Sweden risks falling behind on circular electronics

Sweden has a strong electronics sector and several established recycling operators – but as neighbouring Finland and Norway advance their circular strategies, the question is whether Sweden is keeping pace.

"Sweden comes across as having high ambitions and wanting to be at the forefront, but we haven't quite managed the implementation yet. There's a gap between the ambition level and actually making it happen," says Österlund.

Svensk Elektronik is leading ReLoop Electronics, a three-year project initiated in December 2025 and co-funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, with Linköping University and five other partners. The project aims to drive the transition toward a more circular, resource-efficient and competitive Swedish electronics industry.

"The electronics industry has somewhat leaned back and said that emissions are greater in the steel industry. But with the rapid development of AI, electronics will overtake them. We will simply become a black hole," says Österlund.

E-waste leaving Europe

When asked why circularity matters for the electronics industry, Österlund's starting point is the electronic waste being shipped out of Europe.

"I think it's terrible that we in Europe are sending huge amounts of electronic scrap to Africa. If we could reuse it, we would create far more jobs here in Europe," she says.

The destinations are well documented. Agbogbloshie in Ghana and Dandora in Kenya are among the world's most notorious e-waste sites. In Agbogbloshie, electronics have been burned to extract valuable metals. In Nigeria, Olusosun in Lagos is another well-known site where scrap pickers search for materials to sell on. Research on e-waste in sub-Saharan Africa points to significant health risks for people working near informal e-waste handling sites, including neurological damage, elevated cancer risk and dangerously high levels of lead and cadmium. The problem is not limited to Africa – Manila Bay in the Philippines and Guiyu in China are also known e-waste hotspots.

Circularity as competitive advantage

Beyond the environmental and health dimensions, circularity is also a cost and competitiveness issue. Electronics contain metals, minerals and components that can be reused, repaired or recycled – and dependence on critical raw materials has shifted from an environmental question to a geopolitical one.

"When access to components and critical raw materials becomes a strategic issue – and it already is – then circularity also becomes a question of competitiveness and resilience," says Österlund.

For a Swedish electronics industry aiming to be at the forefront of digitalisation and electrification, there are therefore compelling reasons to establish more circular flows, according to Österlund.

Yet, it is not a given that Sweden will lead the way.

Finland and Norway are ahead

Finland has long embedded circular economy thinking into national industrial policy, with funding systems and innovation programmes linking circularity to material efficiency and new business models. As recently as June 2026, Business Finland opened a dedicated call under IPCEI CAM for projects in circular economy and advanced materials.

"In Finland, there is more funding for implementation, and they are generally a bit better at it – or at least clearer about it. That's what we need to get to in Sweden now," says Österlund.

Norway similarly identifies legislation on sustainable products and value chains as one of its primary tools for driving the transition. The Norwegian government's circular economy action plan includes a dedicated section on electrical and electronic equipment.

Sweden has had a national circular economy strategy since 2020, but electronics does not have its own place among the prioritised areas. The strategy focuses instead on plastics, textiles, food, the construction sector and innovation-critical metals and minerals. Electronics is touched on in the section on critical metals — with battery systems and deposit schemes for small electronics mentioned as possible measures.

"Sweden also needs more adequate policy instruments. I don't yet know exactly whether we should follow the Finnish, Danish or Norwegian model. But we can establish that Sweden at least needs to review this," says Österlund.

Four barriers to a circular electronics industry

Through ReLoop Electronics, industry and academia are now mapping the barriers and shaping a common path forward. Svensk Elektronik has identified four key challenges.

The first is product design. Much of today's electronics is encapsulated, glued or moulded to withstand moisture and vibration – making components difficult to disassemble and reuse. "Products need to be designed for circularity. And designed to be disassembled – perhaps by robots," says Österlund.

The second is the absence of systems that capture the full value of components beyond their raw material content. Return systems for metal recovery exist, but systems for reusing components and materials at a higher level — something Norway has made more progress on – are largely missing.

The third is traceability. For a component to be reused, a buyer needs to know its age, condition and material composition – information that is often unavailable today. The EU's planned digital product passport is seen as an important piece of that puzzle.

The fourth is profitability. Circularity cannot only be a cost question – it must create a real incentive for buyers to demand circular products. Without that demand signal, the business models cannot become commercially viable.

The status quo analysis currently underway within ReLoop Electronics is mapping exactly these challenges — from product design and traceability to the absence of return systems and clear policy instruments. The goal is to understand where the Swedish electronics industry actually stands today, and from there to develop concrete guidelines and a roadmap for how the transition to more circular production can gain real momentum.

The results and the project's next steps will be presented by Elisabet Österlund, Secretary General of Svensk Elektronik, at Evertiq Expo Gothenburg on September 17.