Stephen Wise, Global Marketing Director, Circular Economy, Alchemy, explores how circularity offers a solution to the UK’s e-waste crisis.
The UK is the world’s second-largest producer of e-waste. In 2022, the country’s average electronic waste (e-waste) generated per person was 24.5kg, an increase from 23.9kg in 2019.
To put this into context, the same study revealed that those living in the United States generated 21kg of e-waste per person. These alarming UK statistics can no longer be ignored.
For reference, any discarded item that includes a plug or battery is considered e-waste. This includes everything from mobile phones and cookers to game consoles and vacuum cleaners.
Improper disposal of such items can release toxic chemicals harmful to human health. For instance, mobile phones frequently contain heavy metals like lead, mercury, beryllium, and other hazardous chemicals such as brominated flame retardants. These substances can infiltrate and accumulate in the environment, contaminating soils, water, and air.
Smaller, or overlooked, items such as LED light-up trainers, power tools, and e-cigarettes also contribute to the e-waste problem, as consumers may send them to landfill or store them at home rather than properly disposing of them.
Despite a trend toward lighter and smaller electronic products, British households exhibit a significant propensity for hoarding – collectively retaining an estimated 880 million unused electrical items.
Recent data suggests that the proper recycling of such items could potentially recover precious metals valued at nearly £1 billion.
Implementing responsible recycling of these materials would also have a profoundly positive impact on the environment. It could prevent 7.89 million tonnes of CO2 emissions entering the atmosphere, an effect comparable to removing 3.84 million vehicles from the road.
Although the collective weight of discarded household electrical items has in fact decreased between 2017 and 2021, the overall number of electrical items being either retained in UK homes, illegally exported, or sold through illicit channels has increased.
The increase in improper handling of these items presents a multifaceted e-waste problem that demands urgent attention and effective solutions.
E-waste’s complicated problem
Electronic waste contains a hidden reservoir of valuable resources, but tackling the issue is incredibly challenging. While recycling can significantly reduce emissions and reclaim valuable materials, extraction is expensive.
Recycling electronics involves breaking them down into small fragments. Following this, powerful magnets extract ferrous metals like steel.
The remaining metals are removed using electronic currents, while plastics are categorised into different types through various techniques such as near-infrared light and density separation. Finally, all the raw materials are redistributed to manufacture new products.
However, the environmental damage begins long before electronic devices reach the disposal stage.
For instance, manufacturing a single new smartphone generates on average 64kg of CO2, requires 244kg of raw materials, and consumes 76,000 litres of water, ultimately resulting in 200 grams of e-waste at the end of its life cycle.
Strategies for a circular economy
We must adopt the circular economy model to ensure that technological innovations continue to enhance our lives. This approach focuses on eliminating waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating nature.
Refurbishing is a critical component of the circular economy. It involves repairing and refreshing used products to restore them to like-new condition. This practice extends product life cycles and mitigates the environmental impact of manufacturing replacements from scratch.
To better understand refurbishment’s merits, consider the following: In a 2021 study, nearly 30% of individuals reported upgrading their phones every three years.
To put this in context, if you received your first phone at age 12 and lived to be 100, you would go through 29 phones in your lifetime. For a family of five, that would amount to 146 phones.
If just half of these phones were refurbished instead of being discarded or replaced, over 4,000kg of CO2 would be saved – the equivalent of driving over 28,000 kilometres.
Business tactics and opportunities
E-waste is not just a problem for everyday consumers. A recent Alchemy survey revealed that 62% of companies either discard perfectly functional devices or allow employees to retain them.
This practice represents a considerable waste of financial and environmental resources and a missed opportunity to adopt more sustainable practices.
Alongside recycling electronics, trading in old devices and purchasing refurbished ones offers another opportunity for considerable cost savings – up to 70% on smartphones and 50% on laptops.
To maximise financial returns from tech assets, businesses should regularly assess their tech inventory.
A strategic approach involves purchasing refurbished devices that are approximately 18 months old and trading in outdated devices every three to four years.
The optimal strategy is to trade in devices while they still have good value – monitoring market trends and product release cycles will help determine the best timing for trade-ins.
Researching and comparing diverse trade-in programmes from manufacturers, authorised resellers, and online marketplaces is essential to secure the best deals.
Appraising the value of existing tech assets before renewal provides insights into potential savings and how to access newer technology for less.
Reevaluating refurbished technology
Business leaders frequently express reservations about purchasing refurbished devices due to concerns over their longevity, reliability, and technological relevance compared to new models.
However, these concerns are largely unfounded. Refurbished tech undergoes rigorous testing to ensure all components meet high standards.
For example, devices are always tested to ensure batteries have at least 80% of their original capacity remaining.
Many refurbished devices also incorporate the latest technology, typically trailing only one or two generations behind the newest models.
In terms of lifespan, a refurbished iPhone is engineered to last as long as a new one, ensuring you can still acquire top-quality technology without compromising on performance or reliability.
And to build on this, purchasing devices a few generations behind isn’t the only option for businesses – buyers can also purchase products that, while no longer classified as new, have never been used and still come with a manufacturer’s warranty.
These items often come from returns due to buyer’s remorse, providing an opportunity to obtain new, unused devices at a lower cost.
Refurbished tech is a vital cog in the circular economy, yet a broader adoption of circular business practices is necessary to fully realise its benefits.
Now more feasible than ever, these practices offer substantial environmental advantages, such as reduced carbon emissions and resource conservation, as well as significant financial savings for businesses.
