Legislators urged to address mining waste as domestic production quotas loom

With EU law requiring at least 10% critical raw materials deemed crucial for the energy transition to be sourced within the bloc by 2030, policy makers need urgently to legislate for the safe disposal of growing volumes of mining waste, environmental campaigners have warned.

A legal analysis commissioned by the campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) calls on the next European Commission, currently under formation, to revise the laws on extractive waste, warning of a "significant risk of fragmentation" of regulation from one country to the next if nothing is done.

Under the recently adopted Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the EU has set itself the goal of extract 10% of raw materials such as lithium, essential to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). Europe currently relies entirely on imports, notably from China, for its supplies of some of the 34 elements identified as critical for Europe’s energy transition and security.

The group is calling on the upcoming Commission to revise the 2006 Extractive Waste Directive, in particular replacing it with a Regulation, which under EU law would apply directly in all EU member states, rather than giving governments a certain leeway in how to achieve its aim when transposing the rules into their domestic legislation.

This approach – which the Commission adopted for a revision of EU law on battery production and disposal, among other Green Deal policy initiatives – would ensure harmonisation of rules across Europe, T&E argue, noting that demand created by the CRMA is set to drive investment in extracting minerals from disused mine or mining waste.

“With the Critical Raw Materials Act also opening the door to remining in Europe, it is the right moment to strengthen