The European Union (EU) drew a new route to ensure raw material safety in the face of increasing fragility in global supply chains. As an alternative to traditional mining areas, the drawers of the houses, the city dumps and scrap were declared a new source area. This method, called “urban mining”, aims to recover the rare elements found in old electronic devices. It is estimated that there are about 700 million old mobile phones in EU countries. These devices include a small amount of lithium, cobalt, manganese, niobium and rare soil elements. According to the European Environmental Agency (EEA) data, a European family has an average of 74 electronic devices and 13 of them are kept in homes without ever being used.
In need of ‘raw materials’
90 percent of the valuable soil minerals used in the EU are still imported from outside Europe. The largest suppliers are China, Russia and Southeast Asian countries. While this is considered as “strategic weakness ında in the European Commission, it is aimed to increase the recycling rate from 1 percent to 25 percent within the scope of the Critical Raw Material Law. In this respect, it is planned to establish systems that will collect electronic wastes in each EU country and to make it necessary to reach 2 thousand 700 recycling facilities on the continent. However, there are some obstacles in front of these studies. In the reports prepared on the basis of the European Environment Agency, it is emphasized that each European family has an average of 74 electronic devices, while 13 of them were accumulated in houses even though they were not used.
Environmental destruction will be prevented
In 2026, the EU also prepares a comprehensive law on waste management and recycling. Especially in raw materials such as concrete, steel, aluminum and glass, it is aimed to encourage building renewal instead of building destruction in order to reduce external dependence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to EEA reports, more than 60 percent of emissions in the EU structures are caused by building materials. For this reason, it is emphasized that both the repair and reuse of digital devices and the recycling of structures will be a priority environmental strategy.
4 billion euros earnings
When the recycling planning is implemented, it is calculated that the EU can get rid of an import burden of 3 to 4 billion euros per year by transforming electronic wastes. In addition, thanks to urban mining, it is aimed to reduce the environmental destruction and carbon footprint caused by underground mining.
Greenhouse gas measure
In the information given by the European Commission on this issue, a comprehensive law will be carried out in 2026 on waste. With the law, it is aimed to minimize external dependence in traditional raw materials such as concrete, aluminum, steel and glass, which is formed by 40 percent of the total waste weight in the EU. In recycling, greenhouse gas rates will be decisive. According to experts, the re -use and repair of electronic devices as well as building renewal will be a better solution than destruction in terms of environmental impact..
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