“5 Green Goals EU Nations Are on Track to (Mostly) Miss by 2025”

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The European Union has established ambitious, product-focused recycling targets to promote sustainability across its 27 member states. Among these goals are objectives such as recycling at least 65 percent of packaging waste — including takeaway containers, paper wrappers, and cardboard boxes — as well as recycling 65 percent of all electronic devices, such as phones, tablets, kitchen appliances, and vacuum cleaners, introduced into the EU market over the past three years.

Assessing whether the EU is on track to meet these objectives, however, remains challenging. The most recent data available, provided by EU countries to the bloc’s statistical office, dates back to 2022. While this creates a data gap, some conclusions can still be drawn based on current trends and insights.

In mid-2023, a European Commission progress report [link to report] highlighted concerns that most member states were likely to fall short of their recycling targets. This conclusion was further supported by the 2022 statistics, which provide a clearer picture of where countries stand. At that time, only Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and the Netherlands had already met the municipal waste targets for 2025. Belgium, Luxembourg, and Italy were also close to achieving the benchmarks, missing by only a small margin. On the bright side, over 50 percent of member states were already complying with the targets for packaging waste.

When it comes to electronic waste (e-waste), the situation is starkly different. As of 2022, only Latvia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria were successfully collecting the mandated levels of e-waste.

Focus on Plastics

The EU has also aimed its regulatory focus on plastics, setting comprehensive guidelines for their production, use, and recycling [link to plastics strategy]. Tackling plastic waste is a critical component of the bloc’s broader sustainability strategy, as it seeks to reduce environmental harm and encourage a shift towards a circular economy.

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