Dear friends, 

Once a year, we trade our home offices for a shared space to align on the plans of the year ahead. In 2026 we chose to visit Dimitris Kritikos for a team meeting in Athens. It was also a special occasion to welcome our two newest colleagues in person for the first time: Sofía De Gea Bellich, our Management Assistant, and Elena Agafonova, our Public Affairs Manager.

The first quarter was also rich in new achievements - check below the news on the report on EPR in Poland issued with our Polish member ElektroEko, three new issues papers (considerations on the Directive's 2012/19/EU scope; WEEE in the metal scrap; and small territories and islands) and the EU funded projects' work with a variety of upcoming events.

Last but not least save the date for our September conference in Dublin!

We look forward to seeing you there soon!

Pascal Leroy, Director General

SAVE THE DATE!

We are happy to invite all our friends, collaborators and everyone following EPR developments and e-waste related policy regulations to Clontarf Castle in Dublin for a two‑day high‑level conference dedicated to the future of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in an evolving European policy landscape. 

Bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, civil‑society representatives, and innovators, this event will explore the key challenges and opportunities that lie ahead — from the implications of the Circular Economy Act for the electronics value chain to critical raw materials, competitiveness, meaningful collection targets, and the social dimension of the circular transition.  

Among the confirmed speakers are Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea, Director for Circular Economy at European Commission as well as representatives of EuroCommerce, Euroconsumers, and of Recycling Europe.

The final programme and the registration will follow soon! 

Considerations regarding the scope of Directive 2012/19/EU

We have published a new issue paper in view of the upcoming revision of the WEEE Directive as part of the Circular Economy Act. The revised rules should harmonise the scope across Member States, as differing national definitions create inconsistencies in reported data and unequal EPR obligations. 

Clear, harmonised criteria are needed to classify products and ensure fair treatment of producers. Any scope changes should undergo a thorough impact assessment and be reviewed periodically to reflect new technologies. PV panels should form a separate category due to challenges under category 4. “Pervasive electronics” should follow their main product legislation, with electronic parts treated separately. 

Changes to the scope must consider impacts on collection systems, enforcement, targets, and treatment requirements. 

Considerations on WEEE mixed in metal scrap

A new WEEE Forum paper highlights that large amounts of WEEE are mixed with metal scrap, leading to incorrect reporting, improper treatment, and widespread scavenging of valuable components. Studies estimate around 2.7 kg/inhabitant of WEEE go undeclared each year, while items like compressors, motors, and circuit boards are frequently removed, especially at municipal collection points. These practices release hazardous substances, reduce recycling quality and value, and undermine EU collection targets. 

The WEEE Forum recommends stronger sorting requirements, reporting, banning collection of WEEE mixed with scrap and cash transactions at scrap yards, introducing legally binding treatment standards, improving collection infrastructure, and ensuring all WEEE is handed to PROs or certified operators through coordinated enforcement. 

Considerations on WEEE Extended Producer Responsibility in islands and small territories

The WEEE Forum’s issue paper discusses unique challenges small countries and territories face in implementing the WEEE Directive, mainly due to high costs, limited infrastructure, and heavy administrative burdens linked to their small markets and geographic isolation. 

Most EEE is placed on the market by importers and online sellers, complicating compliance, while the lack of local treatment facilities forces costly exports. Low WEEE volumes, competing PROs, and cherrypicking of valuable and easily collectable WEEE further strain the system. Tourism and crossborder workers also distort collection rates, as much WEEE is discarded elsewhere. The WEEE Forum recommends simplifying administration, harmonising the authorised representative system, improving infrastructure, and providing financial support to ensure fair and effective EPR in these territories. 

New report: 20 Years of the WEEE EPR Scheme in Poland

The report prepared by ElektroEko and the WEEE Forum analyses extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems in the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) economy in selected European countries, comparing their effectiveness with the Polish model. The study was prepared in the context of growing environmental, economic, and legislative challenges, as well as fiscal mechanisms planned by the European Union related to uncollected electronic waste. The conclusions and recommendations are based on the experience of countries with the highest collection and recycling rates in order to indicate directions for building a stable, effective, and socially acceptable system in Poland.

Comms Day 2026 | Exchanging experience and planning for International E-Waste Day 2026

Every year our members’ communication experts meet to share their best practices and experiences with each other and discuss common plans ahead. This January, we were happy to benefit from the hospitality of Electrão in Lisbon! 

Our hosts provided a deep dive into 20 years of e-waste management in Portugal, highlighting how long-term strategy and creative campaigns can shift consumer behaviour. We also looked ahead to WEEE Forum’s 2026 plans, setting the scene for what’s expected at European level (such as our joint conference with WEEE Ireland in September 2026) and planned the 9th edition of International E-Waste Day (more to come soon!). But most importantly members shared their best campaigns - to exchange experience and learn from each other - one of the core missions of the WEEE Forum! 

AMBILAMP officially joined the WEEE Forum becoming its 49th member!

We take pride in welcoming Ambilamp to the WEEE Forum; Ambilamp is our 4th Spanish member. Ambilamp ensures the organisation and coordination of collection, logistics, treatment, reporting and communication activities around lighting equipment and other WEEE under Spanish and European WEEE legislation for its 661 producer members. It has a total of around 40 000 collection points across Spain and works together with 25 authorised treatment plants. Its collection performance in 2024 was 14 190 tons.

We are recruiting a part time Technical Advisor 

The WEEE Forum has recently been successful in obtaining funding for two new research projects under Horizon Europe and, as a result, is recruiting an intrinsically motivated, pro-active, creative, and results-driven Technical Advisor to join its team.

Projects' updates

The WEEE Forum has at its core the desire to assist with driving the transformation to the circular economy in the electrical and electronic equipment sector, contribute to practical research and demonstrations that lead to improvement in the value chain and to be part of relevant cutting-edge data collection and analysis. This is why we get involved in EU funded projects such as FutuRaM, DiCE, CE-RISE and now also Permanet,  Life4EPR and Metium) projects that we are currently working on all reflect this desire. Further news on some of these projects are provided below.

DiCE | Addressing the issue of increasing digital health waste

The Digital Health in a Circular Economy (DiCE) project was created to bring key stakeholders together to address challenges associated with the growing use of digital healthcare products. DiCE will support the transition from a fragmented and linear “take-make-waste” business model towards a circular and sustainable one, allowing the reuse of products and recovery of components and raw materials.

DiCE is now entering its final phase and two important dates are profiling for the interested stakeholders:

• on 21 May, in Brussels, a clustering policy workshop of DiCE will take place back to back with INCREACE project final event
• on 23 September DiCE final event will take place in Brussels

Save these dates and register here to receive the invitations as well as updates on project's progress (i.e. upcoming pilot results).

FutuRaM | Securing the supply of secondary & critical raw materials in the EU

FutuRaM, a Horizon Europe funded project, led by the WEEE Forum is establishing a methodology, reporting structure, and guidance to improve the raw materials knowledge base up to 2050. It will integrate Secondary Raw Materials (SRM) and CRM data to model the current stocks and flows, and further develop, demonstrate and align SRM recovery projects with the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) for Resources to enable the commercial exploitation of SRMs and CRMs by manufacturers, recyclers, and investors. FutuRaM focuses on six waste streams: batteries; electrical and electronic equipment; vehicles; mining; slags and ashes; and construction and demolition. 

Final Event | Investigating the Availability of Critical Raw Materials in Europe's Waste Streams

The project is holding its final event on 27 May in Brussels. Presenting the results of 3.5 years of research, supported by 28 partners from 11 countries across Europe, partners are going to talk over the recovery and use of secondary raw materials within and outside the EU. Meet the developers behind the Urban Mine Platform and chat with the waste stream experts covering batteries; electrical and electronic equipment; vehicles; mining; slags and ashes; and construction and demolition (incl. wind turbines)!

FutuRaM webinars

You can also learn about the results of the project through upcoming thematic webinars (or watch here the past ones).

Urban Mine Platform

The FutuRaM project recently launched the Urban Mine Platform. It offers a new way to explore the availability and recoverability of secondary and critical raw materials in Europe. Covering seven key waste streams – batteries, construction and demolition waste, wind turbines, end-of-life vehicles, mining waste, slags and ashes, and WEEE – the platform provides clear, structured data and projections to 2050.

CE-RISE |  Circular Economy Resource Information System

The Circular Economy Resource Information System (CE-RISE) is an EU-funded project aiming to optimise raw material reuse and recovery in electronic products. CE-RISE will develop and pilot an integrated framework and an ensuing resource information system to identify optimal solutions for the effective reuse, recovery, and/or recycling of materials through blockchain technology to explore the applicability of a Digital Product Passport (DPP) to five electronic items. 

In January the project held a Consortium meeting in Orléans (France) to align on the plans for the last year of the project and discuss the latest work. 

CE-RISE is also holding its annual event on 1 June in Brussels at DPP4EU conference which it co-organises together with other EU funded projects working on Digital Product Passport. 

Join the conversation! | Remain informed of the findings arising from the projects:

Ongoing projects:

• FutuRaM contributes to ensuring a secure supply of secondary and critical raw materials within the EU: https://futuram.eu/get-involved/
• Circular Digital Health (DiCE) leads the way in the transition to circular digital health care while addressing digital health waste: https://circulardigitalhealth.eu/get-involved/
• CE-RISE will create a Circular Economy Resource Information System optimizing recycling of raw materials with the help of blockchain technology and a digital product passport: https://ce-rise.eu/get-involved/
• PERMANET establishes a network of EU actors to ensure a resilient supply of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets: https://permanetproject.eu/en/get-in-touch-9 
• Life4EPR aims to enhance the effectiveness and harmonisation of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes across Europe. https://www.linkedin.com/company/life4epr-project/
• Metium will build the first EU Interregional Urban Mining Innovation Ecosystem: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metium-eu-project/posts/?feedView=all 

Recently closed projects:

• WEEE-Net sets up a novel e-waste (WEEE) recycling business ecosystem by introducing an innovative mixture of gravitational, hydro- and bio-metallurgical technologies: https://weee-net.eu/
• ECOSWEEE: aims to increase the collection rate of small WEEE and portable batteries. Jon the LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9362100/ 
• GRINNER developed an AI enabled battery detection system to reduce fires caused by 'zombie batteries': https://grinnerproject.eu/get-involved/
• CircThread aims to unlock access to product data between stakeholders and utilise it for enhanced CE decision making across the extended product life cycle: https://circthread.com/stakeholders-community/