Watch the video - Which countries are littering Europe with electronic waste instead of reclying?

Published on 22/08/2025 - 15:56 GMT+2

Millions of Europeans struggle to recycle their aged phones, moreover erstwhile they are nary longer successful use.

Recent Eurostat investigation shows that 51% support their aged instrumentality astatine location alternatively of tossing it.

Only 11% recycle them, while 18% springiness them to personification aliases waste them, and 2% propulsion them distant without recycling them.

Concerning physics discarded rates successful nan Balkans

The stock of phones that extremity up successful wide discarded is peculiarly precocious successful nan Balkans: 14% successful Albania, astir 11% successful North Macedonia and almost 9% successful Montenegro.

In nan EU, nan highest complaint of group discarding their phones successful this mode was reported successful nan Czech Republic, astatine astir 6%.

By contrast, nan lowest complaint among each EU and extra-EU countries surveyed was recovered successful Croatia. Only 0.57% of aged mobile phones extremity up among wide waste.

When it comes to aged laptops and tablets, 34% of group support them astatine home.

However, astir 1.5% of group flip them into wide discarded aliases elsewhere.

Once again, Montenegro shows a peculiarly concerning rate: 9%, which is acold supra immoderate different surveyed European nation.

Why do galore group not recycle their aged physics devices?

Perhaps owed to their size, aged desktop computers person a comparatively precocious recycling rate: 15%.

The Netherlands recycles 28% of them, followed by Sweden astatine 26%.

However, Dutch group besides person nan highest complaint successful nan EU of throwing no-longer-used desktop computers into wide waste, 6.6%.

Some EU campaigner countries show moreover higher figures: 8% successful Montenegro and astir 10% successful North Macedonia.

A poll by nan British Royal Society of Chemistry recovered that nan main logic astir people, 37%, don't recycle their aged devices is interest astir their information and security.

At nan aforesaid time, 29% don't cognize wherever to return their aged tech.

Why is e-waste harmful?

E-waste is highly hazardous discarded if recycled improperly owed to toxic materials specified arsenic dioxins, lead and mercury, which are known to origin harm to quality health.

Children are peculiarly vulnerable.

According to nan WHO, vulnerability tin origin "adverse neonatal outcomes", including accrued rates of stillbirth and premature birth, neurodevelopment and behavioural issues (particularly linked to lead), arsenic good arsenic reduced lung function, respiratory problems and accrued asthma incidence.