Germany ranks low in EU e-waste collection rates

New data from Eurostat regarding the 2024 period reveals that Germany ranks among the lowest in Europe for electronic waste collection. While Germany holds the second-highest position in the EU for sales of electrical appliances—averaging 38 kilograms per capita annually—its collection rate stands at only 28.7 percent. This places the country 15th out of 18 comparable states, significantly below the EU-mandated target of 65 percent.

The environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has criticized the current German electrical and electronic equipment law, citing it as the primary cause for this discrepancy. DUH Federal Managing Director Barbara Metz stated that Germany is a “problem case” in Europe because high consumption levels combined with low recycling rates lead to illegal disposal in household waste, nature, or foreign landfills.

DUH is calling on Environment Minister Carsten Schneider to implement a fundamental systemic change to the law. The organization argues that unlike other EU nations where manufacturers bear full responsibility for collection and recycling, Germany currently utilizes a non-binding “shared” product responsibility. This allows economic actors to ignore collection targets without consequence. DUH suggests that making manufacturers strictly responsible for meeting recycling goals could save up to 1.9 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and recover 810,000 tons of raw materials annually.