Renewables target needs recycling action
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Embargo: 00:01hrs Tuesday 01 March 2011
Rare Earth Metal recycling programme needed to protect green energy Government plans to achieve 15% renewable energy by 2020 may soon become unattainable unless swift action is taken to recycle some of the planet’s most prized resources, Rare Earth Metals (REMs), according to the RICS submission to the Government’s Science and Technology Committee. These 17 metals are fundamental components in all current renewable energy technologies - from solar panels, wind farms and hydroelectric turbines to possible energy conservation systems and nuclear applications. However, with the Chinese government controlling around 97% of REM production and growing global shortages, a recycling programme is badly needed to protect the future of renewable energy production. Abundant quantities of REMs already exist ‘above ground’ in the form of obsolete consumer technology, with an estimated 30 million computers and laptops containing these metals currently lying unused in the UK. RICS would like to see a comprehensive recycling programme introduced to meet demand, and safeguard the future of renewable energy. No active commercial recycling programme currently exists in the UK. However, a ‘closed-loop’ production process involving collecting unused electronic equipment and reusing the elements is both economically and practically viable. Rebecca Mooney, RICS Project Executive, said: “The growing shortage of Rare Earth Metals could very soon have a considerable impact on the future of renewable energy. Many current green technologies are wholly reliant on these elements. A policy similar to the EU’s WEEE Directive on electronic equipment recovery is urgently needed, as failure to act could mean that future green energy projects become economically unfeasible. “The UK does not have a secure domestic source of these critical materials. For this very reason, we should be investigating how to recover what has already been harvested and is lying unused or being discarded as waste. These metals are extremely difficult to isolate and mine, yet we are allowing them to be disposed of after just one use. While such abundant quantities of these metals available above ground in the form of obsolete technologies, we should not be pursuing costly extraction processes of virgin materials.” -ENDS- Notes: Rare Earth Metals (REM) are a group of 17 metallic elements in the periodic table: Yttrium, Scandium, Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium. About RICS RICS is the world’s leading qualification when it comes to professional standards in land, property and construction. In a world where more and more people, governments, banks and commercial organisations demand greater certainty of professional standards and ethics, attaining RICS status is the recognised mark of property professionalism. Over 100 000 property professionals working in the major established and emerging economies of the world have already recognised the importance of securing RICS status by becoming member. RICS is an independent professional body originally established in the UK by Royal Charter. Since 1868, RICS has been committed to setting and upholding the highest standards of excellence and integrity – providing impartial, authoritative advice on key issues affecting businesses and society. RICS is a regulator of both its individual members and firms enabling it to maintain the highest standards and providing the basis for unparalleled client confidence in the sector. |
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