Non-recycled electronic waste could threaten green energy sources

Staff sort through a deposit of WEEE items awaiting recycling at KMK Metals Recycling facilities in Tullamore (PA/Conor McCabe Photography)

Ireland and other European nations risk jeopardising green energy sources if they fail to hit upcoming EU targets to recycle critical raw materials, according to an Irish waste recycling scheme.

Electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar-power generators all require components such as lithium, magnesium, copper and nickel but Europe is currently importing the vast majority of the rare earth materials it uses, according to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Ireland.