Vape WEEE battery protocol: what changes when Category 15 evidence starts on 12 August

From 12 August 2026, the way vape and electronic cigarette batteries are deducted from WEEE evidence becomes more specific. GOV.UK's Environment Agency publication page says its WEEE evidence guidance was updated on 15 July 2026 with a new national protocol for deducting batteries from vapes, to apply when evidence for Category 15 vape waste can be issued from 12 August 2026 (GOV.UK: WEEE evidence and national protocols guidance).

The short version for adult UK vape businesses is this: the 28.9% figure is a waste-chain evidence protocol, not a new shop-floor calculation for ordinary vape retailers. It matters most to approved authorised treatment facilities, approved exporters and producer compliance schemes. Retailers should still care, because takeback paperwork, contractor instructions and Category 15 collection records need to line up, but the protocol itself sits in WEEE evidence guidance rather than customer-service rules.

If you need the wider background first, our broader guide to Vape WEEE Compliance UK 2026 explains the producer and retailer regime in more detail. This article is narrower: what the new battery deduction does, who should act on it, and what a vape retailer should check before 12 August.

WEEE evidence is the proof used in the UK waste electrical and electronic equipment system to show reuse, treatment or qualifying export. The Environment Agency's detailed guidance says WEEE evidence is proof of reuse or treatment by an approved authorised treatment facility, known as an AATF, or export of a whole appliance by an approved exporter, known as an AE. It also says AATFs and AEs issue evidence as evidence notes on WEEE Online (Environment Agency WEEE evidence guidance).

The new vape-specific point is the battery deduction. The same Environment Agency guidance says batteries should be removed from WEEE before treatment and the tonnage of batteries removed should be deducted from the tonnage of WEEE received. For vapes and electronic cigarettes, it now says there is a national protocol allowing AATFs to use 28.9% as the protocol percentage for deducting battery weight (Environment Agency WEEE evidence guidance).

That does not make the protocol a nicotine-product rule, a marketing rule, a checkout calculation or a substitute for retailer takeback duties. It is about how evidence is issued and accepted in the WEEE chain.

Vapes are electrical products for WEEE purposes because they contain electrical or electronic components. GOV.UK's EEE scope guidance lists Category 15 as vapes and electronic cigarettes, covering vapes, items intended to form part of a vape, electronic cigarettes, items intended to form part of an electronic cigarette, heated tobacco products and items intended to form part of a heated tobacco product (GOV.UK: EEE covered by the WEEE Regulations).

That separate category matters because vape waste is no longer just a loose talking point inside mixed small electrical waste. For evidence and reporting purposes, the waste chain now has a specific category to identify and a specific battery protocol to use where the Environment Agency guidance allows it.

The legal context is the WEEE Regulations 2013, as amended. GOV.UK's WEEE regulations guidance points readers to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025 as the relevant legislative framework (GOV.UK: WEEE regulations; WEEE Regulations 2013; WEEE Amendment Regulations 2025). For vape businesses, the practical point is to separate waste-chain obligations from nicotine-product compliance. WEEE evidence rules do not replace MHRA notification, TPD limits or age-restricted retailing controls.

The key number is 28.9%, but the important compliance point is scope. The Environment Agency guidance says the 0.68% small mixed WEEE battery weight must not be used on single-category WEEE streams such as vapes, and separately says the national vape and electronic cigarette protocol allows AATFs to use 28.9% for deducting battery weight (Environment Agency WEEE evidence guidance).

This is not a guide to squeezing more evidence out of waste. It is a consistency measure. The evidence issued should match the treated, recovered and recycled WEEE after the appropriate battery deduction has been made.

AATFs, AEs and producer compliance schemes are the primary audience because they issue, accept or rely on WEEE evidence notes. The Environment Agency guidance says an AATF can issue evidence only where the WEEE has become waste in the UK, it is the first AATF to receive it for treatment or repair and refurbishment, and it received the WEEE from or on behalf of a producer compliance scheme under a direct agreement or contract. It also says an AE can issue evidence on UK WEEE exported as a whole appliance for reuse overseas (Environment Agency WEEE evidence guidance).

For those organisations, the pre-12 August checklist is contractual as much as mathematical. Agreements should identify the parties, sites, approval numbers, source of WEEE, categories covered, dates and relevant tonnages where appropriate. The same guidance says AATFs and PCSs should hold records for at least four years and be able to provide copies to their regulator on request (Environment Agency WEEE evidence guidance).

In plain English: if you are issuing or accepting evidence, check that Category 15 loads are identified clearly, that the battery deduction method is documented, and that nobody is applying a small mixed WEEE assumption to a vape-only stream.

Producers and importers need to understand Category 15 because product placement and tonnage reporting feed into producer responsibility. GOV.UK's WEEE regulations guidance says producers placing less than 5 tonnes of EEE on the UK market in a compliance year can register directly as small producers, while producers placing more than 5 tonnes must join a producer compliance scheme (GOV.UK: WEEE regulations).

GOV.UK also says the regulations were updated to include operators of online marketplaces who place EEE on the UK market from non-UK based suppliers (GOV.UK: WEEE regulations). That makes category accuracy important beyond traditional importers and brand owners.

For producer-side teams, the practical question is not whether the retail counter should calculate 28.9%. It is whether the product, category, tonnage and downstream waste route are being reported and evidenced in a way the relevant scheme can stand behind.

Retailers should treat this as a documentation prompt, not a new customer-facing calculation. Unless you are part of the evidence-issuing chain, or your producer compliance scheme or waste contractor gives written instructions, the 28.9% protocol is not something to apply at the till, on a returns poster or in customer advice.

Your separate retailer duties still matter. GOV.UK's WEEE regulations guidance says retailers must offer free takeback, accept WEEE free from customers supplied with like-for-like products regardless of whether the sale is in store, online or by mail order, keep takeback records for at least four years, and provide customers with written information on the service and what they should do with WEEE (GOV.UK: WEEE regulations).

The same GOV.UK guidance says retailers with more than 400 square metres of EEE sales area must also accept small household WEEE under 25 cm at or near the retail site without requiring a new purchase. It also says vape retailers are excluded from the Distributor Takeback Scheme (GOV.UK: WEEE regulations).

That exclusion is worth repeating because it is an easy mistake to make. If you sell vapes, do not assume DTS is available as a fallback. Check your own takeback route and your waste contractor arrangements.

1. Confirm whether your vape waste contractor or producer compliance scheme treats vape returns as Category 15.
2. Check whether your collection paperwork distinguishes vape and electronic cigarette waste from mixed small WEEE.
3. Review customer takeback wording so it is accurate, adult-only, practical and not promotional.
4. Keep takeback records, contractor emails and collection notes in a compliance file.
5. Do not apply the 28.9% protocol yourself unless you are part of the evidence-issuing chain or have written instructions from the responsible scheme or contractor.

This is also a useful moment to check how rechargeable devices are being handled after the single-use vape ban. Our related rechargeable vape waste article looks at the post-ban waste-handling pressure in more detail, while this piece stays focused on WEEE evidence and battery deduction.

The first mistake is calling this a new retailer tax or a shop calculation. It is not. The 28.9% figure sits in Environment Agency WEEE evidence guidance for the waste treatment chain.

The second mistake is using the 0.68% small mixed WEEE battery percentage for vape-only streams. The Environment Agency guidance says that percentage must not be used on single-category WEEE streams such as vapes (Environment Agency WEEE evidence guidance).

The third mistake is assuming the Distributor Takeback Scheme is available to vape retail. GOV.UK's WEEE regulations guidance says vape retailers are excluded from DTS (GOV.UK: WEEE regulations).

The fourth mistake is blending WEEE evidence rules with nicotine-product compliance. Keep the files separate. Waste-chain evidence, producer responsibility, customer takeback, MHRA notification and age-restricted retailing are connected in a business sense, but they are not the same rulebook. When in doubt, check confirmed official sources rather than industry rumour; our guide to UK vape rule changes in 2026 explains that source-checking approach.

The 12 August change is narrow, but it is not trivial. The Environment Agency is moving vape and electronic cigarette waste into a more consistent Category 15 evidence process, with a national 28.9% battery deduction protocol for treatment operators.

For AATFs, AEs and producer compliance schemes, the practical task is to check category identification, evidence-note discipline and battery deduction records. For producers and marketplace operators, the task is to make sure Category 15 reporting and scheme arrangements are clear. For ordinary vape retailers, the task is simpler but still important: maintain takeback duties, keep records, give customers accurate written information and make sure your waste contractor knows how vape returns are being classified.

The safest approach before 12 August is not to improvise a new calculation. Check the official guidance, ask your scheme or contractor for written instructions where needed, and keep the 28.9% protocol in its proper place: a waste-chain evidence tool for vape and electronic cigarette WEEE.

• GOV.UK / Environment Agency: WEEE: evidence and national protocols guidance
• GOV.UK / Environment Agency: Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): evidence and national protocols guidance
• GOV.UK: Regulations: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
• GOV.UK / Environment Agency: Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) covered by the WEEE Regulations
• GOV.UK: Electrical waste: retailer and distributor responsibilities
• GOV.UK / Environment Agency: Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE): producer responsibility
• legislation.gov.uk: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013
• legislation.gov.uk: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2025