Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

Overview

A pile of electronic waste — © SteveAllenPhoto, Getty Images

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 includes phones, household appliances and medical devices.

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, which can be recycled and reused.

Improving the collection, treatment and recycling of WEEE 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.

Find a summary of the legislation here.

14.4 million tonnes

of electrical & electronic equipment is put on the market

5 million tonnes

of e-waste was collected in 2022

11.2 kg

e-waste was collected per person in 2022

Objectives

The recast Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive entered into force on 13 August 2012.

It aims to protect the environment and human health by encouraging sustainable production and consumption by:-

Preventing the creation of WEEE as a priority
Promoting reuse, recycling and other ways of recovering waste from electrical and electronic equipment
Supporting the efficient use of resources and recovery of valuable secondary raw materials

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

Law

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

Specifically, 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 administrative burden by calling for the harmonisation of national EEE registers and of the reporting format

Related laws

Implementation

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

More information

Evaluation

In July 2025, the Commission released an evaluation of the WEEE Directive, assessing whether it remains fit for purpose, exploring possibilities for simplification, and determining whether a review is necessary.

You can find the evaluation here, alongside an executive summary of the evaluation, and the study’s final report.

Timeline

Key dates related to the WEEE Directive

July 2025
Commission publishes the Staff Working Document on the evaluation of the Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), its executive summary and the related study. Find out more here.
October 2023
Commission adopts policy recommendations for national authorities to increase the return of used and waste mobile phones, tablets and laptops
Read the recommendations and find out more in the news article
June 2023
Public consultation on the evaluation of the WEEE Directive
Link to the online Public consultation.
17 December 2019
Adoption of Implementing Decision 2019/2193
19 February 2019
Adoption of Implementing Regulation 2019/290
18 April 2017
Adoption of Implementing regulation 2017/699
14 February 2014
New WEEE Directive becomes effective
13 August 2012
New WEEE Directive enters into force
February 2003
First WEEE Directive enters into force

Contact

For questions about EU environmental policy, please contact Europe Direct.

For questions on WEEE implementation or enforcement, please contact Member State authorities or the European WEEE Registers Network (EWRN).

To purchase European Standards, please contact the national members of the European Standardization Organisations.

Contact the relevant European Standardization Organisation CENELEC.