Non-compliance within the UK lighting sector remains a far more significant issue than many realise and a survey by the UK WEEE Scheme Forum showed that 76% of LED lamps offered for sale on a major online marketplace were not registered.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations were amended last year and from 12 August 2025 online marketplaces were required to start collecting data for all electrical goods brought into the UK via their platforms.
Environment Agency data has found that for the last four and a half months of 2025, online marketplaces had an annual market share of 13.8% for consumer lamps and 11% for consumer luminaires. However, it has been suggested these numbers could be significantly lower than the actual figures.
Recolight’s CEO, Nigel Harvey, commented:
“At last we can see the true extent of non-compliance through online marketplaces. What is more, one of the largest operators, eBay, does not yet appear in the list of compliant producers. So, once their data is included, and it grossed up into a full year equivalent, market shares could well be over 25% for consumer luminaires and over 35% for consumer lamps.
“The really good news for the lighting industry is that, at long last, online sellers will be forced to pay their share of WEEE costs. Recolight has worked tirelessly to see this change introduced over many years, and we are very grateful to current and former Defra staff who made this happen.”
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Rob Shepherd (author)
Rob is Consulting Editor for InstallerELECTRIC. He is a well-respected journalist with a strong history in the electrical sector.
