Ecomondo 2024: Strategic and valuable materials need a circular approach to their recovery. The revolution is born here.

The new plant designed by BTT ITALY is a world excellence: hydrometallurgy at the service of circular economy: VIDEO

Celebrating its first 45 years in business this year, the company that in the previous forty years has been involved in the construction of precious metal refining plants for major international private and governmental companies and corporations operating both in complicated and conflict-ridden areas and with various state mints.

For the past five years, the experience gained has been invested in the development of performative solutions and plants for the recovery of precious and critical metals in the circular economy, creating the first hi-tech hydrometallurgical plant, which will be inaugurated in the coming weeks in Tuscany.

An important commitment that began precisely with the presentation of the project again at Ecomondo in the edition four years ago.

On the one hand, the experience and on the other hand the constant research in the field of refining precious metals, allowed us to devise a new plant, capable of maximizing the recovery of precious from WEEE, without any use of incineration processes. In the linear economy of some countries, the mining, processing and refining of precious metals results in inordinate consumption of natural resources, generates toxic waste that negatively impacts local communities. Recovering these materials from e-waste is a key process to avoid new mining and put products back into circulation that can be remanufactured indefinitely.

With the aim of broadening the value chain and offering some concrete answers to the demands of urban mining citizens, such as ease of Raee waste delivery and sustainability at an economic and environmental level for separate waste collection BTT Italia and Nord Engineering have confirmed a strategic and operational alliance. Today, Nord Engineering’s smart waste management solutions are present in more than 20 countries, where the company works alongside authorities and municipalities to develop tailor-made projects. The partnership with Btt Italy goes in this direction.

To do so, the two companies have come up with more accessible collection solutions, improving the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), which today is ineffective due to citizens’ lack of awareness and difficulties in going to dedicated ecological islands to deliver.

Reconfirmed and strengthened at Ecomondo is the alliance with Nord Engineering, which has developed a prototype of a diffuse urban container that aims to revolutionize the approach to the management of WEEE. A secure object inside which waste electrical and electronic equipment from citizens’ homes will be collected and stored. The project aims for everyone to understand the importance of this “safe” by recognizing how essential the recycling of WEEE is. The companies’ commitment will serve to make it not only affordable, but also sustainable, circular and tracked through a transformative effort that aims for net zero.

The partnership will also be useful in helping to reduce dependence on imports of precious materials from outside countries by mining metals such as gold, silver, platinum and others from decommissioned WEEE to create a quality product that is ideal for ethical sourcing.

The presidium and therefore the proposal to local communities of an integrated offer on the entire value of the supply chain meets the need to make the easy and safe delivery to the citizen of their electronic instruments no longer used and allows the same community to be able to build a local plant for the exploitation of the WEEE resource.

This model proposed both in Italy and abroad supports communities and cities or urban areas that wish to develop from the value of their territories and their “waste.”

The ultimate goal is to foster a virtuous proposal for the sector’s national and international supply chain to fully exploit the potential of the valuable resources found in WEEE, reduce environmental impact and create a more sustainable future for all, in response to the difficulties encountered in procurement, industrial relations and trade.

To celebrate the birthday, BTT will present 12 development strands on circular economy issues for the next five years, many of them in secret collaboration with many Italian big companies from strategic sectors of Italian industry.

Twelve strands intended to offer an industrial vision and perspective, concrete and feasible, presenting BTT’s commitment to develop performing plants that act on sustainable processes.