EWC Code
Wastes from silver, gold and platinum thermal metallurgy
EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC — Official Journal L 226, 06/09/2000Annual Volume
850 tonnes/year EU precious metals recycled
Valorisation Range
€2.8B precious metals recycling market
Primary Route
Precious metals refinery processing
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Get contacts for EWC 10 07Silver, gold and platinum group metal (PGM) thermal metallurgy generates sweeps, dross, slag and refractory waste with very high intrinsic value. Autocatalyst recycling is the dominant source of palladium and rhodium in the EU, with approximately 60 tonnes of PGMs recovered annually. Jewellery manufacturing generates bench sweeps containing gold, silver and platinum particles refined by assay and smelting.
Refinery slag from precious metals processing contains residual gold and silver values at 50–500 ppm requiring further processing or controlled disposal. Refractory bricks from induction furnaces used for gold melting absorb significant gold values over their service life, making brick recycling with assay and refining economically mandatory.
Chain of custody documentation is a regulatory requirement for precious metals waste management. REACH restricts certain platinum compounds in specific applications, and cyanide used in gold extraction from sweeps is regulated under IED with mandatory cyanide destruction before effluent discharge.
Typical Generators
Established valorisation pathways for EWC 10 07, ranked by economic value and market depth. Precious metals refinery processing is the primary route.
All precious metal-bearing waste streams are directed to LBMA-accredited refineries for assay, smelting and electrorefining. Gold is recovered to >999.9 purity, silver to >999 purity. PGMs are separated by solvent extraction or ion exchange to palladium, platinum and rhodium metal.
Spent furnace bricks are crushed, sampled and assayed to determine precious metal content before sale to refinery. Typical refractory from gold melting furnaces contains 100–2000 ppm Au recoverable by acid leach or smelting. Chain-of-custody documentation maintained from furnace removal to refinery settlement.
Slag fractions confirmed at <1 ppm precious metal content by ICP analysis are managed as non-hazardous inert waste and disposed to inert landfill or used as aggregate filler. Full analytical documentation required to demonstrate no economic recovery case before disposal is permitted.
These are the established routes for EWC 10 07. Which one your stream qualifies for depends on its composition, volume and region.
Get the ranked options for your streamPrimary & secondary off-takers
Refine all precious metal-bearing waste streams to recover gold, silver, platinum and palladium
Return refined precious metals to jewellery production as certified secondary material
Recover platinum and palladium from autocatalyst waste for reuse in new catalyst manufacture
Recover platinum from dental alloy and medical device recycling streams
Source: NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat, 2008
Key legislative frameworks governing EWC 10 07 classification, transport, and treatment.
Transfer of precious metal-bearing waste requires hazardous waste consignment note where hazardous codes apply. Non-hazardous precious metal sweeps still require duty-of-care documentation. Refinery settlement statement constitutes record of recovery operation for waste register purposes.
Where cyanide leach processes are used for precious metal recovery, the IED installation permit specifies BAT for cyanide detoxification: alkaline chlorination or hydrogen peroxide treatment reducing free cyanide to <0.5 mg/L before effluent discharge to sewer or watercourse.
Certain platinum compounds (e.g. ammonium hexachloroplatinate) are classified as respiratory sensitisers. Refineries handling PGM-bearing waste must assess workplace exposure under REACH chemical safety assessment and maintain occupational exposure monitoring records.
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Sectors that valorise EWC 10 07 as an input material or secondary raw material.
Waste-stream pages and resources connected to EWC 10 07 valorisation.
Explore EU waste flows — Waste Atlas
Visualise 17 years of E-PRTR industrial facility data. See how EWC 10 07 and related waste streams flow across European industries and sectors.
Source: EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC · NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat 2008
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