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Rapid shift to evolving renewable energy technologies poses new waste challenge for Europe
Introducing measures such as stronger eco-design requirements, increased emphasis on repair and upgrading, and material-specific recycling targets will address the waste and resource challenges and underpin the sustainability of renewable energy. The briefing ‘Emerging waste streams’ highlights that there is a unique opportunity for the European Union to anticipate this change and to introduce policies which apply circular economy principles to this emerging sector from an early stage.
Key messages:
- Waste arising from the development and use of renewable energy infrastructure is resource-rich and includes rare earth elements as well as other valuable materials such as steel, copper and glass.
- The fast pace of technological development means that equipment can be subject to relatively rapid obsolescence and can generate complex waste streams, thus presenting technical and logistical challenges for managing this infrastructure at the end-of-life stage.
- Recovering materials and reintroducing them into the production cycle faces challenges: complex logistics (high volumes and material often needing to be recovered from remote locations); design that does not consider end of life or recyclability; and the presence of hazardous substances.
- Policy makers and industry can address the waste and resource challenges associated with the shift to renewable energy technologies through circular economy approaches such as eco-design, material-specific recycling targets and extended producer responsibility schemes.
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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/rapid-shift-to-evolving-renewable or scan the QR code.
PDF generated on 05 Feb 2023, 07:42 PM
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