The EU collected 12.3 kg of e-waste per person

Eurostat reported that 12.3 kg of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) was collected per person in the EU in 2024. In the same year, 32.4 kg of new electrical and electronic equipment was placed on the EU market per person. The difference is not an estimate of uncollected waste: equipment may remain in use, await disposal, be stored at home, or enter informal or unmonitored treatment.

From 2015 to 2024, equipment placed on the market per person rose 79%, from 18.1 kg to 32.4 kg; collected e-waste increased from 7.3 kg to 12.3 kg. Eurostat cautions that both reported amounts may be underestimated because cross-border online sales, non-compliant producers and informal waste treatment are difficult to capture fully. Bulgaria (18.9 kg), Czechia (17.8 kg) and France (17.7 kg) recorded the highest collection per person.