Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Overview

The amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (widely known as WEEE or e-waste) generated every year in the EU is increasing rapidly. It is now one of the fastest growing waste streams. It includes a large range of devices such as mobile phones, computers, televisions, fridges, household appliances, lamps but also medical devices and photovoltaic panels.

E-waste contains a complex mixture of materials, some of which are hazardous. These can cause major environmental and health problems if the discarded devices are not managed properly. Modern electronics also contain rare and expensive resources, including critical raw materials. These can be recycled and re-used if the waste is effectively managed.

Improving the collection, treatment and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment at the end of their life can increase resource efficiency and support the shift to a circular economy. It can also contribute to the security of supply for critical raw materials, ultimately enhancing the EU’s strategic autonomy.

Objectives

EU rules address environmental and other issues caused by the growing number of discarded electronics in the EU. The aim is to contribute to sustainable production and consumption by

• preventing the creation of WEEE as a priority
• contributing to the efficient use of resources and the retrieval of secondary raw materials through re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery
• improving the environmental performance of everyone involved in the life cycle of EEE

The latest figures are from 2022 and can be found on Eurostat.

Law

The WEEE Directive and the RoHS Directive tackle the issue of the growing amount of WEEE.

The WEEE Directive

• requires the separate collection and proper treatment of WEEE and sets targets for their collection, recovery and recycling
• helps European countries fight illegal waste exports more effectively by making it harder for exporters to disguise illegal shipments of WEEE
• reduces the administrative burden by calling for the harmonisation of national EEE registers and of the reporting format

• WEEE Directive (consolidated version)
• WEEE Directive

Secondary law

• Commission Recommendation on improving the rate of return of used and waste mobile phones, tablets and laptop

• Implementing regulation on a common calculation methodology for the weight of EEE placed on national markets and the quantity of WEEE generated

• Implementing regulation establishing a harmonised format for registration and reporting of producers to the national registers
• Implementing decision laying down common rules for data calculation, verification and reporting and establishing data formats

Find out more about the RoHS Directive.

Implementation

Information about the implementation of the WEEE Directive, including data and reporting and WEEE calculation tools.

Evaluation

The Commission is currently evaluating the WEEE Directive. This evaluation will assess whether the Directive is still fit for purpose, explore possibilities to simplify it and determine whether a review is needed. To gather evidence from the public and a wide range of stakeholders, the Commission held an online public consultation, assisted by a study to support this evaluation. The study's final report will be made publicly available by Q1 2025.

Timeline

Key dates related to the WEEE Directive

Publications

• Study on options for return schemes of mobile phones, tablets and other small electrical and electronic equipment in the EU
• Final report of the "Study on quality standards for the treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
• Frequently Asked Questions on the WEEE Directive
• Final report of the WEEE compliance promotion exercise
• Study on the implementation of product design requirements set out in Article 4 of the WEEE Directive – The case of re-usability of printer cartridge"
• Study on the harmonisation of the format for registration and reporting of producers of EEE to the national register and on the frequency of reporting
• Study on WEEE recovery targets, preparation for re-use targets and on the method for the calculation of the recovery targets
• Study on WEEE collection rates
• Review of WEEE Directive scope
• Report on equivalent conditions for WEEE recycling operations taking place outside the EU
• Study on photovoltaic panels
• Study on RoHS/WEEE simplification
• Study on the producer responsibility principle of the WEEE Directive
• 2008 review of the WEEE Directive and annexes
• WEEE Directive implementation in the EU25
• Impact assessment on the proposed Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment
• Summary of the impact assessment on WEEE

Related links

Main law: WEEE Directive

Entry into force: 13 August 2012

Related topics:  Chemicals Circular economy Restriction of hazardous substances in EEE (RoHS) Waste and recycling Critical Raw Materials

Related strategies: Circular economy action plan

Related Commission priorities: European Green Deal