Towards an EU WEEE Regulation: Creating a Level Playing Field for WEEE Recycling

Introduction

In January 2022, EERA published Towards an EU WEEE Regulation to set out how Europe's WEEE legislation could better support high-quality recycling and a more circular economy. The position paper was informed by an independent survey and interviews conducted by Sofies with EERA members, drawing directly on recyclers' experience of implementing the WEEE Directive across different Member States.

The central finding was clear: significant differences in how the WEEE Directive was interpreted, implemented and enforced were creating unequal operating conditions across Europe. We therefore called for a move from a Directive to an EU WEEE Regulation, with more harmonised requirements and greater regulatory certainty for recyclers.

Our recommendations covered the full WEEE value chain, from product design and collection to treatment standards, waste shipments, recovery targets and information for recyclers.

Why we called for an EU WEEE Regulation

Our member survey identified significant differences in how the WEEE Directive was interpreted and implemented across Member States. Recyclers faced varying requirements for waste categories, registration, enforcement and treatment, creating unequal operating conditions and an uneven playing field across Europe.

We therefore called for a shift from a Directive to an EU WEEE Regulation, with harmonised requirements applying consistently across Member States. All recyclers interviewed for the report supported this approach.

For us, harmonisation was not simply about reducing administrative complexity. Consistent rules would help ensure that WEEE is managed to comparable environmental and treatment standards across Europe, support fair competition and give recyclers greater regulatory certainty to invest in recycling technologies and capacity.

Better product design and clearer WEEE categories

We called for WEEE categories to better reflect product content, hazards and treatment requirements, rather than relying primarily on size. This would help direct different types of equipment to appropriate treatment processes and improve the recovery of critical raw materials. We also called for greater alignment between WEEE, battery and end-of-life vehicle legislation as electrical components increasingly appear across different products.

Product design was equally important. We recommended making batteries, circuit boards and other key components easier to identify and remove, supported by clearer labelling of hazardous substances and materials containing critical raw materials.

We also called for design requirements that support repair, reuse and recycling, alongside recycled-content targets to strengthen demand for secondary materials recovered from WEEE.

Improving collection and treatment

Better WEEE recycling starts with better collection. We called for collection targets that reflect the characteristics and lifetimes of different product categories, while maintaining producer responsibility for WEEE placed on the market. We also recommended mandatory handover of collected WEEE to approved collectors and compliant recyclers to reduce losses through scavenging and uncontrolled channels.

Collection quality also matters. We called for compliance with the EN 50625 collection and logistics requirements, better sorting at collection points and separate collection of equipment containing batteries or other hazardous components. These measures would help protect material quality and reduce safety risks during handling and treatment.

For treatment, we recommended making the EN 50625 and EN 50614 standards mandatory across Europe. Consistent standards, supported by harmonised auditing and stronger enforcement, would help ensure high-quality treatment and create a more level playing field for compliant recyclers.

Making WEEE shipments work for recycling

Our members identified cross-border WEEE shipments as a major operational challenge. Different national interpretations, lengthy authorisation procedures, language requirements and inconsistent waste codes made it harder to move WEEE and recovered fractions to appropriate treatment facilities across Europe.

We called for a more European approach that would make shipments to compliant recyclers faster and more predictable. In particular, we highlighted the limited use of pre-consented facilities, despite provisions intended to provide shorter notification procedures. Only four of the 26 recyclers surveyed reported having pre-consented facilities.

We also called for less bureaucracy, more proportionate administrative charges and a review of financial guarantee requirements that immobilised significant capital. The objective was to enable secondary resources to reach suitable recovery facilities without unnecessary barriers.

Measuring recycling by quality, not only weight

In our report, we questioned whether recycling and recovery targets focused predominantly on weight provide the right measure of environmental performance. We called for greater emphasis on the quality and value of the materials recovered, including critical raw materials and the effective removal of hazardous substances.

We also recommended looking beyond recycling alone. Reuse and repair should form part of the assessment of overall performance, reflecting the wider waste hierarchy. Targets should also recognise differences between product categories and allow flexibility in the technologies and methods recyclers use to achieve the required outcomes

What we called for

Our 2022 position paper set out a clear direction for future EU WEEE legislation. We called for:

• An EU WEEE Regulation with harmonised requirements across Member States

• Clearer WEEE categories based more closely on product content, hazards and treatment requirements

• Better product design to support repair, reuse, safe treatment and recovery of critical raw materials

• Improved collection, including better handover, sorting and handling of WEEE;

• Mandatory European treatment standards to create a level playing field for compliant recyclers

• Simpler cross-border shipment procedures and better use of pre-consented facilities

• Recycling targets focused on quality, not only weight

• Better information for recyclers on product components, materials and hazardous substances

Together, these recommendations aimed to create greater regulatory certainty, support investment in high-quality recycling and keep more valuable materials circulating within Europe.

About the report and download

We published Towards an EU WEEE Regulation in January 2022. Prepared by Sofies on our behalf, the position paper draws on a survey and interviews with EERA members and reflects their experience of WEEE legislation across Europe at that time.

Read the full report for the detailed findings and recommendations.

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