JRC: list of waste streams with the greatest recovery potential for critical raw materials — 46% of these materials in small electronic equipment is lost at collection
On 29 May 2026 the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) presented a report supporting Article 26 of the Critical Raw Materials Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1252). It identifies products, components and waste streams rich in critical and strategic raw materials that Member States must at least consider in their national programmes of circularity measures.
- The list includes batteries, electrical and electronic equipment, wind turbines and related infrastructure, motor vehicles, light means of transport, energy and telecommunication infrastructure, industrial pumps, industrial catalysts, digestate and compost from separately collected biowaste, slag, sludges and ashes, and construction and demolition waste — particularly aluminium and copper alloys and cables in buildings.
- In small electrical and electronic equipment, 46% of the strategic and critical raw materials contained is lost at collection, although items such as hard disk drives and cables have significant recovery potential if well collected and treated. Raw materials in electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines are often not sufficiently recovered.
- Permanent magnets from wind turbines tend to get lost in bulk steel and aluminium waste flows instead of being recovered separately; losses are projected to rise from 1.9 thousand tonnes a year in 2022 to around 45 thousand tonnes a year in 2030, when the first large wave of turbines reaches end of life. The report sees significant room for improvement in recovering, for example, rare earth elements from magnets and aluminium parts from vehicles.
- The Science for Policy report supports the implementing act under Article 26; its key messages are summarised in the JRC factsheet “From waste streams to Critical Raw Material sources” (July 2026). The JRC notes that the findings are also useful for implementing the Battery Regulation, the proposed End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation and the rules on waste electrical and electronic equipment.
Source: JRC — JRC identifies key opportunities for critical raw material recovery (29.05.2026)