E-waste: focus on design, not end of life

Local green tech company Sircel has sent out a challenge to manufacturers, calling for e-waste landfill reductions and circular economy improvement through smarter product development.

According to the company’s CEO, Anthony Karam, electronics manufacturers could make a huge difference to the e-recycling industry by addressing issues in the design phase, rather than focusing on end-of-life solutions. This applies to all electronic devices including mobile phones, coffee machines, televisions, power tools, computers — anything with a battery or power plug. Sircel believes that efficient recycling of all materials and the use of green metals in product design relies on having sustainability conversations earlier in the production cycle.

“From our perspective it’s an important change of thought process, for manufacturers to think in a more considered way about the recyclability of their products at the start of the design phase,” Karam said.

“By bringing recyclers, like us, into the conversation early we can use our expertise to help design products or parts of products, that don’t end up in landfill, allowing the commodities in these devices to be unlocked and given another life.

“Every year 58-million tonnes of e-waste is generated globally and only 15% of that is recycled into the circular economy. We are strongly urging manufacturing organisations to reconsider product design to ensure the materials they use to construct these products can be recycled — and that they help educate consumers to ensure it actually happens once products reach their end-of-life,” he said.

As part of that push, Sircel is urging manufacturers to utilise plastics that can be recycled and stop using those that can’t.

“On average, 40% of e-waste is made up of hard plastics, many of which are very difficult to recycle. If this knowledge and consideration is part of the design phase, we could ensure that the plastics being used could be recycled with technology available to us today,” Karam said.

Australia’s e-waste output is growing three times faster than general waste. Every year, 88% of the four million computers and three million televisions purchased in Australia end up in landfill, contributing to more than 140,000 tonnes of electronic waste.

According to Karam, it’s vital the conversation starts now because changes could be made quickly.

“I think the sooner the conversation starts, the sooner we will get to a point where those answers are debated and settled on,” he said. “Once design changes have been tested by manufacturers, easier-to-recycle products could be implemented within a matter of months, if not within a year, and you will start to see results and the tangible difference when those products come to end of life,” he said.

Sircel’s technology can process up to 60 tonnes of e-waste a day, diverting up to 100% of all e-waste received from landfill and delivering those components back into the circular economy.

Image credit: iStock.com/Khanchit Khirisutchalual