Europeans hoard old electronics, and recycling rates of e-waste are stagnant

What do your old gadgets become? Do you have an old phone in your drawer? 
Eurostat released new data on July 25, 2025 that showed that more than half the Europeans did not recycle their old mobile phones, but instead kept them in drawers.

Despite growing EU efforts to promote a circular economy, most citizens are still reluctant to part with ageing tech – posing fresh challenges for the bloc’s waste and recycling targets.

Most Europeans don’t recycle their old phones.

According to Eurostat, 51 per cent of EU residents aged 16–74 kept their old mobile or smartphone at home after no longer using it. Only 11% of EU residents aged 16-74 chose to recycle their device. The remaining 2% simply disposed it. In the meantime, 18% sold or donated their phones.

Laptops and Tablets:

• 33 per cent of the population stayed at home
• Twelve percent were sold or given out
• Recycled 11 percent
• One percent of the waste was discarded without recycling

Desktop computers showed slightly better trends, with a recycling rate of 15%. Only 9% of desktop computers were recycled, with 19% still being kept at home. Only 2 percent of the waste was thrown in the trash without being recycled.

This hoarding behaviour across Europe suggests widespread hesitation to properly dispose of electronics – even as the environmental stakes grow.

Why eWaste is a Growing Concern for Europe

You can also find out more about the following: European Environment Agency warns that Europe is “generating too much waste – and not enough is being recycled.” The EU has pledged to create a circular economy that prioritizes keeping products and materials as useful as possible. Slow change can have negative environmental and health effects.

Example:

• Air pollution is caused by burning of waste.
• Landfilled wastes can contaminate the soil and groundwater
• If valuable resources are not recovered, such as metals used in electronics, they will be lost.

You can also find out more about the following: EEA It states that electronic and electrical waste recycling could return metals to be reused in new products. The report states that “metals from electronic waste like computers, gadgets and battery can be reused in new devices.”

As waste continues to increase, recycling goals are at risk

Recycling remains uneven across Europe despite modest improvement:

• Municipal waste recycling at 49 percent
• Recycling packaging waste at 64 per cent
• The recycling of electronic and electric waste is lagging behind at 39 percent

In the EU’s 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan, all member countries were required to recycle 60 percent of municipal waste by 2030 and reduce to half the amount of nonrecycled waste. As of 2025 projections indicate that this is unlikely unless waste production itself decreases significantly.

The EU has several directives to help it tackle this growing crisis:

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

The European Green Deal is introducing more policies, such as a ban on single-use products and rules to make it easier for consumers to repair and recycle their products.

The EU now faces a new challenge as the use of electric vehicles, smart devices and other technologies increases. How can products be designed today to allow their components to be reused in future?

Is it the responsibility of individuals to change their habits or should the EU be more aggressive in curbing e-waste?

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