We should be mining e-waste - not the ground - for valuable and critical metals

clock • 5 min read

The UK must develop facilities to extract valuable metals from electronic waste, or it risks falling behind growing global competition, argues Inprotec's Chris Oldroyd

You probably own more gold, silver and platinum than you think. Admittedly, not a huge amount more, but more, nonetheless. That's because the electronic and electrical products we all own, from laptops...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Waste

Study: 'Throw it away' clothing habit costing UK an estimated £2.6bn a year

Study: 'Throw it away' clothing habit costing UK an estimated £2.6bn a year

Almost three quarters of UK adults are replacing clothes they could repair, according to London-based social enterprise Kundakala

Stuart Stone
clock 12 October 2026 • 3 min read
Europe's e‑waste is a valuable resource - let's not throw it away

Europe's e‑waste is a valuable resource - let's not throw it away

Nils Pauliks, Leiden University, The Conversation
clock 17 September 2026 • 4 min read
Pressure mounts on government to provide 'clear sense of direction' for circular economy

Pressure mounts on government to provide 'clear sense of direction' for circular economy

Waste industry professionals have called on the government to urgently provide a clearer, long-term strategy as they continue to wait for long-delayed Circular Economy Growth Plan

Michael Holder
clock 14 September 2026 • 4 min read