EU E-Waste Levy 2027: Why Decommissioning Strategy Matters

The European Union will soon introduce a major policy that changes how businesses deal with electronic waste. From 2027, the EU e-waste levy 2027 is expected to add a charge of €2 per kilogram on non-collected Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). For organisations that run large volumes of IT and telecom hardware, this is not only a compliance issue but also a serious financial risk.

At the same time, the Right to Repair Directive (adopted in 2024 and starting in July 2026) will extend guarantees by 12 months when products are repaired. It will also require access to spare parts and manuals, and stop software or design features that block repair. Together, these rules push companies to focus on reuse, repair, and responsible decommissioning.

What’s Changing in the EU E-Waste Levy 2027–2030

The EU is tightening rules to close the gap between equipment placed on the market and equipment collected. Here is what to expect:

• Higher costs if you fail to collect: Member States will pay the levy if e-waste is not collected. As a result, national WEEE and EPR fees for businesses are likely to increase.
• Earlier compliance steps: Companies will need serial-level tracking, chain-of-custody reporting, and clear CO₂e avoidance data.
• Circularity as a profit driver: Reuse, repair, and resale cut emissions, recover costs, and help avoid supply chain delays.

In 2022, companies placed 14.4 million tonnes of electrical equipment on the EU market, but only 5 million tonnes were collected. In other words, two thirds were left unmanaged. Because of this gap, the EU e-waste levy 2027 aims to drive higher recovery rates and enforce circular practices.

How Telecom Leaders Are Tackling the EU E-Waste Challenge

Large telecom operators are already showing that circularity works in practice:

• Deutsche Telekom: Aims for Net Zero by 2040 and full circularity by 2030.
• Vodafone: For example, it now reuses, resells, or recycles 100% of decommissioned network equipment, meeting its 2025 goal.
• Orange: Works with suppliers such as Nokia/BuyIn to integrate refurbished hardware into procurement.
• Telefónica: Through its MAIA programme, it has committed to 100% reuse, resale, or recycling of network equipment by 2025.

Comtek’s Role: Turning the EU E-Waste Levy into ROI

At Comtek (Germany & Group), we help telecom operators, enterprises, and infrastructure providers turn the EU e-waste levy 2027 into a business advantage.

End-to-end decommissioning services

• De-install & inventory: We handle safe site work across RAN, core/IP, optical, and data centres. We capture serial numbers, manage packaging, and ensure secure logistics.
• Reuse & remarketing first: We prioritise redeployment or certified resale to recover maximum value.
• Refurbishment & repair: Our multi-vendor repair covers routers, switches, optics, PSUs, and more. Every unit goes through QA and burn-in testing.
• Responsible recycling: We work only with WEEE-compliant partners. We also provide secure data wiping and full CO₂e avoidance reports.
• Audit-ready reporting: We supply serial-level tracking and ESG-ready documentation that meets WEEE and EPR needs.

Why Preparing for the EU E-Waste Levy 2027 Matters

• Lower exposure to the €2/kg levy by collecting more equipment and proving circular outcomes.
• Recover budgets through resale and redeployment while reducing embodied carbon.
• Faster compliance with proven playbooks, EU-wide logistics, and service levels that tie sustainability to financial performance.

Next Steps: Pilot With Comtek

The best way to prepare for the EU e-waste levy 2027 is to run a pilot project. This allows you to prove compliance and show value recovery in practice. A pilot also helps you:

• Test new strategies on a smaller scale before applying them across your organisation.
• Produce measurable ESG data such as recovery rates, CO₂e savings, and cost reductions.
• Build confidence internally by showing finance and sustainability teams that compliance and profitability go hand in hand.
• Reduce risk on bigger projects with clear playbooks for de-installation, logistics, repair, and reporting.
• Unlock hidden value in legacy assets that might otherwise be scrapped.

We often recommend focusing a pilot on 1–2 areas such as:

• 3G network sunsets, where legacy equipment needs safe removal.
• IP/MPLS or optical network swaps, where large amounts of equipment can be reused or resold.
• Data centre consolidation, where the carbon footprint and compliance risk are both high.

Once we agree on KPIs, Comtek delivers the full process — de-installation, refurbishment, resale, and recycling — backed by audit-ready reporting. This creates a repeatable model you can roll out across future projects while staying ahead of compliance.

Get ahead of the EU e-waste levy 2027 — contact Comtek today