Regulation on the Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

The Regulation on the Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment was published in the Official Gazette No. 32055 on 26 December 2022 and entered into force on 1 February 2023 (Article 31). Administered by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, it repealed the 2012 regulation (Article 30) and was drafted taking Directive 2012/19/EU into account (Article 28).

Who and which products does the regulation cover?

The regulation covers electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in the categories listed in Annex 1/A and Annex 2/A. Certain products, such as large-scale fixed industrial tools, equipment designed to be sent into space and filament bulbs, are excluded (Article 2). The obliged parties include producers, distributors, consumers, municipalities and waste treatment facilities. A producer is anyone who places EEE on the market under its own brand, imports it, or sells it directly to Turkish consumers by distance communication from abroad (Article 4).

What are the main duties of producers and distributors?

Producers must register with the Ministry's EEE information system before placing equipment on the market; changes to registration data must be updated within 30 calendar days and requested information is reported by the end of March each year (Articles 9 and 24). Producers not established in Türkiye that sell by distance communication must appoint an authorised representative.

• Marking products with the separate-collection symbol in Annex 6 and informing consumers (Article 9).
• Organising at least one take-back campaign per year for household WEEE, regardless of brand or model (Article 9).
• Distributors taking back, free of charge and on request, equivalent waste equipment when selling a new product, and keeping collection records for at least five years (Article 10).
• Not selling products of producers that have no producer registration number (Article 10).

What conditions apply to treatment facilities and transfer points?

WEEE treatment facilities, preparation-for-reuse facilities and transfer points must obtain an environmental permit and licence under the Environmental Permit and Licence Regulation (Article 17). Facilities must meet the requirements of standard TS 13615, and the removal of hazardous substances and fluids is carried out at least in line with Annex 3 (Article 13). They submit mass-balance notifications on the waste accepted and processed through the Ministry's online system and keep the related documents for five years (Article 12). Transfer points must have a weighbridge, radiation measuring device, leachate collection channels and a fire-fighting system (Article 15). Waste is moved from drop-off centres and transfer points to treatment facilities by licensed vehicles (Article 19). From 1 January 2024, licences are issued by the Annex 2/A equipment categories (Article 17).

What are the collection and recycling targets?

The collection target is 40% for 2025 and rises by 5% each year to 65% in 2030; if no new target is set after 2030, 65% continues to apply (Article 20). From 2025, category-based recovery and preparation-for-reuse/recycling targets apply under Annex 2/A; for categories 1 and 4, for example, 85% recovery and 80% preparation for reuse/recycling (Article 21). Calculations rely on the online declarations of producers and licensed facilities.

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

A company that wants to dispose of electronic equipment should hand it over only to a licensed facility or an authorised collection channel. The regulation prohibits consumers from giving WEEE to unregistered collectors (Article 11). Waste that cannot technically be reused, recycled or recovered is disposed of at facilities holding an environmental permit and licence (Article 5). A business that classifies used EEE as waste is itself treated as a waste producer with these obligations (Article 11).

What should companies pay attention to in practice?

Breaches are subject to the administrative sanctions of Environment Law No. 2872 and related legislation (Article 29). Under Provisional Article 6, the financial security required from treatment facilities does not apply until its procedure and amount are set and announced by the Ministry. Companies should check the producer registration number, the transport licence and the equipment categories covered by the facility licence, and document each waste handover.