Waste and recycling: New guidelines for recovery of critical raw materials from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)

About 45 tons of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE ) were collected in Europe; 7 recovery processes (with adoption of 14 different methods) – these are just a few of the figures summing up the European project, “Critical Raw Material (CRM) Closed Loop Recovery”, dedicated to testing new techniques for recovery of critical materials from household WEEE. ENEA and Consorzio Ecodom are among the partners involved. In the three and a half years of the project, Ecodom and ENEA − together with experimentation partners RecyclingBorse, Asekol, Axion Consulting and Re-Tek − tested various recovery methods, including mechanical and chemical processing, in order to augment recovery of some of the 27 critical raw materials (CRMs) from technological waste (i.e. antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorite, indium, gallium, graphite, tantalum, rare-earth elements, gold, silver, and copper and platinum group metals. Hence, 5 guidelines were drawn up to foster and to augment collection and recovery of these raw materials, such as redesigning and harmonizing collection infrastructures; enhancing public awareness of the issue of correct collection and treatment of WEEE; introducing incentives to foster good practices; furthering research and innovation in the field of recovery by encouraging more extensive international collaboration; and introducing WEEE treatment standards.

According to Dario della Sala, head of the Materials technologies and processing for sustainability division − Territorial and Production Systems Sustainability Department of ENEA −, “Some of the main raw materials that are not easy to find in nature, but which have a fundamental role in many sectors such as aeronautics, consumer electronics, the automotive industry and renewable energy (e.g. wind and photovoltaic) can be recovered from small household appliances”.

ENEA collaborated with Consorzio Ecodom to develop a procedure for assessing the effective obsolescence of end-of-life monitors, which was applied on an experimental basis to 43 flat screens at the STENA plant in Angiari (Verona). 36 screens were processed via the recovery chain for metals and other materials. The remaining 7 were still capable of functioning and were recovered for a possible return to the marketplace.

In addition to monitors, thanks to this project, in Italy over 2 tons of mobile phones and small discarded appliances were collected and processed by Ecodom, together with AMSA, COOP Lombardia, Stena Technoworld and S.E. Val [1] .

“It is estimated that, every year, 9.9 million tons of WEEE are generated in Europe. However, only 30% of this waste is managed correctly. If all WEEE items produced in Europe were properly collected and recycled, we might recover 186 tons of silver, 24 tons of gold and 7.7 tons of platinum,” explains Luca Campadello, Projects & Researches Manager of Ecodom. “It is with this aim in mind that the project was devised in 2015: namely, to increase the recycling rate for essential raw materials contained in WEEE, by 5% by 2020 and by 20% by 2030. Ecodom and ENEA will profit from the lessons learned as a result of this project and submit data to the network of European experts of the SCRREEN initiative, whose aim is to enhance the European strategy for responsible management of CRMs”

The Critical Raw Material (CRM) Closed Loop Recovery project − funded by the European LIFE program, Innovative UK, the Welsh Government and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs − DeFRA), and coordinated by the company WRAP − was broken down into four stages: testing new WEEE collection systems; testing innovative processing systems for recovery of critical raw materials; assessment of results attained; and drafting recommendations for political decision makers and for the WEEE management system as a whole.

Ecodom (Italian Appliance Recovery and Recycling Consortium - www.ecodom.it) is the national Collective System that manages, on a non-profit basis, transport and processing of WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment). Established in 2004 on a voluntary basis by the main manufacturers of large domestic appliances, hoods and water heaters (manufacturers operational in the Italian market), Ecodom’s core aims are to curb dispersion of polluting substances into the environment and to maximize recovery of materials to be reintegrated into production cycles, in compliance with the pertaining legislation (Legislative Decree 49/2014). Ecodom manages WEEE from private households of all Groupings − R1 (refrigerators, air conditioners), R2 (washing machines, dishwashers, hoods, ovens, water heaters), R3 (TVs, monitors), R4 (small appliances, consumer electronics, computer technology, lighting equipment), R5 (light sources).

[1] Among the main items of equipment containing critical raw materials, we may note videogames, video cameras, irons, computer keyboards, electric cables, mouse devices, hairdryers, radios, electric flashlights, CD and DVD players, batteries and battery chargers.