UK-based resources charity WRAP is heading up an EU-funded project to explore the commercial opportunities for recovering raw materials from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

The EU LIFE-funded project – Critical Raw Material Closed Loop Recovery (CRM Recovery) – will link collection methods with ‘recovery success’, according to WRAP.

The project will aim to look at viable alternative commercial streams for materials from WEEE that boost the economy while reducing “our reliance on the earth’s natural capital and the need for mining raw materials”.

Participants

Four countries – each representing varying maturity stages of recovery development – are participating in the project: the UK, Germany, Italy and Turkey.

Findings from the project will be fed back into the European Commission as policy recommendations and proposals for infrastructure development for effective recovery and recycling of these WEEE materials, WRAP says.

Dr Liz Goodwin OBE, WRAP chief executive, said: “We’re delighted to lead this project which will find effective routes for collecting and recovering valuable materials from electrical and electronic products. I look forward to seeing how these new insights inform the bigger picture, demonstrating the economic and environmental benefits of making better use of resources across Europe.”