Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
PLEASE NOTE: The material contained in this guidance is provided for information only and does not constitute any legal or other Extended Producer Responsibility compliance advice from TikTok. You are responsible for ensuring that any items you sell or supply on TikTok Shop comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including Extended Producer Responsibility obligations. We accept no responsibility or liability to you or anyone else in relation to the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this guidance, or your reliance on such information. We recommend you seek independent legal advice if you have any queries in relation to your compliance with Extended Producer Responsibility obligations.
What is the UK Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation?
UK Extended Producer Responsibility ("EPR") is a regulation that works to ensure that businesses manufacturing, importing and selling certain products in the UK market are responsible for their end-of-life environmental impact.Under the UK EPR regulations, "producers" of these named EPR categories must follow certain “EPR obligations”, including registering, reporting and paying fees to cover the costs of recovering, managing, recycling and disposing of EPR items, known as "eco-contribution" fees.
Under the UK EPR regulation, a “producer” is defined broadly. If your UK-established business produces, imports or supplies EPR listed goods to the UK market under your brand or via an online marketplace, you may be classed as a “producer". However, obligation to register, report data, and pay fees may depend on the specific EPR category regulation, your turnover or the product volume thresholds.
We encourage you to review the official UK guidance for a full overview of; which product categories fall under the UK EPR regulation, if you are considered as a "producer" under any category specific regulation and the EPR obligations that you may be responsible for.
UK guidance here: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
What are some of the key categories under the UK EPR regulation?
- Packaging; from January 1, 2025 UK EPR requirements apply to packaging sold in the UK under the Packaging (EPR) Regulations 2024.
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE); August 12, 2025 UK EPR requirements also apply to WEEE sold in the UK, under an amendment to the WEEE Regulations 2013.
If you are a seller established in the UK, you may be obligated to fulfill the EPR requirements (register, report and pay fees) under the UK EPR Packaging and UK EPR WEEE regulations.
What are the UK EPR packaging and WEEE requirements for UK established sellers?
If you are a seller based in the UK, you must independently comply with EPR regulations. See an overview of the registration-reporting and fee requirements for UK EPR packaging and WEEE regulation by seller type.Packaging:
Seller type | Registration requirements | Registration validity | Reporting requirements | Reporting frequency | Reporting deadline | Fees |
| < £1m annual revenue AND supply < 25 tonnes of packaging | None | -- | None | -- | -- | None |
| Small Producer>= £1m annual revenue AND supply 25 - 50 tonnes of packaging | Must register with the environmental regulator.https://www.gov.uk/guidance/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging-register-and-pay-the-fee | 1 calendar year (Jan - Dec) | Must report your relevant sales to a Producer Responsibility Organisation and breakdown by:
| Annually | Full year 2025: April 1, 2026 | Eco-contribution and EPR Pay on Behalf fees. In 2025, EPR eco-contribution fees under the legislation are calculated using packaging tonnages reported for 2024 and local authority waste management costs.See the official UK guidelines for further guidance. |
| Large Producer>= £2m annual revenue AND supply > 50 tonnes of packaging | Must register with the environmental regulator.https://www.gov.uk/guidance/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging-register-and-pay-the-fee | 1 calendar year (Jan - Dec) | Must report your relevant sales to a Producer Responsibility Organisation and breakdown by:
| Biannually | H1 2025: October 1, 2025 H2 2025: April 1, 2026 | Eco-contribution and EPR Pay on Behalf fees. In 2025, EPR eco-contribution fees under the legislation are calculated using packaging tonnages reported for 2024 and local authority waste management costs.See the official UK guidelines for further guidance. |
Seller type | Registration requirements | Registration validity | Reporting requirements | Reporting frequency | Reporting deadline | Fees |
| Small ProducerPlace <= 5 tonnes of WEEE on the market in a compliance year (the previous and current year) | Must register with the environmental regulator.https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electrical-and-electronic-equipment-eee-producer-responsibility | 1 calendar year (Jan - Dec) | Must report your relevant sales to the relevant agency, breakdown by:
| Annually | January 31, 2027 | Eco-contribution fees, which are based on the amount and type of WEEE placed on the market. See the official UK guidelines for further guidance. |
| Large ProducerPlace > 5 tonnes of WEEE on the market in a compliance year (the previous and current year) | Must join a producer compliance scheme (PCS).https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electrical-and-electronic-equipment-eee-producer-responsibility#eee-producers-what-you-must-do | 1 calendar year: You must join a PCS by November 15 each year. If you enter the UK EEE market after November 15, you must join a PCS within 28 days of placing the EEE on the UK market. | Must report your relevant sales to the relevant agency or to the Producer Responsibility Organisation, breakdown by:
| Quarterly for household WEEE Annually for non-household WEEE | Annual: January 31, 2026 | Eco-contribution fees, which are based on the amount and type of WEEE placed on the market. See the official UK guidelines for further guidance. |
Are there any take-back requirements for UK EPR?
For packaging, the current regulations do not mandate physical take-back of used packaging directly from consumers.For WEEE, the current regulations mandate that distributors must offer free take-back of WEEE from consumers when they supply new equivalent items; accepting old equipment of “equivalent type…that has fulfilled the same function” as the new one. Review the full requirements here.
Is Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) membership mandatory?
For packaging, producers can either join a Producer Responsibility Organisation or register directly with the environmental regulator.For WEEE, large producers (placing >5 tonnes of WEEE on the market) must join a Producer Responsibility Organisation, while small producers can register directly with the environmental regulator.
What is the difference between a Producer Compliance Scheme (PCS) and Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO)?
A Producer Responsibility Scheme (PCS) is the program or scheme producers join to meet their legal obligations under EPR regulations.A Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) is the entity that operates the program or scheme. A PRO usually manages the collection, recycling, reporting and financing requirements for producers.
What records should be maintained under the UK EPR requirements.
For packaging; registration documentation, sales data and calculations, payment records, supply chain documentation, nation-specific sales data and recyclability assessments.- All records must be maintained for a minimum of seven years.
- All records must be maintained for a minimum of four years.
What is TikTok Shop's "EPR Contribution Programme"?
Our Extended Producer Responsibility Contribution Programme ("EPR Contribution Programme") enables us to recover the fees that we are required to pay under UK Extended Producer Responsibility (“EPR”) regulations in relation to certain products, including packaging and electrical and electronic equipment, that are made available, sold, or supplied by sellers on TikTok Shop UK.Where obligated by UK EPR regulations, we will pay Eco-Contributions in relation to EPR items that sellers make available, sell or supply on TikTok Shop UK, as well as fulfil our reporting and filing obligations in relation to those EPR items. We will then recover the Eco-Contributions from sellers, and charge a fee to cover the costs we incur in carrying out our obligations (the "Programme Fees"). We will deduct the eco-contributions and the programme fees (together, the "EPR Contribution Programme Fees") from the seller's TikTok Shop selling account.
What EPR items are in-scope of our EPR Contribution Programme?
Currently, the EPR Items in scope of the EPR Contribution Programme are those in respect of which we have EPR Obligations in accordance with:- The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (the "WEEE Regulations") which cover specific types of electrical and electronic equipment; and
- The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 (the "Packaging Regulations") which cover specific types of packaging.
Note: sellers that are established in the UK and have signed up to our 'Fulfilled by TikTok' Service: Under the Packaging Regulations, we are obligated to submit relevant reports and pay the applicable Eco-Contributions in relation to the TikTok branded packaging that your products will be packed in. At present, we do not require you to cover these fees; however, this approach may be subject to change, and we may seek to recover such fees from you in the future.
Additionally, the EPR items in scope of our EPR Contribution Programme may expand to other product categories in the future. This policy will be updated according to any new changes.
How does the programme work?
We will do the following in each reporting cycle to help us meet our EPR Obligations in relation to EPR items made available, sold or supplied by you on TikTok Shop UK:- We will submit data relating to these EPR items to the qualified producer responsibility organisation ("PRO").
- We will pay the required Eco-Contributions charged by the PRO.
- **For sellers who are not established in the UK** We will charge you the amount of Eco-Contributions we pay, plus the Programme Fees, which are to cover our costs of submitting the data and paying eco-contributions.
What is not included in the programme?
TikTok does not undertake any obligations that you may have as a producer under the relevant UK EPR regulations (including but not limited to the Packaging Regulations and the WEEE Regulations). You are responsible for compliance with your own EPR Obligations, so if you are a producer with obligations under any UK EPR regulations, we encourage you to work with PROs or external agencies that can provide more information on this. For more details, including whether you are deemed as a producer, please visit the official website: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).How and when is a seller enrolled in the programme?
The following sellers will be automatically enrolled into our EPR Contribution Programme:- For electrical and electronic equipment: Sellers who are not established in the UK, and who make available, sell, or supply electrical and electronic equipment (as defined in the WEEE Regulations) on TikTok Shop UK.
- For packaging: sellers who are not established in the UK, and who make available, sell, or supply packaged products or empty packaging on TikTok Shop UK.
Note: sellers that are established in the UK and have signed up to our 'Fulfilled by TikTok' Service: Under the Packaging Regulations, we are obligated to submit relevant reports and pay the applicable Eco-Contributions in relation to the TikTok branded packaging that your products will be packed in. Currently, you are not automatically enrolled in the EPR Contribution Programme for packaging as we do not require you to cover these fees. However, this arrangement may be subject to change as we may seek to recover such fees from you and include you in the programme in the future.