EMR executive speaks on rise of urban mining

U.K.-based EMR Metal Recycling says the rise in urban mining, a philosophy that sees the recycled material not as waste but as a valuable resource, can help save the planet.

EMR Managing Director for Technology and Innovation Roger Morton, says EMR "mines" the metals and plastics it recycles. Those items arrive from several sources that Morton says would otherwise dispose of them, including industrial, commercial and domestic waste and even ships and oil rigs.  

Copper is one material recovered through urban mining. Morton says in the long term, it will be even more important to reuse metals like copper, nickel, cobalt and others, as the mineable metals available will continue to run out over the next century. He cites the Copper Alliance, which says current proven reserves of copper will run out in 46 years at our current rate of usage.* The World 7 model, meanwhile, predicts global supplies of nickel will run out by 2130.

Morton says urban mining is what recycling companies have always done, but the technology behind it has changed over the last 15 years. EMR says it has followed innovations in the mining and coal processing industries, as well as food processing.

However, Morton says, the United Kingdom faces major challenges if the country wants to remain an urban mining leader. EMR says it has more than 60 sites across the U.K., as well as operations in the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands.

Morton adds that EMR is developing methods to capture the tiniest quantities of rare-earth metals and other strategic materials from the waste stream to send straight to a smelter to be turned into useful products.

This adds to EMR’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint in the next decade – part of Our Decade of Action strategy – and a target to become a net-zero company by 2040.

Morton says if the U.K. is going to fully use all of the high-value material in waste, all parts of the supply chain need to be on board, with industries including technology firms and manufacturers designing their products so recycling companies can increase yields.

One example is CEFLEX, a circular economy for flexible packaging. CEFLEX is a major collaboration between all the parts of the supply chain on flexible packaging, and the CEFLEX initiative involves collaboration between brands, packaging converters, product designers, retailers, waste companies and recyclers to simplify flexible packaging design to make it more recyclable.

EMR also is involved in Recovas, a government-funded partnership with other recyclers and car manufacturers – including BMW, Bentley Motors and Jaguar Land Rover and Warwick University – to create an end-of-life supply chain for electric vehicle batteries.

*A spokesperson from the International Copper Association, which leads the Copper Alliance, says, “Copper Alliance says current proven reserves of copper will run out in 46 years at our current rate of usage" is not an accurate representation of the organization's data. She adds that since 1950 there have always been, on average, 40 years of copper reserves and over 200 years of resources left. Therefore, running out of copper in 46 years is not at all likely as more reserves become available depending on price and technology development.