Eswet’s position paper on Waste-to-Energy contributions to Critical Raw Materials supply
Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) are essential to Europe’s industrial competitiveness, clean energy transition, and strategic autonomy. In this context, Waste-to-Energy plays a unique role by not only recovering energy from residual waste but also extracting valuable metals and minerals from incineration ashes. These recovered materials can re-enter the economy, reducing dependence on imports and supporting the development of resilient, circular European value chains.
This paper sets out ESWET’s perspective on how Waste-to-Energy contributes to the supply of CRMs, highlighting the potential of both incineration bottom ash (IBA) and fly ash as important sources of secondary raw materials.
ESWET Analysis:
Following the waste hierarchy (established in Article 4 of the Waste Framework Directive) priority needs to be given to waste reduction, preparing for re-use and recycling. However, not every waste is recyclable; waste can be contaminated or polluted, it may be made up of composite materials, and most materials cannot be recycled indefinitely. This residual, non-recyclable waste needs to be treated accordingly, either through a recovery operation, or as a last resort, via disposal in landfills.
WtE plants play an important role in the recovery of valuable metals – including aluminium, copper, zinc, and rare elements – from IBA and fly ash. These secondary raw materials contribute to reducing Europe’s dependency on imported CRMs, supporting circularity, and enhancing industrial resilience. However, this contribution is still often overlooked.