Experience tells us that circular economy systems do not form themselves judging from historic linear approaches which explore for, exploit, process and use metals only to discard these at the end of life. Even where metals are recycled, these efforts are limited in ambition and undiscerning in terms of the materials recovered. It follows that regulation may be important in correcting this market failure by employing a mixture of carrots and sticks to incentivise circular approaches. The legal and regulatory framework in relation to the life cycle of technology metals is embedded in the Observatory with links as appropriate through to these pages. Note that when we talk about law, we include here not only hard law (statutory) provisions but also soft law instruments such as codes of practice, or product standards. Similarly, when discussing regulations, included here are governance mechanisms which often bridge the public and the private sector such that for example contracts for materials may help police environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of supply chain actors. As this suggests, this section is also concerned with ethical dimensions of the circulation of technology metals.
- Recycling targets do not currently go far enough for most categories of products containing critical minerals (e.g. EVs, WEEE). Recycling targets need to be more ambitious and robust to build an effective circular economy
- Even where they do exist, recycling targets are often broad and based on overall weight of product. This does not facilitate recovery of the most critical minerals, thus recycling targets should be more specific and focussed on those components that face the greatest supply threats
- Most end-of-life regulations do not focus eco-design, being largely focussed solely on managing waste streams. However, in a truly efficient circular economy, end of life management should begin at the start of product design and manufacture, so that products are easy to remove, disassemble and recycle. Introducing regulations to mandate eco-design of products could significantly help to improve recycling efficiency
- Regulations to increase product longevity, replaceability of components as well as to make products easier to repair are imperative for achieving CE goals and maximising value harnessed
- Introducing measures to incentivise eco-labelling
- Improving levels of compliance coupled with better enforcement