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SHANGHAI – In a scattered and scattered industrial complex on the outskirts of Shanghai, thousands of small plastic pellets shiver along narrow conveyor belts, ready to be transformed into something new.
resembling any plastic granule used for manufacturing. But to follow their journey from consumer to treadmill, and their importance – especially for the emerging global e-waste crisis, and what businesses and their customers can do to fix it – becomes clear.
The pellets are made from a mixture of virgin plastic and recycled product from some of the millions of pounds of electronic waste that Dell, the US computer giant, collects from consumers every year .
In 2017, Dell reported having collected more than 177 million pounds of used electronics from 83 participating countries and territories. If you were one of those consumers, this Chinese factory – run by Dell's Taiwanese recycling partner, Wistron Corp. – could be where parts of your old laptop or PC have finished.
Here at the Wistron plant, recycled plastic from electronic waste is used to make Dell computers. laptops in a process known as "closed-circuit recycling" – essentially the reuse of a recycled product to make new versions of the same product. In this case, it is the recycling of old electronic devices to make new ones.
Dell is part of an increasingly important group of technology companies that in recent years have adopted this type of recycling – in part to solve the bloat problem of electronic waste around the world. Sustainable development experts believe that closed-loop recycling, if it is effective on a large scale, could go a long way towards alleviating the global crisis.
Every year, the planet produces some 50 million tons of electronic waste, ranging from laptops to laptops. mobile phones to batteries and toys for children – and this number is expected to increase as populations increase and access to electronics increases. By the year 2021, the amount of e-waste generated is expected to exceed 57 million tonnes.
According to a recent article in the New York Times, e-waste is now the fastest growing waste stream in the world. This growth has not only fueled concerns about the potential health and environmental effects of e-waste, but has also sparked interest in economic opportunities.
Computers and phones contain materials that can be recovered and reused. metals like gold and silver. In 2016, the estimated value of recoverable raw materials in discarded electronic waste rose to more than $ 55 billion worldwide, according to a report from the United Nations University. As the researchers pointed out, it's "more than the gross domestic product of most countries in the world in 2016".
However, only a fraction of the world's electronic waste is recycled. Shantanu Bhattacharya, a supply chain expert and professor at Singapore Management University, told HuffPost that only 15 to 25 percent of global e-waste is recycled or reused.
The majority of electronic waste, which may also contain dangerous substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic and flame retardants, end up in landfills or are incinerated, causing contamination of the earth, the 39, water and air. In the United States, electronic waste represents only 2% of landfill waste, but 70% of all hazardous waste in landfills.
Dell, who describes himself as the world's largest technology rebreather, is a pioneer in the technology industry. In 2014, the company unveiled a new computer system made partly of certified closed-circuit recycled plastic – a first in the industry. A spokeswoman told HuffPost last week that the company now manufactures more than 125 recycled plastic products in closed circuit. Since 2014, Dell has used more than 21 million pounds of closed-loop plastics in its products, she said.
Dell has extended this year its closed circuit program to include gold extracted from the electronic waste that it collects. The company is now the first PC manufacturer to use recycled gold from electronic waste in its products. Dell has also collaborated with actress Nikki Reed this year to create a limited edition jewelry collection made from gold extracted from recycled computer motherboards.
However, all the electronic waste that Dell collects does not find a new life. More than 30 percent is recycled, and some are refurbished and sold, said the company representative. The rest – an amount that the company did not disclose – ends up in landfills.
Lenovo said last year that it had started developing closed-loop recycling materials for the purpose of using them in certain products. Last year, Apple made waves by announcing its goal of moving towards a 100% closed circuit supply chain.
"It sounds crazy, but we are working on it," said the company in its annual Environmental Responsibility. report. "One day, we would like to be able to make new products with only recycled materials, including your old products."
Dominique Mosbergen
With these recycling initiatives, technology companies are helping to fill a glaring need in the marketplace. In the United States, many municipalities do not have the means to recycle electronic waste. As a result, many of these wastes eventually become ransacked or shipped to developing countries such as China, Thailand and Kenya, where e-waste is dumped or dismantled by informal recyclers and backyard companies under unregulated and often dangerous.
Closed-loop recycling could therefore be a win-win for businesses and the planet.
Maria Besiou, expert in sustainable supply chain management, said that closed-circuit recycling is a "critical step" consumers of electronic products should take.
Besiou, professor of humanitarian logistics at Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg, Germany, told HuffPost by telephone this month
. However, challenges remain for closed circuit e-waste. recycling, Besiou said. Barriers have limited the effect of these recycling systems on the problem of electronic waste.
Consumers are, according to Mr. Besiou, a major obstacle in the system: people do not recycle their electronic waste as often or as quickly as they should.
"Imagine that you have a smartphone that you do not want anymore," Besiou said. "What are you going to do with it? Most people will keep it in a drawer in case they need it later, or give it to a friend or family member."
"Lots people do not recycle their electronics, even if they do it the time they recycle it, it's so old and degraded that it's not what the producers want, "continued Besiou. "This means that companies can not collect the right quality and quantity of e-waste to ensure optimal operation of their closed-circuit systems.
Consumer Perspectives on E-Waste and sustainability seem to be changing for the better, according to Oliver Campbell, director of global purchasing and packaging at Dell.
"Consumers think differently about sustainability," Campbell said in an interview with HuffPost, noting that buyers seem to be worry about pl us in addition to manufacturing and manufacturing products. is made of.
"What is beautiful and desirable is changing, not just the experience of unpacking or the attractiveness of produces itself, but people are now wondering, "How do I feel when I use this plastic? How do I feel when I have to eliminate it?" Campbell said.
Besiou said that companies also need to start designing products that are not just recyclable in a closed loop system, and that lasts longer, so less waste is generated in the first place. And consumers should resist the temptation to replace their perfectly usable electronics with the coolest new products while reducing their own consumption.
"Everyone in the supply chain – producers, recyclers, governments and consumers – everyone tries to push the responsibility of one actor to the other," Besiou said. "But the problem is, it affects the lives of everyone, everyone has to get involved."
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