Trash is cash: ‘urban mining’ for strategic metals in your neighbourhood

Published on 28/05/2025 - 15:00 GMT+2

The aged smartphone hiding successful your drawer astir apt holds mini portions of lithium, cobalt, and rare-earth metals. It is estimated that 700 cardinal aged phones are lying astir successful Europe.

The conception known arsenic "urban mining" involves uncovering materials successful existing products, arsenic opposed to "primary" mining wherever crushed resources are exploited. 

The EU has made it a privilege to unafraid proviso chains for nan earthy materials that are basal for greenish and integer technologies. Dozens of them person been classified arsenic "critical" and "strategic" by nan European Commission. However, 90% of these elements are presently imported from abroad.

According to EU data, astir 1% of nan valuable materials consumed successful nan EU travel from recycling. The Critical Raw Materials Act, adopted successful 2024, has group a target of reaching 25% by 2030. 

E-trash is cash

The Commission’s objectives is to boost nan recycling of electrical waste, 1 of nan fastest-growing discarded streams.

In each personnel state, organisations are responsible for collecting and transporting e-waste to nan continent's 2,700 processing facilities. The recycling accommodation are expected to meet a increasing stock of nan request from European foundries, which traditionally root their supplies from different continents, specified arsenic Asia. 

Several challenges persist: from nan profitability of extracting nan smallest parts of materials, to "electronic hibernation": According to a study, each European family has connected mean 74 physics devices, 13 of which are unused but hoarded for various reasons, information privateness concerns being 1 of them.

Fancy surviving successful a information building?

The EU Commission is owed to coming a caller Circular Economy Act successful 2026 to foster nan competitiveness of information models successful various sectors specified arsenic building and demolition. This accounts for 40% of nan full discarded weight successful nan EU,  chiefly accepted earthy materials specified arsenic concrete, aluminum, steel, and glass, which, again, are often imported. 

While overmuch of nan demolished actual is considered recycled, it is really crushed for usage arsenic an aggregate base, for illustration successful roadworthy construction. More and much technologies are enabling recycling alternatively than downcycling. Emerging techniques are transforming aged blocks into high-quality concrete. 

Furthermore, galore leftover materials specified arsenic plastics and wood are often not recovered and are sent to incineration aliases landfill. New sorting techniques are helping to summation nan recycling rate.

Reuse aliases toggle shape for minimal impact

Another inclination is nan reuse of materials. Elements specified arsenic actual blocks, windows, and bricks tin beryllium dismantled for reuse. A much modular creation of buildings tin besides let for greater circularity.

Some countries person already adopted an attack aimed astatine requiring inventories of nan materials coming successful buildings earlier immoderate demolition. 

Like nan reuse and repair of electronics, building renewal remains a amended solution than demolition successful position of biology impact, according to experts. 

According to nan European Environment Agency (EEA), 20-25% of nan life rhythm emissions of nan existent EU building banal are embedded successful building materials. Circular economy-based approaches to renewal tin thief trim embedded greenhouse state emissions.