Despite the efforts made in thecircular economyover 87% of resource consumption in the European Union still depends on virgin raw materials. Given an average global per capita consumption of resources of around 12.5 tonnes per year, it is clear that current policies are not sufficient to reduce the use of matter firstwhose demand will grow – compared to 2000 – by 2.5 times by 2050. In the face of this scenario, the role of Extended Producer Responsibility Systems which in addition to being a waste prevention and management tool will also become a vector for the supply and optimization of resources.
This is what emerges from the Study “Erion Vision 2050: Past, Present and Future of Extended Producer Responsibility Systems” commissioned by Erion to the consultancy firm dds+ and presented on 20 June 2024 on the occasion of the “Forum on Extended Producer Responsibility” event. The new European generation of Collective Systems” at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence.
“The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems, born in the 90s both to organize and finance waste management and to stimulate better product design, now find themselves facing an important challenge: bridging the gap between the sustainability programs and the supply of strategic resources for the European Union” – He states Danilo Bonato, General Manager of Erion Compliance Organization. “It is therefore crucial to rethink the role of EPR within the EU, particularly in response to the urgent demands for Critical Raw Materials and the imperative to decarbonise the economy within a framework consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Faced with this scenario, to achieve the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 it will be necessary, first of all, to promote a market unique for the recovery of Critical Raw Materials (CRM – palladium, neodymium, cobalt, lithium, tantalum, etc.) and guarantee efficiency of the recycling on a European scale, ensuring supply to the main production sites. Suffice it to say that in the clean-tech sector, the demand for lithium, compared to global demand, has gone from 30% in 2017 to 56% in 2022 and that of Cobalt from 17% to 40%. Consequently, the increasingly pressing need for CRM has led to an increase in exploration activities and investments in mining infrastructure which have thus increased by 30% in 2022 (IEA source).
The size of the market for these materials, necessary for the transition energy, reached $320 billion in 2022, making them one of the focuses of the mining industry. In fact, it is estimated that by 2030 the global demand for CRM, necessary to achieve the decarbonisation objectives set by the European Commission, will grow 3.5 times exceeding 30 million tonnes (source: IEA – Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario).
“Encouraging companies to leverageecodesign and using recycled materials in their new products is essential to support closing loops and reducing dependence from new natural resources. – continues Bonato – “The promotion of innovative business models, such as product as a service, can positively orient consumer behavior and shift economic attention from ownership to use by promoting sustainability in a rapidly evolving market.”
Furthermore, i Systems Collectives they must necessarily have the role of guarantor of compliance with legal obligations to allow the correct disposal of waste by consumers and the recovery of secondary raw materials. To do this, a widespread increase in collection networks will also be necessary both to guarantee optimal waste recovery and to allow the Collective Systems themselves to support local authorities in achieving the collection rates set by the European Union. Whereas the new Regulation European on Critical Raw Materials requires that, by 2030, 25% of annual consumption comes from recycling so as to make Europe less dependent on third countries, it will be even more important to improve the efficiency and circularity of resources. To date, unfortunately, innovative business models of the circular economy in Europe record an average penetration of between 5-10%. Recycled materials represent only 8.6% of incoming materials and the share of product regeneration compared to new production is stuck at 1.9%.
From the point of view of the product it will be important to optimize its life cycle starting from the design: the Parliament Europeanlast April 23 introduced the concept of eco-modulation within the new Regulation on eco-design for sustainable products (ESPR) which provides for the introduction of requirements eco-design And standard minimum regarding durability, reparability, energy efficiency and recycling of goods. This will allow us to combat premature obsolescence practices through design changes and by leveraging the sharing of the critical issues of waste management to improve the recyclability and environmental impact of products. Packaging products represent an excellent case of how EPR has led to dematerialisation, the reduction of the types of plastics used, the thickness itself and the dangerous substances present.
Last, but not least i consumers must be incentivized and encouraged towards correct disposal practices, especially for products with very short or very long life cycles. Awareness campaigns are needed to increase public participation in waste collection initiatives and to stimulate their interest in preferring eco-sustainable products, as well as awareness of the environmental impact of incorrect waste management (for example abandoning cigarette filters).
“The Legislator must also do its part, to align with Vision 2050 by demanding greater compliance with quality standards for collection and treatment, reducing the dispersion of materials and guaranteeing high quality recycling. – he declares Federico MagaliniDirector of Sustainability UK of dds+ – It is then necessary to incentivize the market for recycled materials with mandatory requirements for the use of recycled material in new products, giving priority to the quality of the recovered material over the mere quantities of recycled waste.”
(Photo: Dominik Vanyi on Unsplash)
