How to improve recovery of electrical and electronic equipment waste

Processing and recycling waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) such as computers, TVs, fridges and mobile phones is more important than ever, considering the rapid growth in consumption of these products. Europe was the region that produced the second largest amount of e-waste in 2016 – with 12.3 million tonnes (MT), after Asia which generated 18.2 MT. Despite the existence of legislation in place, only 8.9 MT of e-waste are documented to be collected and recycled globally. This corresponds to 20 % of all the e-waste generated.

By using new tools and methodologies, the EU-funded CloseWEEE project hopes to improve the collection, treatment and recycling of electronics at the end of their life. As stated on the project website, the main goal of CloseWEEE is “to increase the range and yields of recovered materials from WEEE streams.”

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