E-waste recycling plays an important role in European security

Crucial raw materials in many electronics can be recycled and reused, helping to protect the supply of materials for Europe’s defense and consumer industries.

The report calls for the development of legal requirements for the recycling and reuse of critical raw materials. (Source: voanews.com) A report by European Union The (EU)-backed study says the recovery of rare materials from e-waste is a security requirement for Europe and should be legislated. According to the EU-funded CEWASTE report, critical raw materials – including gold, silver and cobalt in many electronics – can be recycled and reused. This will protect raw material supply for consumer electronics, even Europe’s defense industry. Even these rare materials are essential for wind turbines and electric cars. They therefore play an important role in helping countries meet climate protection goals and ensure competitiveness in manufacturing. However, the report notes that while supplies of these essential materials are vulnerable to geopolitical fluctuations, Europe is still too dependent on foreign supplies with recycling rates “close to equals 0.” According to the report, the low and volatile prices of many of these raw materials make recycling them often seen as too costly for businesses. The report calls for the development of regulatory requirements for the recycling and reuse of critical raw materials, financial incentives to support the industry, and increased control over the amount of e-waste that is exported. leave the EU. The report highlights some types of e-waste that have large enough raw materials to be recovered. These include printed circuit board materials from discarded electrical equipment; batteries from e-waste and scrap cars; iron boron neodymium magnets from hard drives and motors of electric bicycles, scooters and scrap cars; and fluorescent powder from cathode ray tubes and lamps in television sets and displays. CEWASTE says these materials are often present in very small quantities in individual categories, so they are often overlooked. For example, the report estimates that by 2025, the waste of fluorescent lamps in Europe will contain 92 tons of critical raw materials, while printed circuit boards in electronic waste of this area can hold up to 41 tons of silver and 10 tons of gold. The report states that the amount of the above material will be equivalent to that used to produce new items. A United Nations (UN) report shows that the world generated more than 50 million tons of e-waste in 2019. Much of this ended up in landfills and scrap yards. With an estimated 17% of electronic products being recycled, the UN says more than $55 billion worth of materials are wasted each year as the world has to extract more materials to make products. new./.