A tender to find companies to take part in trials exploring the commercial opportunities for harvesting precious metals and other raw materials from unwanted electronic products has been launched.
The trials are part of a €2.1 million project to examine methods of collection and the successful recovery of critical raw materials from household waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Each year around 9.9 million tonnes of WEEE is generated in the EU, but only around 30% is properly collected and recycled, according to waste organisation Wrap. The Critical Raw Materials Closed Loop Recovery project aims to increase the recovery of target critical raw materials by 5% by 2020, and by 20% by 2030.
The results of the 42-month project will be used to inform policy recommendations across the EU. Wrap is leading the project, which is being funded by the LIFE+ financial instrument of the EU, Innovate UK and the Welsh government. Project partners include the European Recycling Platform (ERP), the European Advanced Recycling Network (EARN), the Wuppertal Institute and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).
Companies interested in tendering will have to demonstrate their entire collection, reuse and recovery cycle in their application, the organisations behind the trials stipulated. Collection trials must take place in the UK, Germany, Italy or Turkey, while the recovery trials must happen in an EU member state.
Although waste electrical and electronic equipment products contain precious metal and critical raw materials, such as gold and platinum, nearly 40% of the 1.4 million tonnes of WEEE produced in the UK each year is landfilled, according to Wrap director Marcus Gover.
Scott Butler, UK and Ireland regional director at the ERP, said: ‘The project will allow us to assess whether we can get more value from the WEEE that is collected and treated across Europe and explore further opportunities for improving the collection of end-of-life products.’
The trials could have major benefits for producers and the circular economy, as well as the environment and society as a whole, he added.
Companies interested in tendering for the trials can find out more here. The closing date for applications is 7 April 2016.