CirculaRElectronics by VERTMONDE

Description

IT industry is the biggest consumer of precious metals & e-waste is the most polluting waste stream. Technology and digitalization are very important, and we love technology, but we like it more when it's PRE loved & carbon smart. So we are making REpair great again. With RE we create a more ethical & sustainable way to interact with technology, which is not only good for the environment, but financially smart!

Story

110 yrs ago together with my mom and my sister we realized ewaste is a big environmental problem so we established the 1st and only ewaste recycling facility in Ecuador. But although recycling is very important, it is not enough. Producing new electronic equipment produce a huge amount of CO2 and requires tons of precious metals. We found a new problem to solve. How to enjoy all eh benefits of technology without the environmental impact. So we piloted a refubirsh lab to extend the life of IT equipment and put it back in the market. We are making repair great again, revamping the 2nd hand market powered by put efficient circular electronics logistics hub

Link

• http://www.vertmonde.com

Images

Judge’s Comments

Darlene Damm

Faculty Chair and Former Vice President of Community and Impact, Singularity University

Doing the Hard Work Prize

We have covered our world with mines, factories and logistics systems to mine metals, create parts, and build electronics. While these technologies are vital to modern life, the world is also facing a massive problem with e-waste, which is connected to both pollution and climate change. It can be tempting to come up with new solutions to try to solve these pollution and climate change challenges, but sometimes the best solution is to actually reverse what we have done. The project demonstrates how we can not only extend the life of technology, but create "reverse logistics hubs" to recycle and undo what we have built - still while keeping the end product. What if our world put as much effort into taking things apart, repurposing pieces and repairing damages as it puts into building entirely new things? This project demonstrates that if we put in the effort and hard work, we can reverse the problems we have created. In this case, they have done so at no financial cost and even creating a profit.

Kosuke Kinoshita

FabCafe Kyoto MTRL Marketing and Production

Sustainable Devices Prize

Electronic devices have become a kind of personal infrastructure. Everyone should have the right to own an electronic device regardless of their location or economic circumstances. At the same time, we need to implement a circular system of product development, distribution and recycling in order to reduce e-waste and prevent the depletion of rare metals. This project also helped me realize, as someone who relies on other parts of the world to handle production and disposal of these resources, that we need to explore more ethical ways to collaborate.