Over the course of 15 years, the European Union has lost some 42 million tons of useful materials contained in e-waste. These materials were not collected by the recycling system, were lost during sorting and pre-processing, or were not recovered due to the limitations of existing recycling technologies. Such was the conclusion reached by scientists from Leiden University in the Netherlands based on an analysis of the flows of 59 chemical elements in 54 categories of electrical and electronic equipment in the EU between 2006 and 2021.
The bulk of these losses are made up of bulk materials, such as iron, copper and aluminum, which are widely used in household appliances, electronics and electrical equipment. However, elements far more valuable to modern industry get lost as well.
In 2021 alone, Europeans essentially threw away some 20 tons of gallium with old electronics, which is equivalent to roughly about 40% of the EU’s annual gallium imports. In addition, some 90 tons of tantalum (23% of annual imports), 3,000 tons of tungsten (12%), 16,000 tons of magnesium (12%) and 2,000 tons of cobalt (8%) were lost.
The study showed that the main problem lies not so much in recycling technologies as in insufficient collection of used electronics. The researchers estimate that more than half of all materials contained in e-waste never enter the official waste management system. Many devices are stored in households for years, while others are secretly exported or end up in regular household waste. Mobile phones, laptops, game consoles and other compact electronics are overlooked by recyclers especially frequently.
At the same time, a major portion of valuable materials is concentrated in a relatively small number of types of equipment. Flat-panel monitors and television sets, desktop computers, laptops, telecommunications equipment, refrigerators, washing machines and lighting fixtures are cited among the most promising sources of recyclable materials. The scientists believe that these categories should be the focus of collection and recycling efforts.
Another problem is that many rare elements are either not being extracted from e-waste at all, or their recycling remains unprofitable. As a result, even collected equipment does not always become a source of recyclable materials.
The authors of the study note that the current e-waste management system is too focused on collecting massive amounts of equipment. However, a kilogram of gallium, tantalum or gold can have significantly greater economic and strategic value than a ton of ordinary scrap metal. This is why future assessments of recycling efficiency should take into account not only the weight of collected waste but also the value of the materials contained within.
