NEWS: E-Waste Market Study Presents Challenges and Recommendations for Slovenia

Slovenia’s electronic waste (e-waste) system is facing significant structural and operational shortcomings. This national assessment, conducted under the CIRCLEWASTE project, gathered data from over 20 stakeholders, including municipalities, reuse organizations, recyclers, and NGOs, and identified both critical gaps and promising practices in e-waste management.

Core Challenges Identified

  • Extremely Low Formal Collection Rates: Despite growing volumes of electronic waste, collection remains far below EU targets. A significant portion of e-waste is stored in households or diverted through informal and unregulated channels.
  • Severely Inadequate Infrastructure: Many municipalities—especially smaller ones—lack any dedicated facilities for e-waste. Reuse centers operate without suitable workspaces, storage, or tools for safe handling and repair.
  • Absence of Centralized Tracking: No real-time national tracking system exists. Most actors use basic, internal documentation, leading to poor traceability and unreliable national statistics.
  • Weak Enforcement and Compliance Mechanisms: Legal oversight is inconsistent. Inspections are infrequent, and post-audit feedback is virtually non-existent, limiting the ability to correct practices or improve compliance.
  • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Not Implemented in Practice: Although legally defined, producers are not effectively involved in financing collection or treatment. The burden remains with municipalities, and underfunded
    social enterprises.
  • Lack of Financial and Market Support: Most organizations receive no EU or national funding. Few economic incentives exist to promote repair or reuse. Reused electronics face limited consumer demand and weak public perception.
  • Fragmented Stakeholder Collaboration: Municipalities, NGOs, recyclers, and informal collectors work in silos. Structured partnerships are rare, and informal actors are largely excluded from official systems.
  • Reuse and Repair Are Marginalized: Items suitable for reuse are frequently destroyed or scrapped due to a lack of pre-sorting, triage procedures, or integration of reuse actors into formal collection systems.

Promising Practices Noted

  • KNOF: A social enterprise model combining e-waste reuse with employment for vulnerable groups, creating over 17 green jobs annually.
  • Z-eniac: A grassroots repair initiative that combines community engagement with low-tech reuse practices.

Strategic Recommendations

  1. Establish a National Digital Tracking System: Enable real-time, item-level monitoring of e-waste flows and treatment outcomes.
  2. Formally Recognize and Support Reuse Actors: Provide legal definitions, simplified licensing, VAT reductions, and integration into public procurement.
  3. Expand Infrastructure Nationwide: Especially in underserved municipalities, invest in localized collection points, safe storage, and repair facilities.
  4. Integrate the Informal Sector: Pilot certification and training programs to bring informal collectors into the formal economy.
  5. Improve Financial Access: Simplify funding procedures and create dedicated micro-grants for smaller reuse operators and local governments.
  6. Enhance Collaboration Across the Value Chain: Establish formal cooperation frameworks between municipalities, NGOs, recyclers, and social enterprises.
  7. Launch National Awareness Campaigns: Educate the public on proper e-waste disposal, reuse opportunities, and the benefits of circular practices.
  8. Clarify Regulatory Responsibilities: Provide accessible compliance tools, templates, and advisory support for small and medium-sized actors.

More information on the study 👉🏼here

Prepared by PP2 Center for Reuse (CPU), August 2025