Italy is a leader in recycling but has a problem with electronic waste.On WEEE we are less than half of the EU objectives

In 2023, the WEEE collection rate fell to 30%, a long way from the 65% requested by Brussels

Italy, the champion of recycling, is increasingly distant from the European objectives for the collection and treatment of WEEE, waste electrical and electronic equipment, from monitors to old mobile phones, so to speak.This is what emerges from the report of the WEEE coordination centre, relating to 2023, which sees Italy moving further and further away from the targets set at community level.Last year, the technological waste collection rate stood at 30.24% of the total input, less than half of the European target, set at 65%.It is not only the quantity of waste collected that is decreasing, but also that treated in the appropriate plants.In 2023, 510,708 tonnes of WEEE waste were sent for recovery, down 4.6% compared to the previous year.

The three problems being collected

According to experts, there are three reasons that explain Italy's poor performance in WEEE recycling.The first reason has to do with the behavior of citizens, who do not always dispose of electronic waste as they should.Secondly, there is the dispersion of WEEE outside official channels.A constantly growing phenomenon, if only for the intrinsic value of this particular type of waste.Finally, the third and final reason:the absence of adequate controls along the supply chain."The fact that the objectives to be achieved are still far away is certainly a source of concern", comments Carlo Zaghi, president of the WEEE Supervision and Control Committee, established by the Ministry of the Environment in 2018.According to Zaghi, the time has come to "promote inspections and controls", both towards those who work in the management of WEEE and towards producers of electronic equipment.

The data for 2023

The acronym «WEEE» includes different types of electronic waste.They range from the "big whites", such as refrigerators and washing machines, to devices such as portable PCs and printers, but also photovoltaic panels, video cameras, small household appliances and electrical equipment of all kinds.WEEE represents one of the fastest growing categories of waste among European Union countries, but to date less than 40% is recycled.In 2023, Italy started treating 510 thousand tons of technological waste.Of these, 367 thousand are considered "domestic", 143 thousand "professional".Compared to the previous year, the former decreased by 2.6%, the latter by 9.2%.As regards the individual categories of waste, there are also notable differences.The collection of "great whites", for example, grows by 6.7% compared to 2022, as do IT products (+2.7%) and light sources (23.7%).The collection of TVs and monitors decreases (and significantly), going from 72,541 units in 2022 to 49,174 in 2023 (-32.2%).

The European targets

The WEEE treatment plants available in Italy represent excellence from a qualitative point of view.The problems, if anything, arise during the collection phase, which causes only a small percentage of the disused equipment to end up in recycling plants.EU directives have set the target of a 65% WEEE collection rate.A challenging bar to say the least for Italy, which went from 34.5% in 2021 to 30.2% last year.Being able to reach the European targets would not only allow us to avoid any infringement procedures, but also increase our autonomy for the supply of so-called "critical raw materials", i.e. all those materials considered fundamental for the ecological transition and which are often hidden right in electronic waste.The Critical Raw Materials Act, approved by the EU a few weeks ago, sets the objective of satisfying at least 25% of the needs for these materials through recycling by 2030.

Cover photo:Dreamstime/Sandro Zornio