Producer responsibility essential for the transition to a circular economy, says new report

In our modern digital society, how we dispose of often hazardous electronic waste is becoming an increasing concern. A circular economy sits at the heart of the European Union’s Green New Deal and the push for Climate Neutrality in 2050. But when it comes to electronics, current measures are not good enough. A recent report led by Utrecht University in partnership with the University of Technology of Troyes outlines how going forward, EU policy must expand to include a new set of responsibilities for producers so they move beyond only promoting recycling to truly engaging in and facilitating a circular economy.  

Electronics contain many hazardous and potential toxic materials, meaning the correct disposal is essential to prevent damage to human health and the environment. The EU has designated electronics and electronic waste as a key area for policy improvement.

Current policy has limited effectiveness

Current EU policy for electronic waste is intended to stimulate producers to take responsibility for the full lifecycle of a product: design, use and waste. In their report, researchers from Utrecht University take stock of and evaluate the effectiveness of these policies from the previous 20 years through examining how they have been implemented in the Netherlands, France and Italy.

They find that current EU policy fails to integrate a broader set of actors in involved in organising prolonged product life and reuse and recovery of waste electronic products. Many products have a short consumer lifespan — think phones with a new must-have model released each year — meaning the increase of waste quantities is growing and growing. Product reuse can lower demand for new products, while incorrect disposal of electronics can result in exposure to toxic substances. Current EU policy only has a limited focus on promoting collection and recycling, with little attention to measure to prolong the use of products and monitor where they go when they are recycled. This combination of factors means the current policy’s contribution to circular economy is negligible.

Exploring options for the future

The researchers outline four key recommendations for the EU to consider in the development of its upcoming electronics policy, which is due to take place within a few years.

These recommendations include:

• Asking producers to pay a higher or lower producer responsibility fee, depending on how circular, e.g. recyclable, reusable, it is
• Including new and more actors in the organisation and design of the policy
• Broadening the scope of the policy internationally
• Focusing on the quality of end-of-life recovery operations

“Over the past 20 years policy has focused far too much on increasing collection rates and promoting recycling as the solution. The impending modification of EU policy on electronics provides the opportunity to do much more than this, to really demand greater levels of responsibility from producers”.