Europeans Are Hoarding Old Electronics And E-waste Recycling Rates Are Stalling

What do you do pinch your aged devices? Do you person a drawer afloat of aged phones? 
More than half of Europeans kept their aged mobile phones successful drawers alternatively than recycling them successful 2024, according to caller Eurostat information released connected July 25, 2025.

Despite increasing EU efforts to beforehand a information economy, astir citizens are still reluctant to portion pinch ageing tech – posing caller challenges for nan bloc’s discarded and recycling targets.

Most Europeans support aged phones alternatively of recycling them

According to Eurostat, 51 per cent of EU residents aged 16–74 kept their aged mobile aliases smartphone astatine location aft nary longer utilizing it. Only 11 per cent chose to recycle nan device, while 2 per cent simply threw it away. Meanwhile, 18 per cent either sold aliases gave distant their phone.

For laptops and tablets:

• 34 per cent were kept astatine home
• 12 per cent were sold aliases fixed away
• 11 per cent were recycled
• 1 per cent were discarded without recycling

Desktop computers showed a somewhat amended trend, pinch a 15 per cent recycling rate. However, 19 per cent were still kept astatine home, and only 9 per cent were passed on. Just 2 per cent ended up successful nan bin without recycling.

This hoarding behaviour crossed Europe suggests wide hesitation to decently dispose of electronics – moreover arsenic nan biology stakes grow.

Why e-waste is simply a increasing interest for Europe

The European Environment Agency warns that Europe is “generating excessively overmuch discarded – and not capable is being recycled.” The EU has committed to creating a information economy, which prioritises keeping products and materials successful usage for arsenic agelong arsenic possible. But nan slow gait of alteration risks superior biology and wellness impacts.

For example:

• Incinerated discarded contributes to aerial pollution
• Landfilled discarded tin contaminate ungraded and groundwater
• Valuable resources, for illustration metals successful electronics, are mislaid if not recovered

The EEA states that recycling electrical and physics discarded could return metals for reuse successful caller products. “Metals successful physics waste, specified arsenic from computers, gadgets and batteries are recovered and tin beryllium utilized successful caller devices,” it says.

Recycling goals astatine consequence arsenic discarded keeps rising

Despite humble improvements, recycling remains patchy crossed nan EU:

• Municipal discarded recycling reached 49 per cent
• Packaging discarded recycling deed 64 per cent
• Electronic and electrical discarded recycling lags down astatine 39 per cent

The EU’s 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan group a extremity for each personnel states to recycle astatine slightest 60 per cent of municipal discarded by 2030, and to halve nan full magnitude of non-recycled municipal waste. But arsenic of 2025, projections show this is improbable to hap unless discarded procreation itself drops significantly.

To tackle nan increasing crisis, nan EU relies connected respective discarded directives:

• Waste Framework Directive – sets municipal recycling targets
• WEEE Directive – targets electronics waste
• Packaging Directive – tackles packaging recycling

More policies are successful nan useful nether nan European Green Deal, including bans connected single-use plastics and regulations to make products easier to repair and recycle.

But arsenic electrical vehicles and smart devices go much common, nan EU faces a caller dilemma: really to creation products coming truthful their components tin beryllium reused tomorrow.

Should nan EU return much fierce action to curb e-waste, aliases is it up to individuals to alteration their habits?

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