Transcript Slide 1

Promotion of Green Industries in
Recycling
COPS, 2nd Mai 2013, H. Leuenberger
Heinz Leuenberger PhD
Director, Environmental Management Branch
THE GREEN INDUSTRY INITIATIVE
Greening of Industries
Creating New Green
Industries
Helping enterprises improve resource
productivity and environmental performance







Efficient use of materials, energy and
water
Reduction of wastes and emissions
Safe and responsible management of
chemicals, renewable raw materials
Phasing out toxic substances
Substituting fossil fuels with
renewable energy sources
Using recycled raw-materials
Product and process redesign, Green
Chemistry
Establishing new operations delivering
environmental goods and services






Reduce, reuse and recycle (3R)
industries
Pollution control technology and
equipment
Renewable and energy-efficient
technologies
Re-engineering of production
processes and redesign of products
Waste management and resource
recovery
Environmental advisory and analytical
services
Resource Efficiency: Savings Opportunities

US$ 2.9 trillion savings in 2030 from capturing the resource productivity potential

Rising to US$ 3.7 trillion if carbon is priced at $30 per tonne, subsidies on water,
energy, and agriculture are eliminated, and energy taxes are removed

15 opportunities can deliver about 75% of total resource productivity benefits, for
example:
Reducing food waste
• Reducing municipal water leakage
• Higher energy efficiency in the iron and steel industry
• Increasing transport fuel efficiency
• Improving end-use steel efficiency
• Improving power plant efficiency
Source: McKinsey (2011)
Business as Usual is Not Necessary
Source: McKinsey (2011)
GI Flagship:
Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production

Continuous application of preventive environmental strategies to
processes, products and services to increase efficiency and reduce risks
to humans and the environment
1.
RECP addresses three sustainability dimensions individually and
synergistically:



2.
3.
Production efficiency

Through improved productive use of natural resources by enterprises
Environmental management

Through minimization of the impact on nature by enterprises
Human development

Through reduction of risks to people and communities from enterprises and
supporting their development
Since 1994, promoted globally through support for set up
of National Cleaner Production Centres, in 50 developing
and transition countries,
Main Donors: Switzerland, Austria, Norway and EU
Raw Material Life Cycle
Source: UNEP (2011) Recycling Rates of Metals: A Status Report
Savings from the Recycling Industry
*Source: BIR Study on the Environmental Benefits of Recycling (2009)
Certainly wrong approach
for efficient gold recovery
photo
EMPA
But shredding PCs
without removing the
boards does not provideFotos BAN
better yields!
− 75% of gold is lost, even more
of silver and palladium
− 75% of gold is lost, even more of silver
and palladium
− Dramatic environmental & health impact
*source: Huisman, Kühr et. al: WEEE review report, 2007
Recycling industry sector

Recycled materials supply 40% of the global raw material needs

Approximately 1.6 million people worldwide are active in the
recycling industry

They handle more than 600 million tonnes of recyclables every year

With an annual turnover of more than $200 billion, similar to the
GDP of countries such as Portugal, Colombia and Malaysia, the
sector has already become a key driver for tomorrow’s sustainable
development

About 10% of this amount is spent on new technologies, research
and development that contribute to creating high-skilled jobs and
making recycling more efficient and environmentally sound.
Source: Bureau International Recycling (2009)
Materials in e-waste

Up to 60 different elements (metals, plastics and other
substances)

Metals represent 23% of the weight of a phone (majority
copper)

1 t of phone headsets (without battery) contain 3.5kg Ag,
340g Au, 140g Pd and 130kg Cu
→ Recover metals from e-waste in an environmental sound
manner needs only a fraction of energy compared to
primary mining ores
Thank you