Throwing Away Our Future?

Rare metals (like cobalt, indium, lithium, neodymium and yttrium) are essential for 'green' (low carbon) technologies. These metals are needed for circuit boards, magnets for disc drives, batteries and fluorescent lamps etc. A report from Cewaste (funded by the EU) found that rare metals are only rarely recycled (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/10/recycling-rare-metals-climate-green-technology). Much more common metals such as copper and iron are recycled. Companies suggest, however, that the amounts of rare metals in discarded devices, makes their recovery 'uneconomic'. Rare metals (the clue's in the name) are actually rare. Many are also mined in parts of the world (e.g. the DRC) that are not politically stable. The Cewaste report says stronger rules are essential to counter the 'throw away' attitude and force manufacturing electronics companies to recycle rare metals. Otherwise, our ability to operate low carbon economies could easily be jeopardised by scarcity.