Cyprus records EU’s lowest e-waste collection per person in 2024

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus collected 4.7 kg of waste electrical and electronic equipment per resident in 2024, the lowest figure among EU countries, according to data released on Wednesday by Eurostat, the EU statistical service.

Collection levels across the EU

Eurostat’s figures put Portugal next after Cyprus, with 6 kg collected per person, followed by Malta with 6.4 kg. Bulgaria reported the highest collection level, at 18.9 kg per resident, ahead of the Czech Republic with 17.8 kg and France with 17.7 kg.

Across the EU, collection averaged 12.3 kg per person in 2024, according to the statistical service.

New equipment exceeds waste collected

The data showed that new electrical and electronic products entering the EU market averaged 32.4 kg per resident in 2024. That represented a 79 per cent rise from the 18.1 kg recorded in 2015.

Eurostat identified large appliances, including washing machines and dishwashers, alongside photovoltaic panels, as the main contributors to that growth.

In Cyprus, new equipment supplied to the market amounted to 15.4 kg per person in 2024, placing the country among the EU’s lowest. Eurostat also reported relatively low levels in Slovakia, at 17.5 kg, and Greece, at 18 kg per resident.

Gap points to growing equipment stocks

Eurostat said the substantial difference between new equipment supplied and waste collected indicated that stocks of electrical and electronic equipment were increasing. It explained that this equipment could still be operating, awaiting disposal, kept in homes or entering waste-management channels that were not monitored.

The service noted that, in every country assessed, the weight of new equipment entering the market exceeded the weight of electronic waste collected.