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6. Measures and instru­ments for increased recycling of CRMs

This chapter discusses potential measures and instruments that should be considered when formulating a national strategy on how to reach the CRM recycling goals of EU, as stated in the CRMA. The main goal of this strategy should be to build robust value chains for recycling of individual CRMs, although building recycling capacity for all CRMs inside the Nordic countries is not considered to be realistic. Instead, a partnership for distribution of recycling responsibility for all CRMs should be sought with European countries outside the Nordics to ensure a necessary scale for the recycling capacity that can achieve cost competitiveness with similar industries outside Europe. The strategy should however aim at building systems for collection and sorting of recyclable waste streams for all individual CRMs in each Nordic country. The following five main milestones are considered critical to successfully build these value chains:
  1. A system that makes it possible to identify waste streams with CRM-recycling potential.
  2. A system for cost effective collection of waste streams with CRM-recycling potential.
  3. A system for separating materials enriched with CRM from other materials in the waste stream.
  4. A recycling technology that allows for recovery of all relevant CRMs at acceptable recovery rates.
  5. Market conditions that are economically sustainable for all links in the value chain.
 
Since EU published the first CRM-list in 2011, other CRMs have been added, and national programs required by CRMA should take into account and provide a preparedness for further CRMs being added in the future. It is also important to take into account expected technology shifts that may change the CRM-composition of materials and products that follow these technology shifts.
While drivers are conditions that accelerate progress towards a milestone, barriers hinder or prevent the same development. Measures are actions taken to either support drivers or remove barriers. A general measure addresses all or a group of CRMs while specific measures only address a single CRM. Only general measures are described in this chapter, while CRM-specific measures can be found in the description of each individual CRM in Appendix 1. Expected impact, costs and cost efficiency are indicated for each described measure. These are rough estimates based on discretionary assessments and will to a large degree depend on how each measure is designed and implemented.    

6.1 Pre-collection measures

National program for mapping levels of CRMs in relevant waste streams.
Identification of waste streams suitable for CRM-recycling requires at a minimum information about the chemical composition of the waste. For tailings and mineral waste, the residual levels of chemical components that are extracted as a product are normally well described, but information of other elements are often less well described or lacking. The same situation is also often the case for industrial slag, dust and sludge from metal processing and makes it difficult to evaluate waste streams with CRM-recycling potential. No program exists for systematic mapping of residual resources in other waste streams known to sometimes contain higher concentrations of CRMs, like shredder residues from scrapped cars and WEEE are either applied by the industry that create them or landfills where they are often placed. The same goes for ashes from waste incineration.    
A national program for systematic mapping of CRM content in tailings, industrial slag, dust and sludge and CRM-enriched waste from metal processing industry and other relevant waste streams is essential for identification of waste streams that may be potential feedstock for CRM-recycling. The test program should include all CRMs and be done annually or every other year to capture changes in the chemical composition over time.
A mapping of available CRM-materials in buildings and infrastructure should also be considered.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
National statistics of significant CRM material streams showing both consumptions, collected waste and recycled CRM-volumes.
A formulation of efficient policies for better CRM-management requires an understanding of relevant CRM-containing material streams. To understand the movements of streams of CRM-enriched materials through society a statistical accounting of the total market consumption of CRMs and corresponding waste streams are necessary. Nordic countries already keep national statistics that account for amounts put on market of different products and different waste streams, but these statistics don’t disclose material movement of CRMs. An updated statistical scheme that includes a description of individual CRMs movement through society from product to waste, will not only assist in optimizing policies, but also be a necessary tool for evaluation progress towards set recycling targets. 
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
Restriction on use of CRM-rich materials in cement.
In production of cement, many different raw materials and energy carriers are used as feedstock, including several waste materials. Some of the waste materials used contain elevated levels of CRMs. When used as a feedstock for cement, these CRMs are diluted to very low concentrations and are chemically bound in a way that makes future CRM-recycling impossible or at best very difficult. The only way to avoid this loss of feedstock for future CRM-recycling is therefore to restrict the use of CRM-enriched waste materials as feedstock for cement production or other industrial processes that make the CRMs impossible to recover.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Ban or consumer tax on non-essential use of CRM.
Some CRMs are used for non-essential purposes, such as content in fireworks and as pigments in glass and ceramics and helium in balloons. By restricting the use of CRMs for non-essential purposes more CRMs will be conserved for use in more important applications. Alternatively, a tax on non-essential CRM could also restrict non-essential use of CRMs.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Market requirements for product design that support efficient identification and separation of CRM-enriched components and materials.
Although EU's eco-design directive requires design and construction of products to be done in a way that limits the environmental footprint of the product and includes resource efficiency and recycling issues to be addressed, no specific requirements regarding individual CRMs have so far been adopted. A specification of such requirements could help reduce the consumption of CRMs. Digital passport is another interesting concept that may be used to convey information about the CRM-content in the product to future collectors and recyclers.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
Design and construction of buildings and infrastructure that support easy identification and separation of CRM-rich materials during future decommissioning.
Buildings and infrastructure are currently constructed without any concern for recycling of CRM-content in the construction materials. This means that materials are produced and assembled in ways that obstruct rational separation and sorting of CRM-enriched waste during the later decommissioning and demolition phase. Additionally, no information is available that makes it possible to identify construction materials with enriched with CRMs. Some effort should be put into evaluating to what degree production of building materials, architectural plans and construction practices can be updated in ways that make collection of CRM-enriched raw materials from construction and demolition waste more efficient.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high

6.2 Measures for improved collection and sorting of CRM-waste                     

Separate collection and delivery of CRM-enriched waste for recycling.
A significant barrier to CRM-recycling is mixing of CRM-enriched waste with other waste materials. This issue can be handled by collecting waste streams that may be recycled for CRMs separately. This will normally add to the total waste management costs due to more complex transport and storage solutions. Mandated collection should therefore be considered either as a legal order or be built in as requirements in operation permits. Examples of CRM-enriched fractions that should be considered for separate collection are described in Appendix 3.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Landfill bans on recyclable CRM enriched waste.
Sometimes, recyclable CRM-enriched waste is landfilled because this is either less costly or convenient. A legal ban on landfilling of recyclable CRM-enriched materials can redirect these waste streams to recycling solutions.   
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Mono-cell landfilling of CMR-enriched waste that cannot yet be recycled at well-marked locations in the landfill.
CRM-enriched waste, like industrial slag, dust and sludge for which there are yet no available recycling options, should be landfilled in a way that will facilitate later excavations when new technology makes this possible. This entails that relevant waste types are not mixed with other waste, but landfilled in well-marked mono-cells. If mining operations or metal processing industry are landfilling sub streams of waste that are especially CRM rich, these sub streams should also be landfilled unmixed in well-marked mono-cells. Landfill requirements should be specified as a part of the operation permit.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Mapping of available CRMs for recycling as part of all decommissioning and demolition projects.
Preparations before demolition of buildings and infrastructure already require a survey that identify hazardous materials that must be picked down and handled separately. These studies should also include a survey of waste streams that contain materials suitable for CRM-recycling.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Recovery of CRM from wastewater.
Wastewater from industry and households contain low levels of dissolved and particular CRMs. Although standard sewage and wastewater treatment include chemical or biological steps to remove some pollutants and nutrient salts, no similar practice exists for recovery of valuable resources including CRMs exists, except for phosphate. Some wastewater treatment companies like VEAS that operate Norway’s largest wastewater treatment plant in the Oslo fjord have been exploring techniques for expanding the list of chemical compounds that can be removed from the wastewater. Technological options for recovering CRMs from wastewater should also be considered.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
low
Removal and sorting of components from printed circuit boards before recycling.
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) contain an array of CRM-enriched electrical components that differ in chemical composition. Conventional recycling of PCBs leads to loss of all but main CRMs in this waste material. If PCBs are stripped for components before recycling and each component is separated into different fractions this will allow for individual recycling processes that can capture a larger number of CRMs.  
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
Consider EPR-scheme for non-WEEE CRM-enriched waste streams.
EPR-schemes have proven to be efficient arrangements to ensure efficient collection and recycling of selected waste streams. Although EPR-schemes already exists for some CRM-enriched waste streams like WEEE and scrapped vehicles, many CRM-enriched waste streams like ammunition, alloys and catalysts are not part of an EPR-scheme. EPR-schemes for additional selected CRM-enriched waste streams should be considered.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
Upgrading EPR-scheme for waste regarding CRMs for WEEE, vehicles and tyres.          
Although existing EPR-scheme for WEEE, vehicles and tyres facilitate efficient collection of these waste categories, there is still large room for improvement regarding separation and sorting of CRM-enriched materials for recycling. Magnets are rarely recovered; batteries are often left inside discarded products that cannot be easily opened and printed circuit boards are not stripped for components that should be recycled separately due to labour costs of manual sorting. For scrapped vehicles the situation is even more problematic as many electronic components are not removed at all before shredding for the same reason. Therefore, the framework conditions for these EPR-schemes should be updated to include mandatory separation of CRM-enriched components and materials that can easily recycled.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
CRM-recycling obligation for sectors that are omitted from EPR-schemes.
Some sectors are omitted from EPR-schemes which creates uncertainty regarding how waste from these sectors is managed. Sectors typically excluded from one or several EPR-schemes include aviation, shipping, railways, military, space programs, nuclear power plants and the medical sector. Although there may be well founded reasons for these omissions, sectors outside EPR-schemes should still be required to seek recycling options for CRM-enriched waste as far as this can be done in a safe and secure manner.
Another example of waste omitted from EPR-schemes is metal and glass that are not considered to be packaging. To ensure better recycling of non-packaging glass, including window glass, and metal should be considered for incorporation in an EPR-scheme.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
R&D program for development of better sorting technology.
Technology must be developed that allows more effective sorting of recyclable CRM-enriched components and materials. Examples include the need for robots and other automated sorting systems that allow for picking out individual components like capacitators and magnets for selective collection and further treatment together with more efficient separation of individual alloys. Another example may be more advanced sorting systems for aluminium alloys that allow separation of individual alloys.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Mandatory sorting of magnets.
Magnets are difficult to separate from the products they are part of, partly because they are difficult to access, and partly due to their magnetic properties that create a stickiness problem where single magnets will cluster together with other magnets and cling to magnetic surfaces on conveyer belts and container walls. These challenges can only be overcome through manual sorting until automatic sorting systems become commercially available. By introducing legally binding sorting requirement for magnets for all waste sorting facilities that deal with waste streams that contain magnets, efficient and thorough recovery of magnetic materials from relevant waste streams can be established. This requirement can either be implemented in existing waste regulations or be incorporated in operational permits for relevant facilities.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
Industrial sorting system for magnets constructed by non-magnetic material to avoid stickiness problem.
The magnetic properties of magnets are known to create a stickiness problem where single magnets will cluster together with other magnets and cling to magnetic surfaces on conveyer belts and container walls blocking or chocking the movement of other magnets. One way to deal with this challenge may be to construct a sorting line for magnets in non-magnetic materials like brass or aluminium.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Increased security measures to guard against illegal looting of high value materials in WEEE.
Large volumes of high value materials are illegally looted from sorting facilities that store waste that can easily be stripped for easy to carry high value components. These high value components will often also contain CRMs that are lost for later recycling when removed. Better security measures may lead to reduced looting problems.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
R&D program for capturing CRM streams before ending up in unrecoverable recipients.
Much CRM content is bound in waste streams that are currently being used as feedstock for production of cement or glass or other ceramic materials. CRMs that are captured in low concentrations in cement or other very stable chemical structures will later be very difficult if not impossible to recover. Technical solutions that allow for extraction of CRMs from waste streams before this waste stream is being used as feedstock for such production processes should be examined.   
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Collection of CRM-enriched ammunition residues from shooting ranges.
Ammunition contain copper, antimony and sometimes bismuth. Collection of ammunition residues from shooting ranges will not only allow for these CRMs to be recycled but will also limit leaching of lead and other heavy metals from sediments at the shooting range. 
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Requirements or economic incentives for delivery of CRM-enriched waste to facilities that can recycle it.
When scrap dealers and waste collectors decide which final treatment collected waste will be sent to, costs obviously play a large part in this decision. Unless recycling options can compete with other waste treatment alternatives like incineration or landfilling, recyclable waste will often not be recycled. Regulatory requirements in operating permits, legal instruments or economic incentives may therefore be necessary to ensure that recyclable CRM-waste streams collected by a waste operator really is really recycled.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Information service that provides an overview of available recycling options for CRM-enriched waste.
All scrap dealers and waste management companies cannot be expected to keep up to date on all available recycling options. Lack of knowledge about available recycling options may lead to recyclable CRM-enriched waste being sent to other end treatments. An information service that gives an updated and complete overview of available recycling options for CRM-enriched waste may be useful in this regard. European waste industry is complex which means that it is not certain that all waste operators have sufficient knowledge of all available recycling options to be able to identify good recycling options for CRM-enriched waste.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Updating national regulations that restricts CRM-recycling.
CRM-recycling has so far not been a high concern when formulating regulatory demands for industry. National regulations and industry requirements may therefore contain regulatory barriers to better CRM-recycling.
Currently, there are significant restrictions on processing of and recycling from wastes classified as hazardous. Historically this have been justified by considerations for health, safety and environmental protection, and these concerns are obviously still just as valid. However some hazardous waste do contain high levels of recoverable CRMs and if these waste streams can be recycled without unacceptable risks then unnecessary regulatory barriers shouldn’t prevent this.
As an example, gallium, germanium and indium are CRMs that are difficult to extract and process, but can be captured from residual waste streams from zinc processing in Norway and Finland. Technology for extracting these elements exists, but is not implemented. If implemented, the stakeholders will face very different legislation whether an extraction plant is installed as a processing step in the existing hydrometallurgical plants – or if it is established as a stand-alone unit processing the jarosite zinc sludge already classified as a hazardous waste.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
low
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate

6.3 Measures for improved recycling of waste containing CRMs 

Program that monitors progress towards specific recycling targets for critical elements.
CRMA contains specific recycling targets for individual CRMs, not only CRM as a group. A program that monitors annual progress towards these goals will be an important tool in evaluating the national CRM-strategies that is implemented to reach these targets. The national statistic that is required for this purpose will be more detailed than existing waste statistics.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
State guarantee for recycling facilities.
Compared to mines, recycling plants have increased risks when it comes to access to feedstock. While a mine can map its geological resources in detail and plan with a long-time horizon, recycling facilities are at the mercy of constant changes in what products are put on the market and what ends up in the waste. To increase recycling with more metals and ensure that the most important metals are also recycled, government minimum price guarantees should be considered, as is done in the agricultural sector with a target price for foodstuffs or in the energy market with contracts for difference.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
R&D program for development of new or more efficient CRM-recycling.
No technology currently exists for recycling of many CRMs and waste streams where they occur. This means that although such CRM-enriched waste streams can be collected, no facilities are able to process it to recover available CRMs. For this reason, there is a need for massive R&D efforts to develop necessary technological solutions for CRM-recovery that cannot be done today.
Many existing recycling technologies that are currently deployed in recovering CRMs operate with low recovery rates and only recover one or a few CRMs, while remaining CRMs in the feedstock is lost. One example of this is recycling of circuit boards where copper and gold is recycled while tens of other important CRMs including tantalum, gallium, germanium and PGMs are lost in the slag. R&D efforts should be considered for developing or improving the following recycling options:  
  • More effective recycling of minor CRMs from PCB and portable batteries.
  • More recycling of shredder residue.
  • Extracting copper, antimony and bismuth from ammunition and sediments from firing ranges.
  • Extraction of phosphate from food waste, manure, sludge and bio residue from biogas production.
  • Synthetic graphite production based on CCU.
  • Recycling of baryte from offshore drilling fluids.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Minimum requirements for recycling efficiency when delivering CRM-enriched waste to recycling.
If several recycling options exist, CRM-enriched waste should be delivered to facilities that guarantee the most efficient recovery of available CRMs. To achieve status as a preferred recycling option, necessary documentation should be required from the recycler that verify minimum industry standard recycling performance. This minimum recycling requirement standard should not be set either unrealistically high or unreasonably low but reflect realistic recycling performances.
Expected effect of this measure:
low
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
low
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Mandatory reporting of recycled secondary CRM from recyclers.
Operators that recycle CRMs, should report actual recycling performance and the recovery rate of individual CRMs that are found in the processed feedstock to ensure optimal utilization of available waste streams for CRM-recycling.
Expected effect of this measure:
low
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
low
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
low
Incineration of selected waste streams in different W2E-plants that result in enhanced CRM-levels in ashes.
Ashes from incineration of waste contain all CRMs, some in sufficiently high concentrations that recovery may be an option. When mixed waste from many sources is incinerated, the ashes will generally contain lower CRM-concentrations than if CRM-enriched waste streams are incinerated separately. One way to obtain ashes with more favourable levels of CRM for recycling may be to dedicate selected W2E-plants for incineration of CRM-enriched waste streams like shredder residue. However, such a practice may present process challenges regarding incineration temperatures and flue gas cleaning.
Expected effect of this measure:
moderate
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
State investment fund that supports the establishment of new CRM recycling.
Building new Nordic CRM recycling capacity comes with considerable financial risk in today’s market. This risk can be lowered by a state investment fund that provides partial capital for financing Nordic CRM-recycling projects.  
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
National CRM-stock pile program that buys secondary CRM-products at regulated prices.
Strategic stockpiling of CRMs in the Nordic can reduce short and intermediate supply risks and provide a more predictable market situation for Nordic recycling plants that provide secondary CRMs. Historically, stockpiling of critical resources was much more common, for example during the Cold War era. However, increasing market liberalism appears to have reduced the political will to maintain strategic raw material stocks. This is an attitude that should perhaps be reconsidered in today’s global geopolitical climate.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Requirements or incentives for the use of secondary CRM products and materials in public procurement schemes.
For public projects that consumes CRM-containing products or materials, requirements for choosing options based on secondary CRMs should be introduced in the procurement scheme. Alternatively, the procurement scheme should be updated to take recycled content into account as an award criterion.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
moderate
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
high
Consider the establishment of a joint Nordic alum shale CRM recycling plant.
Nordic alum shale could be turned from a problematic waste issue to a relevant regional resource. As alum shale already is inflicted with a substantial gate fee for its treatment, this provides a financial advantage compared to mining of conventional ores. Alum shale contains many CRMs, including REE and base metals, sometimes at concentrations that could prove to be the extractable. If a CRM-recycling plant for alum shale is established this should be followed by a Nordic ban or restrictions on landfilling of alum shale.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Residues from zinc processing should be considered for CRM-recycling.
If proper extraction technologies for residues from zinc processing are implemented, it may be possible to extract both indium, germanium and gallium from these waste streams in volumes that may cover all Nordic needs. If the millions of tons of jarosite from earlier production is reprocessed as well – all European needs could be covered. The development of such a recycling process is expected to be costly and should receive financial support. A Nordic CRM recycling strategy for residues from zinc processing should consider a ban on todays practice where hazardous wastes without CRM value are blended with CRM-rich fractions. If a recycling process is established, use of jarosite as material for ceramic or glass production should also be restricted.
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
EAF-dust should be considered for CRM-recycling.
When iron and steel is recycled, EAF-dust is created as a waste stream. EAF dust contains many CRMs at concentrations that may be recyclable, but so far EAF recycling operations have focused almost exclusively on the recovery of zinc. Technologies for recovery of additional elements have been developed but are so far not implemented on an industrial scale. If CRM recycling for EAF-dust becomes available landfilling and export to low quality recycling of EAF-dust with recoverable levels or CRMs should be banned.  
Expected effect of this measure:
high
Expected financial costs of implemen­tation:
high
Expected cost effectiveness of measure:
moderate
Nordic Council of Ministers I www.norden.org/publications I pub@norden.org