The EU LIFE-funded project – Critical Raw Material Closed Loop Recovery (CRM Recovery) – is the “first of its kind to link collection methods with recovery success”, according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
Four countries – ‘each representing varying maturity stages of recovery development’ – are participating in the project: the UK, Germany, Italy and Turkey.
It comes in response to concern from businesses and governments over increasing pressure on the supply chain for a number of critical raw materials, which are “crucial” to many electrical products, while WRAP research has found that almost 40% of electrical products go to landfill.
As such, the CRM Recovery project aims to address these challenges by exploring viable alternative commercial streams that boost the economy while reducing “our reliance on the earth’s natural capital and the need for mining raw materials”.
The aim is to increase the recovery range of CRMs by 5% from products such as consumer electronics, ICT equipment and small household appliances over the course of the three-and-a-half-year-project.
Collection methods
It will link collection methods – such as kerbside collections, consumer take-back schemes or postal returns – to how the material components of these products can be efficiently dismantled, recovered and returned to the market.
The findings will be fed back into the European Commission as policy recommendations and proposals for infrastructure development for effective recovery and recycling of these WEEE materials, according to WRAP.
Dr Liz Goodwin OBE, WRAP chief executive, said: “We’re delighted to lead this project which will find effective routes for collecting and recovering valuable materials from electrical and electronic products. I look forward to seeing how these new insights inform the bigger picture, demonstrating the economic and environmental benefits of making better use of resources across Europe.”
Partners
Other project partners are: Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), the UK’s innovation network; WEEE services provider European Advanced Recycling Network (EARN); WEEE, battery and packaging compliance scheme European Recycling Platform (ERP); and the Wuppertal Institute in Germany, which undertakes research and develops strategies for sustainable development.
Scott Butler, UK and Ireland regional director at ERP, said the “environmental and economic gains from the project’s findings could have a profound effect on the electronics industry and the wider economy”.
Dr Sven Grieger, WEEE operations manager at EARN, added: “CRM Recovery will provide both WEEE take-back organisations and recycling operations best practice methods to improve future value-added by increasing the recovery of certain critical raw materials. EARN is joining the project in order to add our knowledge and long-term experiences in WEEE collection and processing across Europe.”
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