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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SMART GROUND (SMART data collection and inteGRation platform to enhance availability and accessibility of data and infOrmation in the EU territory on SecoNDary Raw Materials)

Teaser

Summary

The issue of resource security has come to the forefront of the debate as Critical Raw Materials (CRM) and Raw Materials (RM) supply is fundamental to maintain and develop EU economy. Considering the increasing scarcity and raising prices of RM, their recycling and recovery from anthropogenic deposits is essential. To date there is no homogeneous inventory available of SRM and CRM present in EU landfills, and best management practices to recover SRM from landfill activities are inefficient. In fact a great amount of waste can be regained as practical and valuable SRM by enhancing the recovery processes from industrial; mining and municipal landfill sites especially if we consider that Europe is highly dependent on the imports of certain raw materials including rare earth metals and SRM.
In this context, SMART GROUND intends to foster resource recovery from both urban solid waste landfill sites and mine waste disposal sites by i) improving the availability and the accessibility of data and information on SRM amount in EU anthropogenic deposits and ii) integrating data from existing databases and new information collected into a single EU database; facilitating the access of information and data to end-users on the potential SRM amounts available. Thus, the specific objectives of SMART GROUND are therefore to:
â€¢ Collect quantitative and structural knowledge from existing SRM resources, identifying critical points and bottlenecks that hinder their effective use and identify the most promising markets for SRMs recovery
â€¢ Review existing standards for RM and waste inventory and provide a benchmark of available best practices
â€¢ Evaluate and analyze the environmental, economic and social impacts and benefits triggered by SRM recovery from anthropogenic deposits.
â€¢ Undertake a series of pilot studies on SRM recovery potential from anthropogenic deposits and translate knowledge and understanding gained into scientific recommendations for best practices taking into account the broader sustainable development and circular economy context
â€¢ Develop an online databank platform to facilitate the access to information on available SRM for end-users.
â€¢ Raise awareness among policy makers and the wider public of the societal benefits of SRM recovery from landfill and extractive mining sites

Work performed

The project has reached its halfway point; during the first 18 months, the focus has been on 1) collecting quantitative and structural knowledge from existing SRM resources, 2) identifying the most promising markets for recovered SRMs and reviewing existing standards; 3) understanding stakeholders needs and interests, 4) identifying promising pilot sites for the feasibility studies and 5) developing a beta version of the SMART GROUND Databank platform.
A standardized procedure framework to collect, organize and harmonize data on SRM amount within anthropogenic deposits has been developed. The collected data have been successfully implemented into the SMART GROUND Databank and a beta version of the platform is already available. The comprehensive review of existing standards in regards to waste management and extractive industries has also been carried out and a set of best practice recommendations are being drafted. Specifically a set of recommendations for site investigation for both urban landfill sites and mine waste disposal sites has been completed and being used for the 9 on-going pilot feasibility studies. The guidelines are further being used to develop the training materials.
The pilot studies include municipal solid waste; industrial waste landfill sites and mine waste disposal sites. Detailed 2D and 3D thematic mapping is being carried out to identify hotspot for SRM recovery. This is further supported by a comprehensive physicochemical characterization on the different waste material fractions collected in order to estimate the amount of SRM and RRE available but also to identify the opportunity of recovering other valuable materials in the same time. A comprehensive stakeholderâ€™s survey has also been carried out clearly highlighting the interest of stakeholders in SRM recovery from landfill and mining sites across the EU and positivity towards the proposed SMART GROUND Databank platform to facilitate collecting information on SRM reserves and aiding decision-making related to material/energy efficiency, material supply and business opportunities. The survey acts as a foundation for maximising the impact and relevance of the SMART GROUND project outputs in facilitating the growth of LFM in practice.
Comprehensive training and communication plans have been written identifying the target audiences along the value chain and the types of targeted communication which are being undertaken.

Final results

The following progress beyond the state of the art has been developed (and will be fully accomplished) by the SMART GROUND project:
Development of Data Collection Plans for the characterization of different types of waste deposits. The methodology was developed and validated through in-depth characterization studies of selected pilot landfills with strongly different characters. Such Data Collection Plans include sampling, samples preparation and analyses protocols. The obtained results suggest that such a methodology can be adopted for the estimation of the SRMs potential in landfill and facilities.
Development of harmonized procedures tests to analyze the environmental impacts (on soil, air and water) and human health issues, connected to landfills and to RM and SRM exploitation activities from waste.
Creation of a comprehensive and integrative database platform: SMART GROUND platform will allow end-users to identify and match the supply and demand for SRM by interrogating the data and identifying suitable urban waste landfill sites and/or mine waste disposal sites for SRM recovery and other valuable materials. The platform is intended to provide a reliable and transparent source of harmonised and validated information on SRM estimates from anthropogenic deposits available across Europe. It is however important to note that SMART GROUND platform embedded services is an evolving process and therefore as information becomes available the platform and data will be refined accordingly. Creation of modelling and decision support tools, based on new technologies, case studies and reported successes and failures, that will predict the spread of SRM available across EU landfills and EW facilities to allow targeted SRM recovery market.
Development of guidelines and procedures for SRM recovery from anthropogenic deposits (landfills and EW facilities), that will help promoting SRM recovery across the EU and tapping into a pool of resources which is today largely underexploited. It will further boost the EU economy in line with its Circular Economy approach and reduce risk to the EU Raw Materials supply.