Monday, 16 January 2026 – Recycling Europe has unveiled a new roadmap calling for urgent action to increase circularity in Europe’s e-waste sector, as electrical and electronic waste continues to grow rapidly across the EU.

While e-waste recycling already delivers major climate and resource benefits, only around 40% of WEEE is currently reported as recycled, with plastics recycling rates as low as 20%. Collection levels remain far below the EU’s 65% target, resulting in the loss of valuable materials and undermining Europe’s circular economy. Recyclers also face low demand for recycled materials, slow implementation of ecodesign rules, safety risks and financial uncertainties linked to lithium batteries, and regulatory and trade barriers that limit efficient recycling across the single market.

In response, Recycling Europe’s roadmap sets out six priority actions to boost WEEE recycling in the EU. These include improving e-waste collection, enabling free and fair intra-EU trade, strengthening ecodesign and the Digital Product Passport, removing market and regulatory barriers, ensuring effective and transparent Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, and future-proofing the recycling sector.

“Europe is losing valuable materials to poor e-waste collection and weak markets. Our roadmap shows how urgent policy action can deliver a competitive, safe and truly circular e-waste sector,” said Maria Vera Duran, Policy Director at Recycling Europe.

Recycling Europe urges EU policymakers and Member States to use the upcoming revision of the WEEE Directive, the Circular Economy Act and related legislation to create the conditions for a strong, competitive, safe and truly circular e-waste recycling sector in Europe.