Commercial use for raw materials from discarded electronics to be investigated

14th October 2015


Related Topics

Related tags

  • Business & Industry ,
  • Manufacturing ,
  • Waste ,
  • Natural resources ,
  • Pollution & Waste Management

Author

Nicola Ashton

A €2.1 million project to explore the commercial opportunities for harvesting raw materials and precious metals from unwanted electronic products has been launched.

The project, which involves organisations in the UK, Germany, Italy and Turkey, aims to increase by 5% the recovery of a range of critical raw materials (CRMs) such as gold, silver and platinum from products such as consumer electronics, IT equipment and small household appliances.

According to waste advisers Wrap, which is leading the UK's involvement, almost 40% of electrical products go to landfill when they are disposed of despite regulations to increase recycling under the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive.

In 2014, 41.8 million metric tonnes of electronic waste was generated globally, and this is forecast to rise to 50Mt by 2018, according to a UN report last year.

The European project will link collection methods of products, such as kerbside collections, retailer take-back schemes or postal returns, with different ways to efficiently dismantle, recover and return the material components to the market.

The findings of the three and a half-years project will be communicated to the European commission as policy recommendations and proposals for infrastructure development for the cost-effective recovery of CRMs.

Recovery of raw materials is at various stages of maturity in the four countries participating, which will allow comparisons to be made and a framework developed that will work across the EU.

In addition to Wrap, the UK's participation involves the Knowledge Transfer Network, the European Advanced Recycling Network and the European Recycling Platform (ERP). German research institution the Wuppertal Institute is also a partner.

The project is being funded by EU LIFE, a financial instrument which supports environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the bloc.

Scott Butler, UK and Ireland regional director at the ERP, said: "We believe this vital area of research will benefit our producer members and help to achieve a circular economy. The environmental and economic gains from the project's findings could have a profound effect on the electronics industry and the wider economy."

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

UK’s CCUS strategy based on outdated assumptions, government warned

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

A consortium including IEMA and the Good Homes Alliance have drafted a letter to UK government ministers expressing disappointment with the proposed Future Homes Standard.

26th February 2024

Read more

Global corporations such as Amazon and Google purchased a record 46 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy last year, according to BloombergNEF (BNEF).

13th February 2024

Read more

Three-quarters of UK adults are concerned about the impact that climate change will have on their bills, according to polling commissioned by Positive Money.

13th February 2024

Read more

The reality of delivering net zero is that we need solutions tailored to specific areas. Peter Gudde explores models that local authorities could adopt

15th January 2024

Read more

Heat pump installations in UK homes increased by nearly a fifth last year, with over 200,000 now having been installed across the country.

11th January 2024

Read more

Last year was the warmest ever recorded, surpassing the previous annual high set in 2016 by a large margin, scientists have confirmed today.

9th January 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close