Critical Raw Materials Act in force in Ireland

A new EU Regulation, the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), has come into effect in Ireland. Europe relies heavily on imports of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) such as lithium, copper and cobalt.

The new Regulation will:

• Strengthen all stages of the European CRM value chain,
• Diversify the EU’s imports to reduce strategic dependencies,
• Improve the EU’s capacity to monitor and mitigate risks of disruptions to the supply of critical raw materials, and
• Improve circularity and sustainability.

CRMs are of high economic importance for Europe and demand is set to increase exponentially as the EU transitions to clean energy systems which require the building up of EU production of batteries, solar panels, permanent magnets and other green technologies.

Old and broken electronics and appliances are a rich source of CRMs, so it is vital that Irish households recycle the millions of broken and perfectly recyclable electrical items that are accumulating in our homes or being improperly disposed of.