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Good news for ICT Recyclers

Huge Potential for E-Waste Recycling Growth in Europe

In the circular economy, everyone from product owner and user, to recoverer and recycler, everyone has a role to play in making sure this process works effectively. And, that starts with building in transparency and responsibility so that we can take control of what happens with our equipment when we no longer need it.
The Recover-E® Program is a shared responsibility solution that helps us do just that…in a smart, circular way.

Opportunities to Manage the Growth in
E-Waste Recycling

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe. Resources become more expensive and scarce. Governments will continue to push for transparent legal frameworks WEEE recycling development and commercialisation. This creates a huge business opportunity for e-waste recyclers in Europe as many market analysts including Frost & Sullivan have shown.
The European e-waste recycling market made revenues of US$1.3 billion in 2012, a figure which is estimated to reach almost US$1.8 billion in 2020. However, there ar a number of issues noted in the 2013 Frost & Sullivan’s report including:
  • Lack of efficiency in the collection of WEEE material from source
  • Slow execution of environmentally sound recycling processes
  • Difficulties in meeting final recycler needs
  • National WEEE recycling legislation is not aligned with EU standards
The ultimate goal of WEEE processing and recycling operators is to apply processes that recover materials in a cost effective and environmentally sound manner. Recover-E® can play a proactive role to meet this goal, not just for your recycling business, but also for a the wider community.

Going Beyond Recycling

Recover-E® supports the objectives and solutions outlined in the WEEE Directive. The Recover-E® Program actively encourages the exchange of information between both the manufacturers of ICT hardware and the end-processing parties. All information is recorded in a single powerful database which is accessible via an online platform.
When coupled with innovative recycling processes, the experiences and insights derived from this information, can enable both manufacturers and end-processors to objectively discuss product design optimisation. Bridging the gap between product design on the manufacturing side, and recycling on the end-processing side, allows us to implement optimal improvements on both sides of the chain. This approach is also in line with the new requirements for re-use and recycling in the European WEEE Directive where Design for recycling is a major component in the circular economy.
The Recover-E® Program actively encourages the exchange of information between both the manufacturers of ICT hardware and the end-processing parties. All information is recorded in a single powerful database which is accessible via an online platform.
However, Recover-E® goes beyond the WEEE minimum recovery and recycling targets. By cooperating with all stakeholders in the ICT lifecycle chain and maximising re-use and recycling, we aim to keep valuable products and materials in use for as long as possible. We encourage ‘shared responsibility’ throughout the supply chain and circular economies through innovation in the entire ICT lifecycle. This makes the Recover-E® Program more than just an end-of-life-cycle management initiative

Recover-E® Initiatives to Drive Innovation

With the Recover-E® program we can help you take a confident step in the right direction and towards stimulating powerful innovation. By working together we can:
  • initiate changes with knowledge centers for innovation and prepare the respective parties for innovative recycling
  • facilitate coordination between manufacturers and end-processing parties throughout the process, with the aim of ‘designing for recycling’
  • prepare the form of recycling, using specific programs and selected recycling techniques and end-processing parties
  • reserve parts of the ICT flow for specific processing with innovative recycling techniques
  • encourage end-processing parties to cooperate in optimising the recycling and recovery process
  • share information on dismantlement, recycling results and recovery of materials, and stimulate other to do the same
  • sell recycled or recovered materials to ICT hardware manufacturers and on the raw material market