What does WEEE mean?

WEEE (or e-waste) stays for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, and it includes 6 categories of products: 

Temperature Exchange Equipment – Examples: Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, heat pumps.

 

Screens and Monitors – Examples: TVs, computer monitors, LED screens, laptops with screens larger than 100 cm².

 

Lamps – Examples: Fluorescent tubes, high-intensity discharge lamps, LED lamps.

 

Large Equipment (≥50 cm) – Examples: Washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, fitness machines, vending machines.

 

Small Equipment (<50 cm) – Examples: Vacuum cleaners, microwaves, electric tools, cameras, toys, medical devices.

 

Small IT and Telecommunications Equipment (<50 cm) – Examples: Mobile phones, routers, keyboards, tablets, GPS devices.

 

The problem  

Electronic devices and electrical equipment define modern life, but the waste they generate has become an obstacle to EU efforts to reduce its ecological footprint. In 2022, 14.4 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment were put on the market, and 5 million tonnes of e-waste were collected (11.2 kg of WEEE collected per person). However, the amount of WEEE collected is mainly linked to increasing amounts of such equipment being sold in the EU. WEEE represents the EU’s fastest-growing waste stream, increasing by about 2% annually. 

Nearly half of the WEEE generated is still not being collected, and the majority of Member States do not reach the collection target set out in the EU WEEE Directive. Furthermore, the WEEE Directive has had a limited impact on enhancing material recycling and recovery. Currently, only about 40% of WEEE is recycled in the EU.

WEEE contains hazardous materials and valuable resources, including critical raw materials. Proper collection, treatment, and recycling are essential to prevent environmental and health risks, improve resource efficiency, and support a circular economy. Effective management also helps secure supply chains and enhances the EU’s strategic autonomy. 

EU regulations aim to reduce e-waste generation, promote reuse and recycling, and improve the environmental performance of all actors involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment.

Source: https://environment.ec.europa.eu, https://ec.europa.eu, https://environment.ec.europa.eu, and www.europarl.europa.eu

The European Week for Waste Reduction on WEEE 

Improving the collection, treatment and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment at the end of their life can increase resource efficiency and recover significant amount of materials included in these items. Nevertheless, to strongly reduce the impact of EEE, the key actions should be done before the products reach the category of waste. The selection of this thematic focus for the 2025 edition of the EWWR wants to raise awareness on reduce, repair and reuse activities for electric and electronic equipment that can be implemented by all the different categories of stakeholders. 

Get inspired

• RecycleIT: the project that gives a second life to public sector IT equipment – A project in the Brussels-Capital Region that aims to give a second life to the decommissioned IT equipment of regional administrations through structured partnerships with local actors in the circular economy.
• The total waste of products – a study on waste footprint and climate cost – The study by Avfall Sverige calculated the waste footprint of 11 products (including electric drill, laptop and smart phone) and estimated the climate cost due to the greenhouse gas emissions related to the production processes.
• E6 – Ecosystems for Extended-lifetime of End-of-Use Electrical and Electronic Equipment – The E6 project aims to increase the capacities of regions to give citizens the first option of reuse, repair and refurbishment of EEE. 
• Host a repair event in your community – A Restart Party is a free community repair event where volunteers help people fix their own broken or slow electronic devices and small appliances, to save them from waste and change our relationship with electronics.
• The invisible threat: digital waste and digital pollution – The GreenCo Project has created an insightful eBook to guide you towards sustainable digital practices. 

Tackling e-waste together

Be part of these partner initiatives too that are taking bold action against e-waste.

14 October 2025 – International E-Waste Day focus on Critical Raw Materials

18 October 2025 – International Repair Day focus on software obsolescence

Watch This!

Don’t forget you can turn on subtitles in your own language in the upcoming YouTube videos.

• Learn to cut down on computer waste – COGERSA
• Learn to cut down on mobile phone waste – COGERSA
• Bizkaia repairs campaign – Winner of EWWR 2024
• How to organise a Restart Party – Restart Project
• What is hidden behind a new phone? – Avfall Sverige
  
• Do you know what critical materials are? – WEEE Forum

Official EWWR factsheets

1. A call to action
2. An overview of WEEE within the EU framework

Poster

You can download below the thematic poster on WEEE. Use it to inspire others to take action for the EWWR! It is available in Basque, Catalan, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.