A second chance for second life

Europe has a transformative, urgent opportunity to put circularity at the heart of its economy and reduce its needless overreliance on others for critical minerals. This chance must not go to waste.

In an era where international relations are becoming resolutely transactional and global supply chains are under threat, Europe’s external dependencies are increasingly vulnerable.  One such case is the challenge of securing access to critical metals, which are vital for the survival and growth of any industrial ecosystem – and society at large. 

Critical raw materials like germanium, rhodium and cobalt, are uniquely valuable in today’s world. They are the backbone of our daily needs and technological progress. Without them, communication networks would falter, industries would emit more pollutants and medical devices would be unreliable. These metals define circularity: they can be endlessly recycled – from waste electronics to catalysts and batteries – back to their original state and reintroduced into production without any loss of quality, thereby reducing reliance on mining and exposure to geopolitical risks.

Access to critical raw materials is crucial for the European Union to sustain and enhance its strategic autonomy and competitive edge on the global stage. Indeed, the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, a key component of the Green Deal, aims to ensure that products and materials are recycled rather than discarded, keeping them within the world’s largest single market for as long as possible.

Clearly, without these metals, the implications are vast and far-reaching. Yet, policy making has lagged for too long. The shipment of waste within the EU is a case in point.

How big is the problem?

Consider this: waste exports from the EU to non-EU countries have surged 72% since 2004 to 35 million tons per year in 2023. Alarmingly, nearly half goes to non-OECD countries, which often lack the infrastructure and process technologies to manage waste safely, sustainably and efficiently. 

One key factor for this surge is bureaucracy among EU Member States.

The EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation is based on the international Basel Convention for the safe handling, recycling and disposal of classified hazardous waste moving across borders. This involves approvals from the countries of export, transit and destination. While smooth transits within the EU Single Market to EU-based refiners and recyclers would seem logical, the reality is different.

Refiners and recyclers like Umicore face fragmented EU national and regional policies. As the world’s largest refiner of 20 precious, critical and minor metals, Umicore’s challenges – and those of our worldwide suppliers – are particularly pronounced. We also bring these very metals back to life with our advanced materials technologies, enabling the functioning of our customers’ catalysts, satellites and semiconductors.

Opportunity worn down by bureaucracy

Even if the EU’s waste shipment regulations will facilitate shipments by 2027 within the Single Market, red tape remains dense today. 

Outdated practices persist, with some Member States requiring fax correspondence and others blue ink signatures. Rules for transboundary hazardous waste shipment vary: certifications valid in one country, or province, are rejected in another; some demand carrier signatures, others environmental ID numbers; and still others specify transport by rail instead of truck. Moreover, during the last review of these rules, Member States failed to agree on standardising waste transport costs or using English for notifications.

As a result, valuable waste often sits in transit for many months.

Suppliers are forced to wait for valuable recycled materials or monetary returns while running up costs and admin time. The ones that cannot afford this send their waste to countries with less sustainable processing practices and lower recovery yields, leading to landfilling. For Europe, our industry and for Umicore, it means a loss in business and opportunity to recover critical metals responsibly at the highest yields. Industries reliant on these critical materials may therefore turn to more primary metals from mining.

In the midst of all of these intra-EU inconsistencies and inefficiencies, multiple opportunities are being squandered. 

Letting valuable resources slip away undermines the business case for recycling, hinders efforts to establish a sustainable circular economy and jeopardises climate targets. It increases exposure to supply-side shocks, risks industrial resilience and compromises strategic autonomy. 

Second chance for the Single Market?

To address these challenges, including the target of sourcing 25% of its critical raw materials from recycled sources by 2030, the EU must urgently complete the Single Market for waste shipments, especially for waste streams rich in critical materials.

Much-needed change is on the horizon. Following the landmark report by former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, President Ursula von der Leyen and her Commission have promised to deliver a Single Market Strategy on 21 May. 

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the EU-27 to decide and act on transformative change, enabling a Single Market for the circular economy to thrive and for greater independence. It would unlock economies of scale, spur competition and innovation and benefit consumers. In practical terms, cross-border waste management offers closer by, more efficient or cheaper facilities reducing financial and environmental costs. Strategically, it would optimise the use of readily available waste resources, reducing overreliance on imports, strengthening economic and supply chain resilience – and the EU’s global relevance.

EU Member States must face their responsibilities in facilitating a truly Single Market for such strategic assets. What goes around comes around.