Every year, on average, each Italian throws almost 2 kg of small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and 0.12 kg of battery waste into the unsorted waste, rather than placing it in dedicated collection channels. Intercepting these quantities would allow the collection rate of small WEEE to increase from 17% to 37%, and that of portable batteries from 25% to 52%: a functional increase to reach the targets set by the EU, which are equal to 65% for WEEE and 45% for used portable batteries. A study carried out by Erion Energy, Erion WEEE and the Department of Mechanics of the Polytechnic of Milan shows that the removal of these types of waste from the undifferentiated flow is technically feasible, but requires an overall investment of approximately 100 million euros.
The objective is twofold: on the one hand, to recover critical raw materials, which would otherwise be incinerated or lost in landfill; on the other hand, improve the safety of the plants, since the lithium batteries present in residual municipal waste (Rur) can cause fires during treatment operations.
The study "Solutions for the removal of battery waste and small WEEE from unsorted waste: technologies, costs and drivers", was presented at the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan during the event "Batteries and small WEEE in unsorted waste: can technology close the collection gap?". To verify the feasibility of this type of intervention, the researchers took the Ecologia Viterbo plant as a reference case, one of the most important players in the treatment of RUR in Central Italy, simulating the integration of technological solutions based on bag opening systems, X-ray scanners, robots for automatic identification and separation.
According to the analysis, the introduction of the necessary technologies in the RUR Mechanical-Biological Treatment (MBT) plants would require an investment of between 1.5 and 2.9 million euros for each plant, depending on the level of automation adopted. Assuming its implementation on the main 60 TMB plants (which cover 80% of the RUR flow generated annually in Italy), the overall investment would be between 65 and 114 million euros.
Although this figure is all in all contained in relation to the overall economic dimension of the urban waste sector in our country, this type of investment presents a structural problem: it does not generate sufficient revenues to independently cover the depreciation and consequently is not profitable in itself in the current tariff framework of RUR management.
The study highlighted what external policy tools can be implemented to make the introduction of technologies for the interception and separation of battery waste and small WEEE in TMB plants sustainable.
A first tool could be represented by direct public incentives (national/regional tenders or non-repayable grants) to encourage the installation of new technologies; the incentivized investment, however, brings with it a misalignment of incentives between the financier and the operator, since the latter can be led to install the equipment to access the financing, without however having a real strategic interest in its continuous operation: the risk is therefore that of creating spot systems that function only nominally.
More effective would be the introduction of a regulatory obligation, which provides for the interception of spent batteries and small WEEE in all TMB plants; in this way the investment would be progressively incorporated into the economic-financial plans of the plants and in the tenders for the assignment of the service, guaranteeing homogeneous conditions among the operators, avoiding competitive distortions and encouraging a widespread diffusion of the technologies throughout the national territory.
"The technologies available today make it possible to intercept a non-negligible part of battery waste and small WEEE even after their incorrect disposal among unsorted waste by citizens - states Laura Castelli, General Director of Erion Energy - However, these systems must be considered a complementary solution and not a substitute for dedicated collection. The priority remains promoting correct behavior on the part of citizens and making collection points increasingly widespread and accessible".
"The study highlights once again how the world of waste needs a strategic vision and policy tools consistent with this strategic vision", declares Giorgio Arienti, General Director of Erion WEEE. “The 'free market' alone does not go in the right direction: adequate regulatory tools can allow the country to make important steps forward in the recycling of critical raw materials”.
"The growing presence of batteries in unsorted waste imposes a new challenge: developing technologies capable of recognizing and separating them automatically, transforming an environmental problem into an opportunity for recovery and valorisation", underlines Marcello Colledani, Professor at the Polytechnic of Milan - Department of Mechanics. “The solution combines sensors based on X-ray and optical technology, artificial intelligence and robotic systems, paving the way for a more efficient, sustainable and advanced industrial application in battery recovery.”
Speakers at the event included: Laura Castelli, General Director of Erion Energy, Marcello Colledani, Professor at the Polytechnic of Milan - Department of Mechanics, Laura Mascheretti, from the Strategic Development and Innovation team of Erion Compliance Organization, Susana Ferreira, Waste Management Director of Electrão (Portugal), Jan Vlak, Managing Director of Stichting Open (Netherlands), Martina Votta, Technical Director of Ecologia Viterbo, Guglielmo Sepe, Erion Energy Board of Directors and Public Policy Manager of Amazon, Carlo Samori, Sole Representative for the WEEE program industry in Confindustria.
