Global Recycling Day 2026: Recycling as a Strategic Pillar of European Research and Innovation

Global Recycling Day, established by the Bureau of International Recycling and celebrated on 18 March, aims to raise global awareness of the importance of recycling for protecting natural resources and supporting more competitive economies. In Europe in particular, recycling is not only considered key to waste management but also plays an increasingly important role in areas such as resource security, industrial sustainability and climate policy, addressing multiple strategic objectives at once.

From the development of advanced materials to recycling of batteries, heavy industry and electronic devices, European research is exploring how circularity can be integrated across entire value chains, from product design to end-of-life material recovery.

In this dynamic landscape, EURICE acts as a driving force behind forward-looking European R&I initiatives, shaping and advancing projects that tackle these challenges across different scientific fields and sectors.

Recycling for Resource Security and Strategic Autonomy

One important reason why recycling has become central to EU policy is the growing demand for critical raw materials. Modern technologies, from electric vehicles and renewable energy systems to digital devices, depend on materials such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements. However, many of these resources are imported from a limited number of countries outside the EU.

To address this challenge, Europe aims to strengthen its capacity to secure strategic materials through extraction, processing, and recycling. In particular, recycling enables valuable materials to be recovered and reused, reducing dependency on external suppliers while strengthening the resilience of European industry.

EU research projects contribute to this objective by developing innovative solutions for recovering and reusing materials. For example, the INERRANT project explores innovative and eco-friendly recycling approaches for lithium-ion batteries to recover critical materials from end-of-life batteries and reintroduce them into the production cycle. Beyond resource efficiency, this also brings environmental benefits: recycling batteries with eco-friendly solvents reduces the environmental impact of recycling processes themselves, and the need for newly mined materials.

Find out more about INERRANT here.

Reducing Industrial Emissions Through Recycling

Recycling can also contribute directly to the EU’s climate goals. In certain industries, using recycled materials requires significantly less energy than producing materials from virgin resources, leading to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The MOWSES project demonstrates this potential in the steel sector. Steel production is responsible for a significant share of global industrial emissions, yet steel is also one of the most recyclable materials in the world. By increasing the use of steel scrap in steels produced for infrastructure applications, the project aims to reduce the carbon footprint associated with steel production.

This approach illustrates how recycling can serve as an industrial decarbonisation strategy. By maximising the use of recycled steel, industries such as the construction and infrastructure can simultaneously reduce emissions, conserve natural resources and lower energy demand.

Find out more about MOWSES here.

Designing Products with Recycling in Mind

While improving recycling technologies is essential, in many cases the recyclability of a product is determined much earlier: during the design and development phase. Decisions on materials, component integration and manufacturing processes can significantly influence whether products can be efficiently repaired, reused or recycled at the end of their life cycle. As a result, EU research increasingly incorporates life cycle analysis and recycling protocols into the development of new technologies.

The SUPERLASER project exemplifies this approach in the field of advanced photonics. The project aims to develop next-generation lasers based on halide perovskite materials while minimising environmental impact throughout the entire lifecycle of the devices. This includes assessing energy and material use, developing recycling protocols and exploring ways to reuse materials such as lead contained in perovskites. The ambition is to create fully recyclable laser devices with minimal electronic waste, demonstrating how sustainability and recyclability can be integrated into emerging technologies at the design stage.

Find out more about SUPERLASER here.

Recycling as EU-Policy Priority

The examples from batteries, steel and advanced electronics highlight an important point: recycling is no longer just a downstream waste management activity. Instead, it is increasingly integrated across the entire lifecycle of products and novel devices, from the development of novel materials to product design, manufacturing and end-of-life management.

This systemic approach is also reflected in recent EU legislation. Policies such as the Critical Raw Materials Act and the EU Batteries Regulation embedded in the broader Circular Economy Action Plan place strong emphasis on circularity, recyclability and the recovery of valuable materials.