Login (DCU Staff Only)
Login (DCU Staff Only)

DORAS | DCU Research Repository

Explore open access research and scholarly works from DCU

Advanced Search

Electronic Waste in the European Union: A Systematic Review and a Pathway for Sustainable Management

Boateng, Dickson orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-7077-4955, Breen, Michael orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-5857-9938, Marks, Danny orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-0833-880X and O'Neill, Nicholas orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-0687-3887 (2026) Electronic Waste in the European Union: A Systematic Review and a Pathway for Sustainable Management. Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances, 31 . ISSN 2667-3789 (In Press)

Abstract
Electronic waste (e-waste) remains among the fastest-growing and difficult waste streams to manage. It poses serious environmental and public-health risks when improperly handled. While the European Union (EU) has established a comprehensive regulatory framework—centred on the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directives—implementation outcomes continue to vary widely among member states. This review examines how e-waste governance operates across the EU through a systematic literature review (SLR) of 138 peer-reviewed publications published between 2002 and 2025 and indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. The findings show that EU e-waste governance is anchored in extended producer responsibility but remains concentrated on end-of-life management (e.g., reuse, repair, remanufacturing, recycling, and safe disposal) while upstream actions such as eco-design and sustainable production are underdeveloped. The barriers often identified are regulatory, operational, and behavioural, including uneven enforcement, informal waste flows, high collection costs, weak incentives for repair and reuse, and limited public participation. The study provides a novel and practical pathway comprising four interconnected pillars—governance, economic, social, and technological—that together strengthen the coherence and sustainability of e-waste management in the EU.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (In Press)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:E-waste governance, EU environmental policy, WEEE Directive, extended producer responsibility, circular economy, systematic literature review
Subjects:UNSPECIFIED
School, Faculty or Unit:Faculty of Humanities & Social Science
Faculty of Humanities & Social Science > School of Law & Government
Publisher:Elsevier BV
Official URL:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...
Copyright Information:Authors
Funders:Environmental Protection Agency
ID Code:33157
Deposited On:20 Oct 2026 10:06 by Michael Breen . Last Modified 20 Oct 2026 10:06
Documents

Full text available as:

[thumbnail of Electronic-waste-in-the-European-Union--A-systema_2026_Resources--Conservati.pdf]
Preview
PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
1MB
Metrics

Altmetric Badge

Dimensions Badge

Downloads

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Archive Staff Only: edit this record