Circular Economy Act and WEEE Directive

The European Commission has launched a public consultation and call for evidence for the upcoming Circular Economy Act, which is expected in 2026.

Open until 6 November 2025 via the Have Your Say portal, the consultation seeks stakeholder input to shape a legislative framework aimed at scaling up the circular economy across the EU.

The Circular Economy Act is set to provide the EU with a more coherent legal framework for circularity, building a Single Market for secondary raw materials, supporting circular business models, and reducing dependency on primary raw materials.

It will also aim to boost investment in recycling and reuse, harmonise product design obligations, and stimulate demand through green public procurement and the right to repair.

WEEE evaluation

In further preparation to the forthcoming Circular Economy Act, the Commission has published a detailed evaluation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which will feed directly into the upcoming proposal.

According to the report, the current WEEE Directive remains relevant and coherent, but has failed to meet several key goals, most notably on collection rates and the recovery of critical raw materials.

Only three Member States met the 65% collection target for WEEE in 2022.

The evaluation found that nearly 50% of all e-waste remains uncollected, with low recycling rates and uneven implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules.

The Commission plans to revise the Directive to close these gaps, improve material recovery, and ensure better enforcement, particularly focusing on freeriders and online sales.

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