A contribution to support circularity policy decision making on removal and separate recycling of embedded electronics – methodology and applications in Switzerland and the EU

Journal article, 2026

Scarce technology metals and critical raw materials (CRM) in electronic devices embedded in vehicles (EED) are often lost during end-of-life recycling. This study presents a methodology to assess the proportionality of mandatory removal and separate recycling policies. Combining material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle assessment (LCA), and economic evaluation, it quantifies environmental and economic trade-offs between baseline and policy scenarios. The approach was applied to Switzerland's revision of the ORDEE and the EU's update of the ELVD. In Switzerland, 41 EED types were benchmarked to define proportionality thresholds; in the EU, three were prioritized for CRM recovery. Results reflect contextual factors such as CRM criticality and economic feasibility, demonstrating the method's flexibility. Though limited to recycling in this work, the framework can be adapted to other circular strategies and allows coherent, comparative policy assessments and can be adapted to other sectors.