Skip to content
Electronic equipment (EEE)
Treatment of electronics

Environmental treatment of electronics

Here you can see where and how our end-of-life electronics are subjected to environmental treatment, including the rate of reuse, recycling, and recovery.

Geographical location of first treatment facility

Environmental treatment of waste electronics

The figure shows the geographical location of environmental treatment of collected waste electronics. There are various treatment operations, from pre-sorting to crushing and shredding into a number of coarse fractions, such as plastics and metal, to melting of various metals, and extraction of rare earth elements, etc.

Where it is stated that the treatment takes place in Denmark this generally means that the first part of the treatment is done in a Danish facility; typically, this will be pre-sorting, manual dismantling, and similar. In some cases, there will subsequently be shredding in a shredder facility, which results in a number of fractions that are then sold to other EU countries for further processing and melting into new or so-called secondary raw materials. See definitions of environmental treatment under next table.

Geographical location of first treatment per category 2020

ÅrKategoriBehandlet i DanmarkBehandlet i EU ej DanmarkBehandlet uden for EU
20188. Medicinsk udstyr52.64893.0640
20183. IT- og teleudstyr3238.4355599.8850
20181. Store husholdningsprodukter33465.0562840.5330
20189. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter1051.601154.4390
20182. Små husholdningsprodukter2806.6914005.8170
20185b. Lyskilder394.166446.5570
20185a. Armaturer718.2821220.0420
20184a. Forbrugerudstyr4123.793979.4890
20186. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj1313.3121725.8940
20187. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr352.863598.0590
201810. Automatiske dispensere0.74800
20184b. Fotovoltaiske paneler1.0600
20178. Medicinsk udstyr5.88115.8230
20173. IT- og teleudstyr5590.0854409.8980
20171. Store husholdningsprodukter26225.23312377.3310
20179. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter293.256127.9560
20176. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj820.413767.6220
20172. Små husholdningsprodukter2897.4542939.6970
20175b. Lyskilder408.862429.6420
20175a. Armaturer508.028511.790
20174a. Forbrugerudstyr7912.2462931.2550
20177. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr129.789127.6460
201710. Automatiske dispensere0.17800
20172. Skærme og monitorer0.19800
20138. Medicinsk udstyr32.44419.170
20133. IT- og teleudstyr7679.2234679.3390
20139. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter422.938182.5840
20131. Store husholdningsprodukter29908.3642318.0460
20136. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj620.387393.820
20132. Små husholdningsprodukter3858.2461673.7020
20135b. Lyskilder264.877370.4450
20134a. Forbrugerudstyr13130.1566003.6080
20137. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr116.96477.1660
20135a. Armaturer0.0040.0170
201310. Automatiske dispensere0.300
20143. IT- og teleudstyr6476.1054991.2180
20148. Medicinsk udstyr815.1281307.160
20141. Store husholdningsprodukter31369.2431355.6270
20149. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter857.3951212.4940
20146. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj1154.404893.9270
20142. Små husholdningsprodukter3028.6432362.0020
20145b. Lyskilder185.166238.0380
20145a. Armaturer436.974548.9080
20144a. Forbrugerudstyr9359.4987578.8960
20147. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr305.66293.8540
201410. Automatiske dispensere812.4931331.0060
20153. IT- og teleudstyr6183.424074.2880
20158. Medicinsk udstyr11.01200
20151. Store husholdningsprodukter28842.4945045.6240
20159. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter212.40800
20156. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj1207.395865.130
20152. Små husholdningsprodukter3100.8862366.1280
20155a. Armaturer692.075538.4750
20155b. Lyskilder280.285660.9760
20154a. Forbrugerudstyr10726.0394894.2560
20157. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr323.479215.8250
201510. Automatiske dispensere0.0700
20168. Medicinsk udstyr34.34500
20169. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter354.531115.0380
20163. IT- og teleudstyr6065.0154059.2370
20166. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj810.711690.6820
20162. Små husholdningsprodukter2894.0162640.6750
20161. Store husholdningsprodukter27596.19910696.5560
20165b. Lyskilder357.812528.0720
20165a. Armaturer505.154460.5330
20164a. Forbrugerudstyr10314.2632219.0350
20167. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr133.76114.8030
201610. Automatiske dispensere0.18800
20123. IT- og teleudstyr5867.8627086.5870
20128. Medicinsk udstyr26.83723.9990
20129. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter278.214230.0790
20122. Små husholdningsprodukter2640.0292373.810
20121. Store husholdningsprodukter29096.8582999.4290
20125b. Lyskilder321.968362.1190
20124a. Forbrugerudstyr8464.95713703.7660
20126. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj479.428500.5110
20125a. Armaturer0.45500
20127. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr242.87997.520
201210. Automatiske dispensere28.74300
20204. Stort udstyr30185.093725.6850
20205. Småt udstyr9414.5137405.5410
20206. Småt it- og telekommunikationsudstyr2034.8692771.7960
20203. Lyskilder284.457497.1480
20202. Skærme og monitorer7000.24800
20201. Udstyr til temperaturudveksling14963.856205.060
20207. Fotovoltaiske paneler016.2490
20215. Småt udstyr8697.9096346.450
20214. Stort udstyr30431.383528.0760.287
20213. Lyskilder175.11518.9070
20212. Skærme og monitorer5973.25700
20216. Småt it- og telekommunikationsudstyr1912.8291767.4440
20211. Udstyr til temperaturudveksling14579.39100
20217. Fotovoltaiske paneler8.463.6090
20195. Småt udstyr8756.2169697.7970
20194. Stort udstyr28381.6372550.0310
20196. Småt it- og telekommunikationsudstyr896.1671942.550
20193. Lyskilder320.231490.8050
20192. Skærme og monitorer3819.2152286.6580
20191. Udstyr til temperaturudveksling12953.263512.2430
I alt

Environmental treatment and environmental targets

A number of statutory requirements and objectives must be met for the treatment of waste equipment. After waste collection and delivery to a reprocessing facility a distinction is made between the following forms of treatment:

  • Preparing for re-use: Introduced with a legislative amendment in 2014.  A definition of treatment criteria is still pending, and is not fully representative in connection with the reporting of data for recent years’ statistics.
  • Recycling: The equipment/the products are subjected to a process to permit recycling of materials or substances.
  • Recovery: Recycling + incineration = recovery. The equipment/the products are treated in a way to permit recycling of materials or substances AND some of the equipment is incinerated in an energy recovery facility. (Recovery is only relevant for WEEE, since incineration is not an approved form of treatment for batteries).
  • Residues: Residues after recycling and incineration disposed of onto land, in a water body or into the air in the form of emissions, evaporation etc. Solid materials from the residual fraction will normally be landfilled at approved landfill facilities.

Reporting of treated quantities is done per category and treatment facility as follows  (Note! information about the choice of treatment plant of the different producers is confidential and can therefore only be accessed by DPA and environmental authorities):

  • Name and address of facility
  • Number of kilograms per category delivered to the facility
  • Number of kilograms per category recycled at the facility (BAT + WEEE)
  • Number of kilograms per category recovered at the facility (only for WEEE)
  • Calculated rates of recycling and recovery

The calculated rate of efficiency for recycling (WEEE and BAT) and recovery (only for WEEE) is used to monitor compliance with the statutory requirements. See below table:

Treatment option and efficiency - reuse, recycling, or recovery

ÅrKategoriSendt til behandlingGenbrugtGenanvendtForbrændtRestGENANV.%NYTTIG %
20183. IT- og teleudstyr8838.32128.0657813.049627.857269.34990%97%
20188. Medicinsk udstyr145.7124.351129.7547.2554.35292%97%
20181. Store husholdningsprodukter36305.589414.47328699.7254579.5312611.8680%93%
20189. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter1206.0421.281808.983118.592257.18469%79%
20182. Små husholdningsprodukter6812.50855.9165971.787527.119257.68688%96%
20185b. Lyskilder840.7230.083743.3289.67987.63388%90%
20185a. Armaturer1938.32422.6671692.292153.17370.19288%96%
20184a. Forbrugerudstyr8103.279232.1047249.213484.741137.22192%98%
20186. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj3039.20632.2272630.491245.807130.68188%96%
20187. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr950.92214.383814.16965.59456.77687%94%
201810. Automatiske dispensere0.7480.748000100%100%
20184b. Fotovoltaiske paneler1.0600.9960.0210.04394%96%
20182. Skærme og monitorer00000Nan%Nan%
20184. Stort udstyr00000Nan%Nan%
20163. IT- og teleudstyr10124.252158.3999354.024214.005397.82494%96%
20168. Medicinsk udstyr34.34525.1851.7752.2295.15678%85%
20169. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter469.56971.512376.3967.4714.19195%97%
20166. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj1501.3938.8241378.27657.52556.76892%96%
20162. Små husholdningsprodukter5534.6910.3695230.72688.817214.77995%96%
20161. Store husholdningsprodukter38292.75534.86531108.9844576.512572.39681%93%
20165b. Lyskilder885.8840.001811.07210.66764.14492%93%
20165a. Armaturer965.6870.176912.22115.43637.85494%96%
20164a. Forbrugerudstyr12533.29864.76811476.55438.694553.28692%96%
20167. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr248.5630.133234.4794.0279.92494%96%
201610. Automatiske dispensere0.18800.18800100%100%
20162. Skærme og monitorer00000Nan%Nan%
20164. Stort udstyr00000Nan%Nan%
20173. IT- og teleudstyr9999.98367.5379110.51184.341637.59592%94%
20178. Medicinsk udstyr21.7040.31819.5690.011.80792%92%
20171. Store husholdningsprodukter38602.564105.12530953.263890.1833653.99680%91%
20179. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter421.21213.044362.526.71238.93689%91%
20176. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj1588.03516.3511463.26154.87853.54593%97%
20172. Små husholdningsprodukter5837.1514.2325542.26685.253205.495%96%
20175b. Lyskilder838.5040.088739.03713.02386.35688%90%
20175a. Armaturer1019.8180.767967.53614.51237.00395%96%
20174a. Forbrugerudstyr10843.501135.40410038.43330.25339.41794%97%
20177. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr257.4350.175243.1133.81910.32895%96%
201710. Automatiske dispensere0.1780.10.0500.02884%84%
20172. Skærme og monitorer0.1980000.1980%0%
20174. Stort udstyr00000Nan%Nan%
20123. IT- og teleudstyr12954.449011553.951947.761452.73789%97%
20128. Medicinsk udstyr50.836041.6345.6943.50882%93%
20129. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter508.2930452.78734.3921.11689%96%
20122. Små husholdningsprodukter5013.83904386.569383.797243.47387%95%
20121. Store husholdningsprodukter32096.287025261.2783820.1953014.81479%91%
20125b. Lyskilder684.0870657.0111.24815.82996%98%
20124a. Forbrugerudstyr22168.723020233.911073.639861.17491%96%
20126. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj979.9390868.37774.01637.54689%96%
20125a. Armaturer0.45500.4160.0340.00591%99%
20127. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr340.3990304.6627.5898.1590%98%
201210. Automatiske dispensere28.743026.5260.8341.38392%95%
20133. IT- og teleudstyr12358.56208558.526798.9593001.07769%76%
20138. Medicinsk udstyr51.614034.523.97213.12267%75%
20139. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter605.5220469.13951.35485.02977%86%
20131. Store husholdningsprodukter32226.41026238.6432870.4423117.32581%90%
20136. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj1014.2070688.59771.153254.45768%75%
20132. Små husholdningsprodukter5531.94804614.514357.632559.80283%90%
20135b. Lyskilder635.3220613.8467.69813.77897%98%
20134a. Forbrugerudstyr19133.764017628.021793.434712.30992%96%
20137. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr194.130178.86114.0371.23292%99%
20135a. Armaturer0.02100.0170.0020.00281%90%
201310. Automatiske dispensere0.300.2400.0680%80%
20143. IT- og teleudstyr11467.32373.74510405.415701.221286.94291%97%
20148. Medicinsk udstyr2122.2883.5391949.64481.13587.9792%96%
20141. Store husholdningsprodukter32724.8733.09924081.3483023.8915586.53274%83%
20149. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter2069.88923.3061898.02272.28676.27593%96%
20146. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj2048.3315.7061853.592131.48457.54991%97%
20142. Små husholdningsprodukter5390.6455.3414889.343344.33151.63191%97%
20145b. Lyskilder423.2040.001406.7824.72611.69596%97%
20145a. Armaturer985.8820.755821.97236.875126.2883%87%
20144a. Forbrugerudstyr16938.39480.15215567.074888.188402.9892%98%
20147. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr599.5141.789542.88936.93317.90391%97%
201410. Automatiske dispensere2143.4991.9451980.84577.96582.74493%96%
20153. IT- og teleudstyr10257.70878.4899470.539603.366105.31493%99%
20158. Medicinsk udstyr11.0122.5855.7791.4981.1576%90%
20151. Store husholdningsprodukter33888.1184.0626343.6713594.1313946.25678%88%
20159. Overvågnings- og reguleringsinstrumenter212.40812.812152.8695.81540.91278%81%
20156. Elektrisk og elektronisk værktøj2072.5251.7331867.927114.63388.23290%96%
20152. Små husholdningsprodukter5467.0143.8575100.839305.45356.86593%99%
20155a. Armaturer1230.550.8681149.62868.17311.88193%99%
20155b. Lyskilder941.2611.363908.4817.43923.97897%97%
20154a. Forbrugerudstyr15620.29569.35914416.491929.7204.74593%99%
20157. Legetøj og fritids- og sportsudstyr539.3040.379469.25827.71941.94887%92%
201510. Automatiske dispensere0.070.050.0200100%100%
20204. Stort udstyr33910.775433.11727545.5793825.0562107.02383%94%
20205. Småt udstyr16820.05461.82814545.0081750.147463.07187%97%
20206. Småt it- og telekommunikationsudstyr4806.66511.2024285.505401.835108.12389%98%
20203. Lyskilder781.6050.001675.2035.55100.85186%87%
20202. Skærme og monitorer7000.248146.1616313.988425.566114.53392%98%
20201. Udstyr til temperaturudveksling15168.916943.04211394.9932642.281188.681%99%
20207. Fotovoltaiske paneler16.249016.24900100%100%
20215. Småt udstyr15044.359341.93712452.4071813.041436.97485%97%
20214. Stort udstyr33959.743529.39327174.1382934.4643321.74882%90%
20213. Lyskilder694.0170555.5020.753137.76280%80%
20212. Skærme og monitorer5973.257439.725096.167250.774186.59693%97%
20216. Småt it- og telekommunikationsudstyr3680.27346.0583114.999425.21594.00186%97%
20211. Udstyr til temperaturudveksling14579.391737.93810839.6052582.326419.52279%97%
20217. Fotovoltaiske paneler12.069011.4510.618095%100%
20196. Småt it- og telekommunikationsudstyr2838.7176.1812562.344161.28108.91290%96%
20195. Småt udstyr18454.013148.07115894.9721665.068745.90287%96%
20194. Stort udstyr30931.668200.6824703.8172891.1763135.99581%90%
20193. Lyskilder811.0361.502696.1346.533106.86786%87%
20192. Skærme og monitorer6105.873235.5375550.844250.98268.5195%99%
20191. Udstyr til temperaturudveksling13465.506801.58310301.9482298.38463.59182%100%
I alt

Definitions can be found under INFO above

Collected quantities of WEEE compared with WEEE sent to treatment

Statutory targets have been set up for both collected and treated volumes. See menu item on EU targets.

Treated volumes appearing from the statistics are not necessarily identical with the volumes collected in the same period. Some collected volumes from one calendar year may not be treated until the subsequent calendar year. Correspondingly, WEEE, batteries, or vehicles collected in one calendar year may have been placed in a temporary storage and sent for treatment in the subsequent year.

Light sources are subjected to the specific source of error that collected volumes will often be registered with too large a weight, since this fraction contains other wastes not covered by producer responsibility. This primarily concerns plastic and cardboard packaging, e.g. for fluorescent lamps. Often the package will be wet since enclosed collection equipment with no drainage possibility and which is located outdoors is used. This means that these incorrect fractions often make up a considerable weight compared with the weight of the light source. When the weight of treated volumes is computed it will be stated only for the light sources without the above incorrect fractions and liquids, which were part of the collected volumes. This means that there will be a ”systematic” deviation between collected and treated volumes. The compliance scheme of Lyskildebranchens WEEE Forening (LWF) has estimated that the incorrect fractions and liquids together make up around 5% of the weight of the collected volumes.

NOTE! Information about the choice of treatment plant of the different producers is confidential and can therefore only be accessed by DPA and environmental authorities.

Read more about calculation methods for Environmental treatment

Statistics electronics

EEE placed on the market

See quantities of electronics per category that were placed on the Danish market in 2020; you can also see developments in quantities placed on the market.

Quantities of waste electronics collected

See quantities of waste electronics collected in municipalities, by compliance schemes, or taken back by the producer in 2020.

Municipal collection of electronics

See municipal collection of waste electronics. See how many electronics each municipality collects per fraction, capita, and total.

Difference - sold and collected

See the difference between what is placed on the market and what is collected as waste.

Treated quantities - Geographical area

See the geographical location of the first treatment facility as well as rate of reuse, recycling, and recovery per category.

Environmental targets Electronics

See Denmark's compliance with environmental targets set out by the EU Commission.