Rare earth recycling and urban mining programs in Japan and the EU (2000–2025)

1. EU adopts first WEEE Directive framework

   Jan 27, 2003Labels: WEEE Directive, European Union

   • EUR Lex
   • EEA WEEE

2. Japan’s 3R approach boosts “urban mine” thinking

   Jan 1, 2005Labels: 3R Policy, Japan

   • JFS archive

3. EU launches Raw Materials Initiative

   Nov 4, 2008Labels: Raw Materials, European Commission

   • RMIS JRC

4. China–Japan rare earth disruption accelerates recycling

   Sep 23, 2010Labels: Senkaku Dispute, Japan

   • CNBC 2010
   • Japan Times

5. Hitachi unveils rare earth magnet recycling tech

   Dec 6, 2010Labels: Hitachi, magnet-recycling

   • Hitachi release

6. EU identifies rare earths as critical materials

   Jan 1, 2011Labels: Critical Materials, European Union

   • RMIS JRC
   • ScienceDirect

7. Honda begins rare earth recovery from used batteries

   Apr 17, 2012Labels: Honda, NiMH Batteries

   • JFS Honda

8. EU recasts WEEE Directive with stronger targets

   Jul 4, 2012Labels: Recast WEEE, European Union

   • EUR Lex WEEE
   • EEA WEEE

9. Japan enacts Small WEEE Recycling Promotion Act

   Aug 10, 2012Labels: Small WEEE, Japan

   • Japan Law

10. Japan issues national basic policy for small WEEE

    Mar 6, 2013Labels: METI Policy, Japan

    • JFS METI MOE

11. EU starts REECOVER project on rare earth recovery

    Dec 1, 2013Labels: REECOVER, European Union

    • CORDIS REECOVER

12. EIT RawMaterials launched to scale EU circular supply

    Jan 1, 2015Labels: EIT RawMaterials, EU Innovation

    • EU Pub Office

13. EU maps “urban mine” stocks through ProSUM

    Jan 1, 2015Labels: ProSUM, European Union

    • CORDIS ProSUM

14. Japan launches Tokyo 2020 e-waste medal collection

    Apr 2, 2017Labels: Tokyo 2020, Japan

    • Paralympic org
    • DW

15. EU shifts toward magnet-focused recycling scale-up

    Jan 1, 2020Labels: magnet-recycling, European Union

    • EC CRMA

16. EU launches MAGELLAN project on permanent magnet recycling

    Jan 1, 2024Labels: MAGELLAN, Horizon Europe

    • MAGELLAN

17. EU Critical Raw Materials Act enters into force

    May 23, 2024Labels: Critical Raw, European Union

    • EC CRMA

18. Italy site publicized as EU rare earth recovery milestone

    Apr 1, 2025Labels: Ceccano Facility, Italy

    • Interreg eWAsTER

19. EU evaluates WEEE progress and CRM recovery gap

    Jul 2, 2025Labels: WEEE Evaluation, European Commission

    • EC Environment

20. End state: Japan and EU move from pilots to security-driven scaling

    Dec 31, 2025Labels: Japan EU, security-driven

    • EC CRMA
    • CNBC Japan REE