Blog

11 Oct
0
jean-paul-kimmel

It’s time for a change

By Recover-E In News, Recover-E Room

What we get, what we add, what we forget

 

This is the main problem in current linear economy, according to Jan-Paul Kimmel, one of the founding fathers of Recover-E® Program. People buy stuff (what we get), make use of it in daily work and life (what we add), and throw it away without even thinking about the value the stuff still might have for others (what we forget).

 

In current consumer society, stuff we buy, many times become ´end-of-use´ for the consumer or user or, in better terms, ‘end-of-need’. End-of-need however does not mean that it becomes ‘end-of-life’. Most of our used stuff still has economical, ecological, societal and informational values.

 

By ignoring all these values, we not only create loss of valuable resources, capital and employment, but also ecological problems. Reasons enough to stop this linear process. It’s time for a change. But how and by whom?

 

Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) and ICT equipment in particular comprises the fastest growing consumer goods worldwide.Combined with rising prices, increasing scarcity of precious metals, increasing complexity of ICT equipment, suboptimal recycling and dumping of ICT equipment in Africa and South Asia there is a huge need for new, more circular resource recovery solutions.

 

Thanks to growing environmental awareness and social media (business), users are moving from being CONsumers to PROsumers with far more influence than ever before. Fair trade or market-driven ethical consumption is emerging rapidly. In some national markets ethical consumption accounts for over 20% of market share in certain products. Besides producers and manufacturers, especially business users, are driven – based on their Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) policy – to come up with more circular resource recovery solutions for their ICT equipment. Recover-E® Program offers unique opportunities and can make a change towards a Circular Economy Together.

 

Shared Responsibility and innovation in Reuse, Recycling and (Re)design of ICT equipment are the main drivers in our Recover-E® Program. As a chain manager Recover E Foundation will make it possible for ICT Producers, Users and Recyclers to contribute to a circular ICT life-cycle chain in which:

 

  • the lifetime of ICT equipment will be extended (Reuse);
  • more resources will be recovered (Recycling);
  • ICT equipment will be developed and manufactured in a more sustainable way ((Re)design);
  • financial benefits will be shared and used for innovation (economic benefits);
  • environment, humans and nature are protected from pollution and threats (ecological benefits);
  • new employment and jobs will be created (social benefits);
  • key information on ICT equipment during the whole lifecycle will be exchanged for further improvements (informational benefits).

 

With thanks to all positive input and support it’s my pleasure to announce that the time for a change has begun. Join our initiative, don’t forget!