ECOTIC together with WEEE Forum invites organizations, local authorities, schools, companies and citizens of Romania to join the global effort to protect the environment and valorize resources by actively participating in the International E-Waste Day 2025, on October 14.
As demand for smartphones, electric vehicles, solar panels and other technologies continues to grow rapidly, so does the need for the materials that make them functional. As every year, International E-Waste Day is celebrated on October 14th and this time brings to the fore Critical Raw Materials (CRM), elements extracted in a small number of countries, but indispensable for the digital transition.
Why are Critical Raw Materials so important?
Although more and more people have heard of CRMs, few know that these elements can be recovered from old or faulty electronic equipment. This edition of the International E-Waste Day has as its main objective to raise awareness about this issue.
In Europe, the new Critical Materials Regulation sets ambitious targets for 2030: at least 10% of annual consumption to be covered from EU sources, 40% to be processed within the Union, and 25% to come from recycling. This last objective can only be achieved by collecting an increasing volume of e-waste.
Un recent study conducted by TNO shows that the recovery of critical materials from e-waste could cover up to 31% of the current EU demand. However, the current collection system, based on the weight of equipment placed on the market in the last three years, no longer reflects market reality and does not encourage the recovery of these valuable resources.
Other analyses, such as the one recently published by Deloitte, underlines the need to amend the current directive to encourage the circular economy, an aspect already raised by the WEEE Forum in the dialogue with the European Commission and the European Parliament.
What can we do specifically?
Un study conducted by ECOTIC shows that 10,5% of small electrical equipment in Romanian homes is kept, although it is unused or broken — the equivalent of 17.000 tons. A third of this is already non-functional, but only 8% of respondents intend to dispose of it properly in the future, while 42% say they will continue to keep it.
Currently, only 8,4% of households in Romania dispose of their electronic waste correctly, and approximately 4.550 tons of it end up in the garbage, at informal collectors or abandoned in public spaces every year. The most commonly kept products are phones, laptops, chargers and other small devices, forgotten in drawers. Handing them over to special collection points helps recover the raw materials in their composition and supports the transition to a circular economy.
Organizations, local authorities, schools, companies and citizens are invited to join the global effort to protect the environment and valorize resources by actively participating in the International E-Waste Day 2025, on October 14. Whether you organize a collection action, an educational workshop or an information campaign, your contribution matters!
Registrations can be made are here.
