THE PROJECT

RENEW is a three-year project funded by the EIT Raw Materials.

The project aims at validating technologies that allow the separation of plastic from the metals contained in the Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) that are found in Waste from Electrical and electronic Equipment (WEEE), as well as the study and validation of technologies for the recovery of the separated plastic.

Purpose of RENEW project is to reduce the carbon footprint of the WEEE recycling process in the copper sector, minimizing the presence of plastics and studying their recovery.

Acting at the beginning of the chain, a part of the project will be dedicated to the test of innovative eco-points to increase the amount of collected WEEE.

BENEFITS RENEW WILL BRING

RENEW activities will lead to a better and improved performance of the European smelting and recycling operations, by:

• increasing the metal treatment capacity of smelting furnaces (increase of the concentration of metals in recycling furnaces input material);
• studying ways to recover and valorise the epoxy;
• improving recycling of PCBs and increasing the value of the recycled PCBs;
• reducing the PCBs recycling process CO2 footprint;
• testing innovative collection eco-points and increasing WEEE collection.