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."