The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) is a NGO that is continuing to lobby European governments to take urgent action to improve recycling and reuse and reduce resource take.
The EEB has criticised the thrust of a recent EU Policy document because it relies too heavily on trade agreements and mining of virgin resources to meet growing needs. EEB point to urban mining as a better way forward. They say that whilst recovery of raw materials may be low, less energy is used than in the primary production of materials used for electronics, etc. Using less energy will lead to low CO2 emissions and will feed through to lower costs for producers.
EEB believes it makes little sense for the EU to continue exporting huge amounts of electronic scrap to the developing world, where precious materials are not treated and properly recovered. To illustrate, up to 100% of gold in e-waste can be recovered by using the latest technologies , whereas just 25% is recovered when it is exported. The same principle applies to the recovery of a further 15 to 20 precious metals. The failure to make full use of the availability of good collection and sophisticated recycling facilities indicates a need to take a more holistic, joined-up approach to waste management and recycling.
Not everyone agrees. Johannes Drielsma from Euromines points out that the total tonnage of gold in in the amount of mobile phones sold globally is only 3% of mine production. Mobiles contain small amounts of gold, they are scattered around the world and they have to be collected.
Drielsma says that the recycling and mining industries have a shared problem in obtaining materials in sufficient concentrations to make extraction economically viable and this applies to both virgin and urban mining. Both processes require energy use and it some cases it might be cheaper to opt for natural mining.