical store. Nevertheless, internet distributors shall as long as it is possible meet their obligation to accept WEEE, by for example informing end users about their nearest recycling center and when possible, accept WEEE in return at a site that the distributor possess, such as a sales office or a storage site.

Applying for a permit for collection systems

Anyone who professionally collects consumer electrical waste needs to have a permit from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency according to Sections 45–56 of the ordinance (2014:1075) regarding producer responsibility for electrical equipment. There are currently two approved collection systems in Sweden: Elkretsen and Recipo.

There are two exceptions to the permit requirement above, and they are:

a municipality’s collection within the municipality
shop collection

Consultation beforehand

Producers of electrical equipment need to consult municipalities before setting up collection systems or when a municipality requests this, so that the producers’ collection systems can be coordinated with municipal waste management. Producers are to take into account the local conditions in each municipality.

In the consultation, the collection system is to:

describe in detail how the system is to be organised and operated;
describe in detail how the system is to be coordinated with other collection systems and the municipalities’ refuse collection obligations;
describe the exemptions, permits and permissions that exist or that the activities are to apply for; and
explore the possibilities for municipalities to facilitate establishing the system by designating collection sites or through other measures.

The municipality is to be given an opportunity to comment on the statement under the first paragraph 1–3.

Anyone intending to operate a collection system is to also consult with other collection systems before the application and explore the possibilities of coordinating the system with the other systems.

Application on approval of collection system according to regulation SFS (2014:1075)

The fee is regulated in the ordinance (1998:940) on fees for inspection and enforcement under the Environmental Code.

Information obligations

Guidance on information provisions regarding collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

Inform end users of the disposal of WEEE

Distributors shall inform end users of the possibility to return electrical and electronic equipment when it becomes waste in order to facilitate end users access to collection sites and to encourage collection of WEEE.

The information shall be clear and in adherence to the site where the equipment is purchased.

Producers shall inform end users of other EEE than household EEE about the requirement not to dispose WEEE as unsorted municipal waste, to collect WEEE separately, the purpose of handling WEEE separately and to whom it may be returned. The corresponding information provision for household WEEE lies on the municipalities.

Information for treatment facilities

A producer that puts an equipment on the market of the European union shall provide waste treatment operators with information on the different EEE components and materials, as well as the location of dangerous substances and mixtures in EEE.

The information shall be available within one year after the equipment is placed on the market in the form of manuals or by means of electronic media.

Enforcement authority and enforcement fees

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and the municipalities are the appointed enforcement authorities for the producer responsibility of electrical and electronic equipment.

Enforcement authority for producer responsibilities

The EPA is responsible for compiling information from producers and to evaluate and enforce producers' compliance with the producer responsibility provisions.

Swedish data on producer responsibility for EEE and batteries is collected from producers and collective schemes by the EEB-register and then reported by the EPA to the EU-commission.

Annual enforcement fee

The EPA charge an annual fee for enforcement of electrical and electronic equipment and batteries. The fee covers administration expenses, managing of the EEB-register and other expenses in order to enforce compliance. The annual fee has been set to 1000 SEK for each producer responsibility. For producers of both EEE and batteries the total fee is 2000 SEK. Payment information is sent to the e-mail address specified in the e-service. Please double check to confirm the accuracy of the e-mail address indicated in the collection system register. If the e-mail address is not specified, the payment information will be sent to the address specified by the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

If Purchase Order number is required, please register under Reference Number using the e-service. Regarding the enforcement fee the Swedish EPA is not to be seen as a supplier as there is no agreement between the parties. This is an enforcement fee and not a sale of goods or services.The fee contains all necessary information for your payment transaction.

Background

The Environmental Protection Agency has been assigned as the enforcement authority through Section 24 in the Ordinance (2011:13) on environmental enforcement and is responsible for reviewing that the nationwide regulations on producer responsibility are fulfilled.

The Swedish Ordinance (2014:1075) on producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), which entered into force in October 2014, is the Swedish implementation of the WEEE-directive. WEEE is short form waste electrical and electronic equipment.

The scope of the producer responsibility changed in 2018. The categories of EEE changes and the producer responsibility will cover more product types.

Did you find this information helpful?

Let us know what you think by rating the page and answering a few questions.

Information services survey