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أخبار الخليج
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European electronic waste left untapped
The article discusses the issue of unexploited resources from electronic waste in the European Union, which are valued at over 65 billion euros. This is due to the accumulation of old devices and entertainment electronics containing strategic raw materials such as copper, aluminum, lithium, and cobalt. Studies indicate that the collection rate of electronic waste does not exceed 43% of more than 13 million tons annually, with around 700 million unused smartphones containing approximately 50,000 tons of strategic materials—most of which originate from outside the Union, particularly China. Export restrictions and crises in the raw materials market are leading to increased costs, while poor waste management results in the loss of valuable metals. Proposed solutions include adopting the "Cradle to Cradle" concept to design devices that are easier to recycle, improving disassembly processes for old devices to better utilize the materials, and potentially supplying up to 50% of the materials needed for manufacturing new devices through larger circular economic cycles.
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