Electronics
Projects & Industry Impact
E-waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, Yet e-waste is worth at least $62.5 billion10 annually, which is more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of most countries.
In today's world life without electronics has become almost unimaginative. Today's rapid innovation has allowed electronics to be produced low-cost with high-performing properties, allowing us to stay on constant trend, and increasing the demand for new electronic goods.
But what are the consequences of such rapid change in trends?
In 2016, only about 20 %t, or 8.9 million metric tonnes, of all e-waste was recycled.
E-waste is now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, Yet e-waste is worth at least $62.5 billion10 annually, which is more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of most countries.
E-waste is not biodegradable and it accumulates in the environment that produces toxins that attribute to climate change, and air pollution and directly affect the ecosystem and its species.
Thus said a new vision for the production and consumption of electronic and electrical goods is required. It is easy to say that the problem is caused by post-consumer but this goes beyond that.
More than post-consumption
Designers, manufacturers, investors, traders, miners, raw material producers, consumers, policy-makers, and others have a crucial role to play in reducing waste, retaining value within the system, and extending the economic and physical life of an item. It is time to change the linear system to the circular one.
The opportunities in taking advantage of this are endless and will provide a great competitive advantage to those who size it.
New Business Models
The rise of service business models and better product tracking and takeback could lead to global circular value chains. Material efficiency, recycling infrastructure, and scaling up the volume and quality of recycled materials to meet the needs of electronics supply chains will all be essential.
Utilized correctly, the circular economy offers the following benefits to the electronics sector:
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The improved handling and control of used and end-of-life devices and the valuable materials they contain.
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Alignment to strategic or sustainable development objectives, helping to tackle issues such as resource scarcity, extraction, pollution, and labor rights.
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The ability to contribute to Net Zero and carbon emissions reduction goals, utilizing reuse, repair, and recycling to enable carbon savings. For example, Microsoft work with Closed Loop Partners to meet its zero-waste by 2030 goal through reuse, repurposing, and recycling.
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Increasing commercial value for symbiosis models, where the components and products in an organization’s waste are reused or remanufactured into original or new devices, such as Lime, which recycle used scooters into consumer electronics.
