New data reveal the extent of Europe’s e-waste crisis, NGOs call for urgent action

New Eurostat data released today exposes the scale of Europe’s overconsumption of electronics and the continued failure to properly collect and recycle e-waste.

EEB - European Environmental Bureau

Environmental NGOs are urging the European Commission to take decisive action in the upcoming revision of the Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) legislation. Notably, they call for stronger and binding measures to prevent waste and promote repair, reuse and proper collection, including reuse targets, and robust EPR schemes with eco-modulated fees that hold producers accountable for their products throughout their life cycle.

Eurostat’s latest data confirm a worrying trend: more electronics are entering the EU market, and more e-waste is generated as a result. In 2023:

• More than 14.4 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment were sold in the EU – an increase of over 89 percent since 2012.
• The highest per-capita consumers of electrical and electronic equipment in the EU were Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, and Italy, with consumption levels of 33.3 – 45.4 kilograms per person.
• 5.2 million tonnes of e-waste were collected – just 4.4 percent more than in 2022.
• Collection rates are still alarmingly low across the EU, including for example in Germany, where only 29.5 percent of e-waste is properly collected and reported.
• The lowest e-waste collection rates were recorded in Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Netherlands and Hungary.

The rising consumption of electronic devices is depleting finite resources such as lithium, palladium, and copper, while increasing energy demand, and inflicting harm on human health and the environment during raw material extraction. The problem is made worse when products have a short lifespan, are difficult to repair, or improperly disposed of. These challenges are still common in Europe, where the average phone gets replaced every 3 years and average collection rate for WEEE is still at 37.5 percent.

Moreover, large quantities of e-waste keep being illegally discarded as residual waste or exported unlawfully. Improper disposal not only causes significant environmental damage, but also leads to lost opportunities for reuse and recycling of devices and materials, fires ignited by lithium-ion batteries, and the release of toxic pollutants.

To address these challenges, environmental NGOs are calling for ambitious and harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems that prioritise prevention, reuse and repair. Producers must be made responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products through mandatory participation in collective Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), eco-modulated fees, and producer-funded reuse and repair programmes. A more robust EPR framework would also improve collection rates by enhancing transparency and clarifying responsibilities for achieving collection, reuse and recycling targets.

Fynn Hauscke, Senior Policy Officer, Circular Economy and Waste, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), said:

    "The surge in electronic waste mirrors our ever-increasing appetite for new devices – and with it, the growing strain on our planet’s finite resources. Every new smartphone, laptop or appliance consumes critical raw materials like lithium, palladium and copper, whose extraction comes at a high environmental cost. Unless Europe tackles overconsumption and strengthens producer responsibility, we will continue to exceed planetary boundaries.”

Fanny Rateau, Senior Programme Manager, Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), said:

    "The EU needs to shift its e-waste mindset upstream and focus on waste prevention and reuse. Recycling should not be the priority – instead we need to make reuse and repair the norm. By including separate reuse and preparation for reuse targets in the revised WEEE Directive and prioritising product and component recovery over material recovery across legislation and standards, the EU can revitalise our used electronics, keeping them in use for longer. We can still turn the tide on the e-waste tsunami.” ”

Viktor Schödwell, Senior Expert, Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe – DUH) said:

    "Increasing quantities placed on the market and poor collection results show that producer responsibility in the field of electronics is failing to meet important environmental targets. We therefore need to make producers genuinely accountable to reduce environmental impacts of their products to prevent the general public from bearing these costs. All producers must join a collective producer responsibility organisation which must be obliged to meet targets for collection, preparation for reuse and high-quality recycling and promote ecodesign.”