Reacción a "Only 54% of electronic waste is collected correctly in Europe"

The FUTURaM project is the most detailed analysis to date on secondary raw materials from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). It focuses on the availability of elements that constitute critical and strategic raw materials from WEEE, making a projection from the present to the year 2050 and considering three scenarios: “business as usual” (BAU), in which current consumption trends and recovery and recycling rates continue; “enhanced recovery” (REC), in which consumption patterns follow current trends, but waste collection rates and recycling technologies are improved; and “circularity” (CIR), in which, in addition to improving collection and recycling rates, circular economy measures are applied to reduce WEEE consumption and, therefore, waste generation (such as extending useful life, improving second-hand markets or promoting repair, among others). Data on WEEE generation and collection are obtained from statistics provided by Eurostat and reports from various countries in the EU+4 (United Kingdom, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway), as well as scientific literature.

One of the most important current data points in the report is that WEEE generation reaches 10.7 million tonnes per year in the 27+4, of which only 5.7 are collected by the appropriate channels that allow for proper recycling. The rest is collected by other methods (such as household waste), mixed with other waste, exported to middle- and low-income countries, or its whereabouts are unknown. These 10.7 million tonnes in the countries studied correspond to 20 kg per person, the same as in Spain. Under the BAU and REC scenarios, per capita generation is expected to reach 36 kg per year by 2050. However, by applying circular economy measures (CIR scenario), this can be reduced from 2040 onwards to less than 25 kg per person per year (both for Spain and for the 27+4) by 2050. These results are consistent with those obtained in the research study Alargascencia: Environmental benefits of extending the useful life of mobile phones and laptops in Spain, where we also showed that extending the useful life of EEE can be as effective a strategy for reducing waste as increasing recycling rates. It should be noted that the waste that will increase the most will be that from solar panels.

One of the most significant difficulties in assessing the availability of raw materials from secondary sources (such as WEEE) is knowing their chemical composition. For some appliances, such as lamps, this is more or less standard, but for others, such as mobile phones or computers, it can vary from one manufacturer or model to another. Manufacturers do not tend to share this information, and the data in the literature is limited. The FUTURaM project has addressed this problem by drawing on the results of previous European projects, data from the literature and confidential consultations with project partners and stakeholders, which provides a solid basis. However, it should be noted that compositions may vary over the years and, while projections can be made, it is impossible to know exactly how they will evolve in the future. One example is the amount of gold present in smartphones and laptops, which has been decreasing in recent years. The same is true of technologies; it is impossible to know when a technology will appear that will render a previous one obsolete. For example, CRT televisions were quickly replaced by plasma, LCD and LED televisions. Similarly, between now and 2050, new photovoltaic cell technologies may emerge to replace the current crystalline silicon ones.

With regard to the elements that can be recovered from WEEE, aluminium and copper stand out in particular, accounting for 87% of the mass of critical raw materials available in WEEE. These two elements can be recovered quite efficiently through recycling processes, so encouraging waste collection is an efficient measure to increase their production from secondary sources. Manganese and silicon are similar cases. However, other critical raw materials that are very important in the European context, such as neodymium (essential for permanent magnets) and cobalt, are very difficult to recycle from WEEE in the current context. This situation highlights the importance of eco-design, which allows devices to be manufactured in such a way that their parts, components and materials can be disassembled, sorted and separated more efficiently, increasing the recyclability rate of metals.

This study highlights, on the one hand, the great opportunity that Europe has with WEEE to access critical raw materials on which it is heavily dependent on imports. On the other hand, it points to the need to improve collection processes and increase the proportion of WEEE that is managed correctly in accordance with European regulations. Finally, it also shows that true circularity requires not only increasing collection and recycling rates, but also measures aimed at reducing consumption and waste of resources, such as increasing the useful life of products, eco-design, promoting repair and second-hand markets, among others.