Overview

• The EU‑funded FutuRaM consortium released the analysis on Oct. 14 to map electronic and electrical equipment flows across the EU27+4.
• Europe generated 10.7 million tonnes of e‑waste in 2022, with 54% managed compliantly and 5.0 million tonnes entering non‑compliant routes.
• Compliant treatment recovered about 400,000 tonnes of critical materials in 2022, including aluminium, copper, silicon, tungsten and palladium.
• The study projects total WEEE to reach 12.5–19 million tonnes by 2050 and recoverable CRMs to exceed 1.5 million tonnes annually, with photovoltaic panels rising from 150,000 tonnes in 2022 to as much as 2.2 million tonnes.
• A five‑pronged plan calls for higher collection, design for disassembly, targeting rich components, scaling advanced recycling, and aligning incentives, feeding into the Critical Raw Materials Act, a Circular Economy Act and WEEE Directive revisions.