Reducing loss of resources from waste management is key to ...

Large fractions of valuable resources are lost during waste management because of inefficient waste collection, consumer behaviour and a ... next previous items Dosomethingforourplanet,printthispageonlyifneeded.Evenasmallactioncanmakeanenormousdifferencewhenmillionsofpeopledoit! Togglenavigation Skiptocontent.| Skiptonavigation Advancedsearch A-ZGlossary Sections EuropeanEnvironmentAgency Topics Countries Dataandmaps Indicators Publications Media Aboutus EN LogintoCMS Search TheEEAisanagencyoftheEuropeanUnion Albanian(sq) Български(bg) Bosnian(bs) čeština(cs) Hrvatski(hr) dansk(da) Nederlands(nl) ελληνικά(el) English(en) eesti(et) Suomi(fi) Français(fr) Deutsch(de) magyar(hu) Íslenska(is) italiano(it) Latviešu(lv) lietuvių(lt) Macedonian(mk) Malti(mt) Norsk(no) polski(pl) Português(pt) Română(ro) Serbo-Croatian(sh) slovenčina(sk) Slovenščina(sl) Español(es) Svenska(sv) Türkçe(tr) Advancedsearch A-ZGlossary Error Cookiesarenotenabled.Youmustenablecookiesbeforeyoucanlogin. TheEEAWebCMSworksbestwithfollowingbrowsers: GoogleChrome(recommended) Firefox InternetExplorerisnotrecommendedfortheCMSarea. LoginName Password Forgotyourpassword? Ifyouhaveforgottenyourpassword, wecansendyouanewone. Personaltools Youarehere: Publications Reducinglossofresources... Info Briefing ReducinglossofresourcesfromwastemanagementiskeytostrengtheningthecirculareconomyinEurope PDF Briefing Published28Oct2019 Lastmodified06Apr2021 7 minread Photo:© PhotobyJonathanBorbaonUnsplash Topics: Resourceefficiencyandwaste Europereliesheavilyonmaterialresourcesforalmostallofsociety’sactivities.Itsextractionandproductionofmaterialresourceshavesignificantimpactsontheenvironmentandhumanhealth,aswellasontheeconomy.ItisessentialtoreusesuchresourcesinEuropeaneconomies,keepingtheirvaluehigh,deliveringvalueforlongerperiodsandreducingtheneedtousevirginmaterials. WhileprogressisbeingmadeinEurope,byimplementinganambitiouswastepolicyandtheCircularEconomyFramework,significantamountsofvaluableresourcesarestilllostthroughinefficientwastemanagementpractices.ThisbriefingdescribesmateriallossesinEuropeforsomekeywastestreams,namelywasteelectricalandelectronicequipment(WEEE),end-of-lifebatteries,plasticwasteandtextilewaste. Keymessages Largefractionsofvaluableresourcesarelostduringwastemanagementbecauseofinefficientwastecollection,consumerbehaviourandalackofawareness,market-relatedaspects,technologicalbarriers,designcomplexitiesandthehazardousnatureofembeddedmaterials. Increasingresourceextractionposesconsiderableriskstotheenvironmentandhumanhealth,e.g.resourcedepletion,pollutionofair,waterandsoil,climatechangeandlossofbiodiversity. Lossofresourcesisalsoassociatedwithlossofcriticalrawmaterialsthatarefundamentaltothefunctioningofkeyindustrialsectorsandapplications. Reducingresourcelossesisessentialtoensureourwell-beingandstrengthenthecirculareconomyinEurope. Existingframeworksthatassessmaterialcircularityareinexact,whichmakesitdifficulttomonitorprogressonthecirculareconomy. Wastefromelectricalandelectronicequipment Technologicalchangedrivesthecontinuoussubstitutionofelectricalandelectronicequipment.Theamountofwaste(WEEE,alsocallede-waste)issteadilyincreasingandisoneofthefastestgrowingwastestreamsinEurope.TheamountofWEEEgeneratedinEuropeisover10milliontonnesperyear,roughly40 %ofwhichiscurrentlycollectedforrecycling(Huismanetal.,2017).ThegenerationofWEEEisexpectedtoincreaseinthefuture,andimprovementsincollectionsystemsandawarenessraisingamongconsumersareneededtoensureincreasedrecycling,leadingtoreducedlosses. WEEEcontainspreciousmetalsandseveralcriticalrawmaterialsthatarefundamentaltothefunctioningofkeyindustrialsectorsandapplications.Althoughbasemetalssuchasferrousmetals,aluminiumandcopperfromWEEEarealreadylargelyrecycled,manycriticalrawmaterialsorrareEarthelementscannotbeeffectivelyrecoveredbecauseoflowmarketpricesthatdonotcoverrecyclingcosts,alackofrecyclingtechnologiesonacommercialscaleormetallurgicallimitstorecoveryprocesses(Thiébaudetal.,2018). AsWEEEalsoincludeshazardousmaterialsandchemicalsthatposeenvironmentalandhealthrisks,Directive2011/65/EUoftheEuropeanParliamentandoftheCouncilof8June2011regulatestheuseofcertainhazardoussubstancesinelectricalandelectronicequipment.AlthoughprohibitedbyEUlegislation,cross-boundarytransportofWEEEisknowntotakeplacebetweenEuropeanddevelopingcountries,wheretheenvironmentalregulationsarenotasstrictandlabourcostsarelower,creatingadditionalenvironmentalandhealthrisksintheselocations(Tansel,2017). Nonetheless,evidenceexiststhathigh-qualityrecyclingcanensuretheeffectiverecoveryofmaterialsandenergyfromWEEE.ArecentNorwegianstudysuggeststhatapproximately1 kgofCO2equivalentissavedbytheresponsiblerecyclingofasinglemobilephonehandset.Bypromotingthecollectionandrecyclingofmobilephones,Norwaycouldsave2 000tonnesofCO2emissionseachyear(Baxteretal.,2016). Manyelectricalandelectronicsproductsarenotproperlydesignedforrecycling.Designchoicesthatincreasethemarketabilityanddurabilityofhigh-techproductscreaterecyclingchallengesforseparatingcomponentsandmaterialrecovery.Forexample,miniaturisationandstructurallyintegratedmaterialsmakedisassemblyandrecoverymoredifficult.AlthoughwastecollectionandwastemanagementarekeytoreducingthelossofWEEE,morecircularandrecycling-friendlydesigns,suppliesandmanufacturingphaseswouldresultinlongerproductlifespans,modularity,standardisationofparts,easierremanufacturing,etc. End-of-lifebatteries Over1.9milliontonnesofwastebatteriesaregeneratedannuallyinEurope(Eurostat),andtheamountisexpectedtoincreaseinthefuture.Hugevariationsexistbetweendifferentbatterytypesintermsoftheirchemicalcompositionandconstruction.Batteriescontainawidevarietyofmaterials,suchasbasemetals,criticalrawmaterialsandhazardoussubstances.Therefore,collectionandrecyclingrates,theprofitabilityofrecyclingandimpactsontheenvironmentandhealthstronglydependonthebatterytype.Therecoveryofmaterialsfromwastebatteriesisdrivenbybothwastepoliciesandtheeconomicvalueofthematerials. Lead-acidbatteriesaccountforamajorshareofallbatteriesplacedinthemarketandcollectedaswaste.Recyclingoflead-acidbatteriesiswellestablished,anditisestimatedthat99 %oflead-acidbatteriesarecollectedforrecycling(Eurobat,2014).Becausetheprocessisrelativelysimpleitisalsoprofitable.Theefficiencyofrecyclingtheleadcontentoflead-acidbatteriesisover95 %inmostEUcountries.Theuseofsecondaryleadcanreducegreenhousegasemissionsbytwothirdscomparedwiththeprimaryproductionoflead(Stahletal.,2018).Antimony,whichisacriticalrawmaterial,isusedasanadditiveinlead-acidbatteries,andalmostallofitiscurrentlyrecoveredandisthemainsourceofsecondaryantimony(Dupontetal.,2016). TheaveragecollectionrateforportablebatteriesintheEUismuchlowerthanthatforlead-acidbatteriesat46 %(Eurostat).Asignificantamountisthereforeestimatedtoendupinmunicipalwaste(35kilotonnesperyear).Inparticular,batteriesembeddedinelectronicappliancesoftendonotreachofficialcollectionpointsbutarestoredinconsumers’homes,exportedoutsidetheEUinusedproductsorendupinWEEErecycling(Stahletal.,2018).Althoughcollectionrateshaveincreasedcontinuouslysince2009,substantialamountsofend-of-lifebatteriesarestillunreported. Inlithium-ionbatteries,variousactivematerialsareusedinthincoatings,whichmakestherecyclingprocessmorecomplicatedandnotveryprofitable.However,thelithium-ionbatterysectorisexpectedtogrowinthenearfuture,especiallyforindustrialbatteriesandbatteriesusedinelectricalvehicles. Textilewaste InEurope,morethan9.5milliontonnesoftextilesareconsumedannually,andtheyearlydisposaloftextilesisestimatedtobe5.6milliontonnesintotal.Morethan4milliontonnesoftextilewasteisnotcollectedseparatelyandgenerallyendsupinmixedmunicipalsolidwaste,and1.5milliontonnesofworntextilesareexportedoutsidetheEU. Reliableandup-to-datedataarelimitedfortextilewaste,andinformalreuse(donationbetweenfamilyandfriends)orreusethroughsecond-handshopsisnotincludedinwastestatistics.Althoughtherearesomerecentstudiesinseveralcountries,therearenooveralldatafortheEUasawholeonseparatecollectionratesoftextilewaste.Basedonastudyofsevencountriesusingdatafor2014orearlier,itwasestimatedthatonly20 %oftextilesareseparatelycollectedforreuseandrecycling,andthus80 %arelost(GFA&BCG2017).Oftheseparatelycollectedtextiles,thereusablefractionismainlyexportedandsoldinforeignmarkets,whilethenon-reusablefractionisdowncycled. Mixedfibresandembeddedhazardoussubstancesmakerecyclingdifficult.Policymakers’responsesshouldincludedesigningforcircularity,easymaterialidentificationandimprovedcollectionsystems. Thepotentialenvironmentalgainsthatcouldbeachievedthroughmoreextensivereuseorrecyclingarehigh:producingtextilesisassociatedwithsignificantenvironmentalimpacts,suchasCO2emissions,highwaterandlanduse,andchemicalpollution,mainlycausedbycottonproduction.AsEuropeisanetimporteroftextiles,theimpactsavoidedwillmainlyoccuroutsideEurope. TheEuropeanCommission’s2019Reportontheimplementationofthecirculareconomyactionplanaddressesthestrengtheningandextensionofobligationsforseparatecollectionoftextilewastebytheendof2025. Plasticwaste Around30milliontonnesofplasticwasteisgeneratedintheEUfromalmostalleconomicsectors.Ofthis,only5milliontonnesarerecycledinEuropeand25milliontonnesarelost,includingmisplacedwasteandprocesslossesinrecycling(MaterialEconomics,2018).NearlyhalfofplasticpackagingwastewasexportedoutsideEuropein2015,mainlytoChina;lately,thishasalsoincludedothercountriesinAsia(EC,2018). Presently,onlypartoftheplasticscollectedcanbereprocessedbecauseofmixedstreams,contaminationandadditivecontents,whichhamperrecycling.Certainaspectsofdesignandthepresenceofembeddedhazardousandtoxicsubstancesmakerecyclingtechnicallyandeconomicallydifficult.Furthermore,plasticwasteistypicallyonlyrecycledafewtimesbecauseofmaterialdegradation,makingdowncycling(i.e.non-functionalrecycling)verycommon.Only6 %ofnewplasticmaterialsarederivedfromrecycledplastics(EC,2018),asplasticrecyclablesdonotnormallymeetthematerialrequirementsforuseinthesameapplication. Thepackagingsectoristhesinglebiggestcontributortoplasticwaste,generatingaround16milliontonnes.ThisisfollowedbyplasticwastefromWEEE,theconstructionanddemolitionsector,andend-of-lifevehicles.Packagingproducts—particularlysingle-useplastics—aretypicallyusedforashorttimeandquicklyendupaswaste. Around43 %oftheplasticwastegeneratedbythepackagingsectorintheEU-28in2016wascollectedandtherestwasdisposedofinlandfillsorincineratedwithenergyrecovery.Inadequatecollectionsystems,togetherwiththerelativelylowpricesofvirginmaterialsandhighcostsofsortingandprocessing(includinginvestmentcosts),arethemainchallengesassociatedwiththelossesofplasticpackagingwaste. In2018,aEuropeanstrategyforplasticsinacirculareconomywasadopted.Thestrategyaimstotransformthewayplasticsandplasticproductsaredesigned,produced,usedandrecycled.By2030,allplasticpackagingshouldberecyclable.Inaddition,theSingleUsePlasticsDirective requiresmeasurestobetakentoincreasethecollectionofplasticbottles,therecyclingofplasticpackagingandthereductionoftheconsumptionofplasticfoodcontainers. Plasticproductsoftenalsoappearinpaints,gluesandbindingagentsintheconstructionsector,makingrecoveryofplasticmaterialschallengingandcostly.Theinclusionofplastic-containingcomponentsinbuildingstockisconsiderable.Everyyear,about1milliontonnesofplasticwastefromconstructionisgeneratedinEurope:amongthisplasticwaste,PVC(polyvinylchloride)hasthehighestrecyclingrate(32 %)(PlasticsEurope,2017).Technicalchallengesinrecoveringrecyclableplasticsfromend-of-lifevehiclesandWEEEexist,andeffortsdedicatedtothesewastestreamsmainlyfocusonmetalrecovery. Conclusion Poororinadequatecollectionisaseriouschallengethatislinkedtoalmostallofthewastestreamsanalysed.Consumerawarenessisanotherimportantfactorinincreasingthecollectionratesofdifferentwastefractions.Therearealsovariouschallengesrelatedtothequalityofwastematerials,suchasmaterialheterogeneityandthepresenceofhazardoussubstancesthathamperrecycling. Forsomematerials,technologicalchallengesarealsoimportantreasonsforlosses,aswellasthelackofamarketordemandforrecyclables.Thereasonsformateriallossesareoftencross-linked,e.g.wastequality(heterogeneity)andalackofcost-efficienttechnology.Moreeffortsareneededtointroduceefficientsystemsforcollectingandsortingwaste.Inaddition,itisimportanttoraiseconsumerawarenessofhowtoachievehighercollectionrates. ThisbriefingbuildsonthereportArewelosingresourceswhenmanagingEurope’swaste,compiledbytheEEAandtheEuropeanTopicCentreonWasteandMaterialsinaGreenEconomy(ETC/WMGE).Forfurtherdetailsandunderpinningreferences,pleaseseetheETCReport. Identifiers Briefingno.8/2019Title:ReducinglossofresourcesfromwastemanagementiskeytostrengtheningthecirculareconomyinEurope PDFTH-AM-19-010-EN-N-ISBN978-92-9480-104-3-ISSN2467-3196-doi:10.2800/626019HTMLTH-AM-19-010-EN-Q-ISBN978-92-9480-105-0-ISSN2467-3196-doi:10.2800/63914 Relatedcontent Sortby: Publishingdate Title Relatedbriefings Briefing Thecaseforincreasingrecycling:EstimatingthepotentialforrecyclinginEurope EUlegislationincludesrecyclingtargetsformunicipal,constructionanddemolition,andelectronicwaste.Thisbriefingshowsthatthereissignificantpotentialtoincreaserecyclingfromallofthesestreams.However,tofullyexploitthispotential,currentbarriersneedtobeovercome,e.g.pricecompetitionfromvirginresourcealternatives,infrastructurecapacityandthecomplexityofcertainwasteproducts.Thisalsorequiresstrongimplementationoftargetedregulationstoincreaseseparatecollection.Implementingnewpolicymeasures,someofwhicharealreadyincludedinEurope’s2020circulareconomyactionplan,canbothdirectlyandindirectlyexploitthepotentialforincreasedrecycling. Relatedinfographics Infographic e-waste Infographic Batteries Infographic Plasticwaste Infographic Textilewaste Relatednewsandarticles Article Thechallengeofreducingindustrialpollution IndustrialpollutioninEuropeisdecreasing,thankstoablendofregulation,developmentsinmanufacturingandenvironmentalinitiatives.However,industrycontinuestopolluteandmovingtowardszeropollutioninthissectorisanambitiouschallenge. News ReuseandrecyclingarekeytotacklingEurope’swasteproblemandtofosteramorecirculareconomy Improvedcircularandclimate-friendlybusinessmodelsandpoliciestoboostreuseandrecycling,plusimprovedconsumerawarenesswillhelptheEuropeanUniontacklethegrowingproblemposedbyplastic,battery,electronicandtextilewaste,accordingtotwoEuropeanEnvironmentAgency(EEA)briefingspublishedtoday. Disclaimer ThecountryassessmentsarethesoleresponsibilityoftheEEAmemberandcooperatingcountriessupportedbytheEEAthroughguidance,translationandediting. 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PDFgeneratedon10Apr2022,05:04PM Topics Topics: Resourceefficiencyandwaste Tags Filedunder: wastemanagement circulareconomy subtopic Filedunder: wastemanagement, circulareconomy, subtopic DocumentActions Sharewithothers Eionet EuropeanEnvironmentInformationandObservationNetwork(Eionet) TheEEAalsocontributesto BISE BiodiversityInformationSystemforEurope Climate-ADAPT ClimateAdaptationPlatform Climate-Energy ClimateandEnergyintheEU CopernicusInSitu Copernicusinsitucomponent CopernicusLand Copernicuslandmonitoring EuropeanIndustrialEmissionsPortal EIEP ForestInformationSystemforEurope FISE InformationPlatformforChemicalMonitoring IPCHEM MarineWaterInformationSystemforEurope WISE-Marine FreshWaterInformationSystemforEurope WISE-FreshWater Followus Signuptoreceiveournewsnotifications andourquarterlye-newsletter Contactus KongensNytorv61050CopenhagenK Phonenumber: (+45)33367100 Askyourquestion Mediaenquiries TheEEAisanagencyoftheEuropeanUnion Engineeredby: EEAWebTeam Softwareupdatedon 15March202207:46 fromversion22.2.24 Softwareversion: EEAPloneKGS22.3.14 Codefordevelopers SystemsStatus Legalnotice Creativecommonslicense CMSlogin