What if a simple code could make Europe’s magnet recycling smarter, faster, and more circular?
Currently, there is no specific system for identifying waste streams that contain permanent magnets — a gap that slows down recycling efforts and wastes valuable critical raw materials. Together with researchers from eight other EU projects, José and his colleagues have called on the European Commission to address this issue by introducing clearer classification and traceability guidelines.
This joint recommendation builds on the open letter and proposal for permanent magnet waste codes, published earlier this year by several projects in the CRMs4EU cluster. The proposal outlines how standardized labeling and digital traceability could make magnet recycling more efficient and transparent.
Waste codes, functioning much like digital fingerprints, could provide recyclers with essential data on the composition of magnets before processing even begins. This simple change could save time, cut costs, and improve material recovery — key steps toward Europe’s goal of sourcing 25% of its strategic raw materials from recycling by 2030.
The article highlights both the challenges and the opportunities of implementing such a system, showing that small policy innovations can unlock major sustainability gains for Europe’s critical material supply chain.
To read the full article interview and gain deeper insights into the future of magnet waste codes and recycling, please visit DirectIndustry Emag here.