Italy’s Erion WEEE collected 244,000 tonnes of e-waste in 2025

By Daniel Okafor

Erion WEEE collected 244,000 tonnes of household electronic waste in 2025, 3% more than in the previous year. The consortium manages Italy’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) system. Under extended producer responsibility, about 1,600 participating companies contribute to product management after use ends.

Forgotten phones, chargers, cables and other unused devices hold copper, iron, aluminum, gold, silver and rare-earth elements. Recovering them avoids waste and supplies industry with raw materials, but collection remains the main constraint.

What changed in Italy’s household e-waste collection in 2025?

Collection gains were uneven across device categories:

• Small devices, including smartphones, tablets and electronic toys, increased 19%.
• Televisions and monitors fell 7.5%.

Erion WEEE’s remit also includes refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, washing machines, ovens, dishwashers and light bulbs.

At specialized plants, Erion recycled 88 kg of every 100 kg of WEEE processed. The consortium’s output included:

• 130,000 tonnes of iron
• 5,600 tonnes of aluminum
• 6,000 tonnes of copper
• Almost 31,000 tonnes of plastic

Erion said the recovered iron could build 18 structures the size of the Eiffel Tower, while the aluminum could make about 350 million cans.

Takeaway: Italy recovers material on an industrial scale, but the strongest collection growth came from small devices rather than large-screen equipment.

How far is Italy from the EU collection target?

EU rules require WEEE collection to reach 65% of the average weight of equipment placed on the market in the previous three years. Italy remains far short, particularly for small devices, where the collection rate is around 17%.

Erion says compliance requires at least 12 kg of electronic waste per citizen. The national collection average is 6.22 kg per citizen, including only 1.43 kg of small WEEE.

Large quantities of obsolete equipment never reach recycling centers because households keep devices in drawers or place them in regular waste. Municipal recycling centers, collection points and free hand-back to electronics retailers are available without buying a replacement, but uptake remains low.

Giorgio Arienti, general director of Erion WEEE, said: “Reaching recycling centers can be complicated for many people, mainly due to distance and opening hours that are not compatible with work commitments.” He added: “Even in specialized stores, the delivery of old devices is often postponed.”

Takeaway: Italy’s main gap is collection, especially for phones and other small devices that hold recoverable material.

Can local drop-off points bring devices back?

Erion WEEE and ASIA Napoli installed 30 automated eco-islands in different areas of Naples, with 43 schools involved. In Lombardy, Erion worked with Coop Lombardia and INRES Coop to place 20 dedicated small-WEEE containers inside 10 supermarkets.

Erion’s early experience indicates that bringing collection points closer to places people already visit can encourage disposal. Schools, supermarkets, public offices and post offices could serve as strategic collection locations.

The consortium’s most ambitious goal is home collection for small e-waste, following the separated-collection model used for paper, plastic and other materials. This remains an ambition rather than a nationwide operating service.

Takeaway: The pilots show why convenience matters, but they will not close the national gap unless Erion expands them beyond limited experiments.

What is locked inside 10 billion unused phones?

GSMA estimates that people worldwide hold about 10 billion unused mobile phones. Those devices contain approximately 100,000 tonnes of copper, 218 tonnes of gold and 31 tonnes of palladium. At 2025 market prices, the resources carry an estimated value of about $20 billion.

Phones also contain critical raw materials needed for technology and the transition to a more sustainable economy. Neodymium goes into magnets for speakers and wind turbines; cobalt supports batteries, including those in electric cars; and copper and silver serve solar panels.

The processing challenge differs by material. Arienti said iron, copper, aluminum and plastic are relatively easy to separate because most devices contain them in significant quantities. Rare elements require more complex industrial processes and advanced technologies.

Takeaway: The deciding milestone is measurable: Italy must lift small-device collection from about 17% toward the EU’s 65% target and the national average from 6.22 kg toward Erion’s 12 kg benchmark, turning pilot access and the estimated $20 billion in unused-phone resources into actual recovered material.