The Must-Know Facts About E-Waste Recycling In Europe
A recent study shows that most EU member states miss collection targets for electronic waste. E-waste, according to a press release by the European Parliament, is the fastest growing waste stream in the EU, with less than 40% of electronic waste being recycled.
As you can imagine, the management of e-waste is an important task for the EU, especially in their aim to move towards a circular economy.
What is e-waste?
The European Parliament explains that electronic and electrical waste – or simply ‘e-waste’ – covers a variety of products that are thrown away after use. These products may include large household appliances, like washing machines and stoves, as well as IT equipment, like laptops and printers. Consumer equipment can also include anything from video cameras and fluorescent lamps to vacuum cleaners and toasters. Also included under the umbrella of e-waste are electrical tools and medical devices.
Why does e-waste need to be recycled?
As this article states, electrical equipment “provokes serious environmental impact.” Firstly, due to a lack of collection and recycling, and secondly due to the short lifetimes of these devices. Other reasons to consider recycling e-waste include poor repair suitability, and the threat of illegal imports and exports. The negative environmental impact of electronic devices.
The European Parliament names potentially harmful materials that pollute the environment as one of the main reasons why e-waste should be recycled. These harmful materials may also pose a risk to the people involved in the recycling thereof.
“Many rare minerals that are needed in modern technology come from countries that do not respect human rights,” the Parliament states. “To avoid inadvertently supporting armed conflict and human rights abuses, European importers of rare earth minerals must [by law] carry out background checks of their suppliers.”
E-waste and the EU
According to Parliament, the European Commission presented a new circular economy action plan in 2020, in which the reduction of electronic and electrical waste is listed as one of the top priorities.
A statement by the European Commission explains that their Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) objective is to contribute to sustainable electronic production and consumption. It will do so by “contributing to the efficient use of resources and the retrieval of secondary raw materials through re-use, recycling and recovery”.
Furthermore, this action plan outlines goals such as“the right to repair” and improving reusability, like introducing a common charger (Our lives would be so much easier!). A reward system to encourage recycling electronics is also being introduced.
A 2021-report expressed that European countries should be legally required to recycle critical metals in electronic waste. Funded by the EU, the CEWASTE consortium states that, by making e-waste a legal requirement, the EU will reduce their reliance on imports while also preventing disruption to critical metal supply chains.
What’s your opinion on the recycling of e-waste? Do you think it’s something that we should all take responsibility for, or should there be stricter government rules in place?
