A study shows that WEEE and batteries discarded in residual municipal waste can be recovered, but a regulatory obligation would also be needed.
The removal of spent batteries and small WEEE from the residual waste stream is technically feasible, but requires significant investment. We are talking about a figure of between 1.5 and 2.9 million euros per plant, which would make it possible to recover critical raw materials (otherwise incinerated or lost in landfill) and to improve the safety of plants: lithium batteries present in residual municipal waste can in fact cause fires to break out during treatment operations.
These are some of the findings emerging from the study "Solutions for removing battery waste and small WEEE from residual waste: technologies, costs and drivers", produced by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, Erion Energy and Erion WEEE. Every year, each Italian discards on average almost two kilos of WEEE and 0.12 kilos of battery waste in residual municipal waste, rather than depositing them in dedicated collection channels. If these quantities were fully intercepted, the collection rate for small WEEE could grow from the current 17 per cent to 37 per cent, while that of portable batteries could rise from 25 to 52 per cent. In absolute terms, this amounts to over 57,600 tonnes of WEEE and around 3,300 tonnes of spent batteries, otherwise destined for landfill or incineration.
The European Union has set highly ambitious targets, equal to 65 per cent for WEEE and 45 per cent for spent portable batteries. As Marcello Colledani, professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, explains: "the growing presence of batteries in residual waste poses a new challenge: developing technologies capable of automatically identifying and separating them, turning an environmental problem into an opportunity for recovery and valorisation. The solution combines sensors based on X-ray and optical technology, artificial intelligence and robotic systems, paving the way for a more efficient, sustainable and advanced industrial application in battery recovery."
To verify the feasibility of the interventions, the study took the Ecologia Viterbo plant as a reference case — one of the most important players in residual municipal waste treatment in central Italy — simulating the integration of technological solutions based on bag-opening systems, X-ray scanners, and robots for automatic identification and separation. The introduction of the necessary technologies would require an investment of between 1.5 and 2.9 million euros per plant, depending on the level of automation adopted: assuming implementation across the 60 main plants present in Italy, the total investment would amount to between 65 and 114 million euros.
"The technologies available today," highlights Laura Castelli, Director General of Erion Energy, "make it possible to intercept a non-negligible proportion of this waste even after it has been incorrectly placed in general waste. However, these systems must be considered a complementary solution and not a substitute for dedicated collection. The priority remains promoting correct behaviour on the part of citizens and making collection points increasingly widespread and accessible."
A total investment that can reach 114 million euros represents a significant but contained figure, when compared to the overall economic scale of the municipal waste sector in Italy, which stands at 15.7 billion euros in turnover. But a structural problem remains: sufficient revenues would not be generated to independently cover its depreciation and, consequently, it is not profitable in itself within the current tariff framework for residual waste management. As Giorgio Arienti, Director General of Erion WEEE, points out: "the study once again highlights how the waste sector needs a strategic vision and policy instruments consistent with this strategic vision. The free market alone does not move in the right direction: adequate regulatory instruments can enable the country to make significant strides forward in the recycling of critical raw materials."
For this reason, the study also highlights the policy instruments that could be implemented to make the introduction of these technologies sustainable. One first instrument could be represented by direct public incentives to encourage the installation of new technologies, but this would risk creating one-off plants that function only nominally. More effective, instead, would be the introduction of a regulatory obligation, requiring the interception of spent batteries and small WEEE in all mechanical biological treatment plants. In this way, the investment would be progressively incorporated into the economic and financial plans of the plants and into service procurement tenders, guaranteeing uniform conditions among operators, avoiding competitive distortions and encouraging the widespread rollout of technologies across the national territory.
