Recycled Raw Materials Dialogue Platform

Recycled Raw Materials Dialogue Platform

Development of options for action to strengthen the contribution of recycled raw materials to the security of supply of metals and industrial minerals

In order to strengthen the contribution of recycled raw materials to the security of supply, particularly of industrial minerals and metallic raw materials in Germany, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) commissioned the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) to carry out the Dialogue Platform on Recycled Raw Materials as part of the German Raw Materials Strategy 2020. The DERA in turn commissioned acatech – the German Academy of Science and Engineering – to jointly manage the office.

To this end, concrete options for action were developed in a dialog process with over 380 representatives from industry, science, administration and civil society over a period of two years in two working groups with a total of eight sub-working groups. The content of the sub-working groups was based on specific material flows that are of particular relevance due to their volume relevance, criticality or their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and that place specific requirements on recycling.

The balance of content and quality of the results was ensured by two round tables with the administration and NGOs as well as an external review process.

Germany’s supply of raw materials is a key prerequisite for the international competitiveness of the economy and therefore essential for securing Germany’s position as an industrial location. A secure and – with regard to the German Federal Climate Protection Act and the EU’s Green Deal – sustainable supply of raw materials is an essential success factor in order to guarantee this innovative capacity in the future.

Already today, a not insignificant proportion of Germany’s raw material requirements are covered by recycling waste and scrap and the raw materials recovered from them, but there is still room for optimization. In addition to increasing raw material efficiency, recycling and the use of secondary raw materials will play an even more important role in the secure and sustainable supply of raw materials for German industry in the future – also with regard to the implementation and use of future technologies.

Objectives:

The overarching goal of the Dialogue Platform was to increase the contribution of recycled raw materials to the supply of raw materials for the German economy: recycling is to be strengthened as the second pillar of the (mineral) raw materials supply (excluding plastics, wood, etc.) by developing options for action. The focus of the Recycling Raw Materials Dialogue Platform was on metals and industrial minerals, which formed the core topic of the two working groups.

Barriers and weak points in the supply of secondary raw materials were selected on the basis of specific material flows and transparent criteria.
On this basis, material flow-specific objectives were defined and possible conflicting objectives analyzed. As a result, options for action were identified to tap into new recycling potential at the level of individual material flows and the system as a whole.

The results of the dialogue were presented to the BMWK on 19 October 2023 in the form of a final report summarizing the key recommendations for action. The full report can be downloaded here.