Guidance

Accepting e-bikes at waste treatment sites: RPS 343

Published 28 July 2025

Applies to England

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to comply with the conditions of your environmental permit or the T11 waste exemption when accepting e-bikes without waste code 16 01 04* in your permit or in the T11.

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with these legal requirements provided that:

• your activity meets the description set out in this RPS

• you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS

In addition, your activity must not cause (or be likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and must not:

• cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals

• cause a nuisance through noise or odours

• adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

1. Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to operators of waste treatment sites who accept e-bikes under their waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) permit or a registered T11 waste exemption, but don’t have the correct waste code (16 01 04*) to do so.

2. Conditions you must comply with

You must:

• hold a permit to treat WEEE or have registered a T11 waste exemption

• comply in full with your permit or T11 conditions and limitations to accept e-bikes with waste code 16 01 04* under this RPS

• keep records for 3 years from the date of the last use of the RPS to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request

3. Things to note

You should allocate waste code 16 01 04* to scrapped e-bikes.

You should allocate waste code 20 01 35* to other personal light electric vehicles (PLEVs) such as, but not limited to, e-scooters, segways and hoverboards.  

This RPS clarifies the correct coding and appropriate disposal of PLEVs which are seized by the police and other enforcement agencies. These are typically electric motorbikes or PLEVs which are illegal to use on a road such as:

• e-scooters

• electric unicycles and e-bikes that do not conform with the electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC) Regulations (1983) and EAPC standards and legal requirements.

Illegal PLEVs which are seized are typically scrapped at a permitted end of life vehicle (ELV) site, a permitted WEEE site or a T11 exempt site.

You must treat and dispose of PLEVs in accordance with:

• Annex VII of the WEEE Directive – see Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
• Environment Agency guidance on WEEE appropriate measures – see Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): appropriate measures for permitted facilities

You must follow all depollution steps required to remove any hazardous components (for example batteries) and liquids. You must remove these components by hand before any further mechanical treatment by a permitted site.

You must ensure that removed batteries, hazardous components and liquids are stored in line with the Environment Agency’s guidance on WEEE appropriate measures for permitted facilities to minimise fire risk and pollution. You must do this before sending them to an appropriately authorised site for further treatment.

You must not crush, squash or mechanically treat e-bikes or other PLEVs before you remove batteries or liquids. This is to minimise fire risk from damaged batteries and prevent dispersion of liquids into output fractions. 

There are WEEE producer responsibility implications. 

Most of the seized e-scooters and e-bikes will not be type approved and fall within the definition of WEEE under the WEEE Regulations 2013 (regulation 8). E-bike conversion kits are also considered electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), and therefore WEEE when discarded.

‘Type approved’ means an EAPC must have a continuous rated power output of no more than 250 watts and a motor speed limited to 15.5 mph. For more information on riding e-bikes see Riding an electric bike: the rules.

WEEE does not have to be recovered at an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF). The waste producer can request that a WEEE producer compliance scheme (PCS) takes responsibility for recycling or recovery of WEEE. The treatment costs would then be the responsibility of the PCS, and the PCS will arrange for the WEEE to be treated at an AATF.

For the current PCS list see Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) public registers.

4. When you must check back

The Environment Agency will review this RPS by 1 September 2028.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before the review date if they consider it necessary. This includes where the activity that this RPS relates to has not changed.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the review date, to see if this RPS still applies.

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn.

You can subscribe to email updates about this RPS. These will tell you if the RPS has changed and when it has been withdrawn.

5. If you cannot comply with this RPS

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must:

• stop the activity to which this RPS relates
• tell the Environment Agency immediately by contacting enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 343 in the subject

6. Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS, email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk with RPS 343 in the subject.