Requirements For Retailers Of Electronic Equipment

Retailer Requirements under the NYS Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act

Retailers that sell covered electronic equipment (CEE) have a very important role to play in the New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act (Act). The Act defines a retailer as a person who sells CEE in the state through any means, including, but not limited to, transactions conducted through retail sales outlets, mail, catalogs, telephone, the internet or other electronic means. A retailer does not include a person who sells or offers for sale fewer than 10 items of CEE during a calendar year.

Retailers' responsibilities are detailed in Section 27-2607 of the NYS Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act, and are summarized below:

  1. Provide information to consumers. At the point of sale, retailers must provide purchasers of CEE with information about opportunities for the return of electronic waste, if any has been provided to the retailer by the manufacturer.
  2. Sell only compliant brands. Retailers are prohibited from selling any CEE in the state unless:
    • the manufacturer and its brands are registered with the Department. The Department maintains a list of registered manufacturers and their brands on its website, and manufacturers are required to notify retailers that they are registered. The retailer should check this list regularly as newly-registered manufacturers and brands are frequently updated; or
    • the manufacturer and its brands are not registered with the Department because the manufacturer sells less than 1,000 units of CEE annually into the state. If a brand of CEE is not listed on the Department's website, the retailer should check with the Department to see if it may legally be sold in the state.
    • The retailer may continue to sell already purchased brands of CEE for 180 days after the manufacturer's registration is revoked by the Department.
  3. Sell only labeled equipment. A retailer may only offer for sale in the state CEE that has a visible, permanent label clearly identifying the manufacturer of that equipment.
  4. Provide information to the Department. A retailler must provide the Department with a list of manufacturers and brands of CEE offered for sale in the state, upon request by the Department.
  5. Comply with disposal ban. No retailer in the state may dispose of electronic waste at a solid waste management facility or hazardous waste management facility, or place electronic waste for collection which is intended for disposal at a solid waste management facility or hazardous waste management facility.
  6. Register and comply with the requirements of an electronic waste collection site, if intending to accept electronic waste from consumers at the retail location.

Contact for this Page

DMM, Bureau of Waste Reduction and Recycling
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233

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