Norway and the UK Top Europe’s E-Waste Pile, New Ranking Reveals

Norway generates more electronic waste per person than any other European country, and the UK sits right behind it. That’s according to a new comparison from Wolfstone Digital, which looked at European countries using figures from the Global E-waste Monitor 2024.

Norway came out on top with 59 pounds of e-waste per resident, the UK second with 54 pounds, and Switzerland third with 52 pounds. 

The rankings cover six categories of discarded electrical and electronic equipment, from fridges and screens to phones and small kitchen gadgets.

What Is E-Waste?

E-waste is anything with a plug or a battery that gets thrown away. The World Health Organization gives computers, mobile phones, large household appliances, and medical equipment as examples, but it covers much smaller things too, right down to an old electric toothbrush.

It matters because of what’s inside. When e-waste is dumped, burned, or pulled apart by hand, it can release up to 1,000 different chemicals. One of them is lead, which damages the brain and nervous system, and children and pregnant women are most at risk.

There’s a lot of it, too. The UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2024 puts the 2022 total at 62 million metric tons. Shared out across everyone on Earth, that’s about 17 pounds each.

Less than a quarter of it was properly collected and recycled. The rest was dumped, burned, left in drawers, or shipped abroad to be stripped by hand.

E-waste is also growing five times faster than recycling can keep up with. In 2022 alone, that meant about $62 billion worth of gold, copper, and other materials went to waste.

The Top 10 Countries by Per-Person E-Waste

The per-person figures tell you how much the average resident of each country throws out, regardless of how big the country is. Here’s how the top 10 shook out:

Rank	Country	Pounds per person
1	Norway	59
2	United Kingdom	54
3	Switzerland	52
4	France	49
4	Iceland	49
5	Denmark	49
6	Netherlands	49
9	Germany	47
10	Sweden	46

France and Iceland tied at 49 pounds, and the rest of the top 10 all cleared 46 pounds per resident.

The Biggest Total Producers

Per-person numbers show the intensity, but total volume shows the sheer scale of what’s being thrown away, and that’s where the bigger countries come into the picture. 

Russia produced the greatest overall volume among the countries analyzed, at roughly 1.91 million tonnes across the six equipment categories. Germany was next at 1.77 million tonnes, then the UK at 1.65 million tonnes, with France at 1.45 million tonnes and Italy at 1.12 million tonnes. 

Spain was the only other country to come close to a million tonnes, at around 936,000.

Russia generated an estimated 652,000 tonnes of small equipment alone, the household appliances, tools, toys and consumer electronics category. 

Germany recorded the largest volume of discarded large equipment at 675,000 tonnes, and also topped small IT equipment at 160,000 tonnes, narrowly ahead of the UK’s 158,000 tonnes.

Temperature-exchange equipment, which covers refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners, was another big source. 

Russia generated 428,000 tonnes there, followed by France with 238,000 tonnes, Italy with 229,000 tonnes and the UK with 215,000 tonnes.

How the US Compares

The US generated about 7.2 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022 according to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, which is more than four times the UK’s 1.65 million tonnes. 

On a per-person basis, the same source gives a combined US and Canada rate of 47 pounds per resident. That’s below Norway and the UK, and right in line with the lower end of Europe’s top 10, matching Germany and Sweden.

One big difference between the US and the European countries in the ranking is how it’s regulated. 

The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 reports that the United States has no federal e-waste legislation. It’s handled state by state, whereas South American countries regulate it nationally.

Why the Numbers Keep Climbing

A lot more electronic equipment is being sold than used to be, and the recycling systems haven’t kept up. Across the EU, the amount of new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market grew 78% between 2015 and 2023, from 40 pounds to 71 pounds per person. 

Over the same period, the amount of e-waste officially collected grew more slowly, by 60%, from 16 pounds to 26 pounds per person.

It’s also worth knowing that different sources measure different things. The Wolfstone ranking uses figures for e-waste generated, which is an estimate of everything thrown out. 

Eurostat’s official figure for the EU in 2023 is 26 pounds collected per person, counting only what came in through the EU’s WEEE Directive, and Eurostat itself notes these amounts are probably underestimates because informal waste treatment is hard to capture.

How to Recycle Old Electronics

If you’ve got a cupboard full of old phones, cables and dead gadgets you’ve been meaning to get rid of, the US Environmental Protection Agency has straightforward guidance for doing it safely rather than tossing them in with the regular trash.

• Delete your personal information from any device before you donate or recycle it, and remove the batteries where you can (EPA).
• Keep lithium-ion batteries, and devices that contain them, out of your household trash and curbside recycling bins.
• Consider upgrading a computer’s hardware or software before replacing it, which keeps a working machine out of the waste stream for longer.
• Drop smaller electronics at a Best Buy store, which the EPA points to as a national recycling option, and check the manufacturer’s website for TV mail-back programs (EPA).
• Check with your state environmental agency or local solid waste district for drop-off sites and collection events, since recycling rules in the US are set locally.

The full European ranking, equipment breakdown and methodology from the Wolfstone analysis are published here.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not professional advice. It may contain affiliate links. Please see our full Editorial Policy for details.