Policy Objectives

Policy Objectives

The PCR project supports Europe in reaching goals and mandates as set out by the following Directives of the European Parliament and of the Council:

  • Waste Framework Directive [2008/98/EC]
  • Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) Directive [2012/19/EU]
  • Waste Incineration Directive [2000/76/EC]
  • Proposed Soil Framework Directive [COM(2006) 232]
  • Landfill Directive [1999/31/EC]
  • European Parliament resolution of 24 May 2012 on a resource-efficient Europe [2011/2068(INI)]

Replicability in the EU

The replicability possibilities of the LIFE PCR demonstration project are huge. In Europe there are >450 Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants producing >20 M tonnes of WtE bottom ash. More than 60 000 tonnes of copper and 30 000 tonnes of zinc can be produced from these bottom ashes annually.

Besides WtE bottom ashes the technology can be applied on other secondary “zinc rich” non-ferrous waste flows derived from for instance WEEE, End of Life Vehicles (ELV) and shredder residues. These markets can potentially contribute more to the replicability compared to the WtE-bottom ash market.