ProSUM project

New 'Urban Mining' tools map valuable resources in EU's e-waste, scrap vehicles and mining waste

The EU-financed ProSUM project (Prospecting Secondary raw materials in the Urban mine and Mining wastes) has now reached completion with the launch of the Urban Mine Platform.

Created by 17 partners and 25 Linked Third Parties, the Urban Mine Platform, presents the flows of materials contained in batteries, vehicles and electrical and electronic equipment in the EU plus Norway and Switzerland, from being put on the market to their end of life. The project revealed that roughly 18 million tonnes of these products enter the waste stream each year with the potential to provide a rich source of valuable and critical secondary raw materials. The EU, Norway and Switzerland generated around 10.5 million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in 2016 - about 23% of the world total. In addition, 2 million tonnes of batteries and some 7 to 8 million tonnes of EU vehicles reach their end-of-life annually.

Download: Final report

December 2017