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Businesses warned of scale of e-waste problem

With the focus on recycling, remanufacturing and disposing of hardware sustainably, there is a chance for the channel to share solutions to the challenge

The topic of e-waste has come under the spotlight with the arrival of Circular Electronics Day, aiming to shine a light on the continued levels of IT equipment that is dumped in landfill.

The calendar date, backed with the support of a wide number of industry players, has been created to generate an opportunity to discuss with businesses and consumers the importance of reducing waste and improving sustainability.

Figures contained in the latest Global E-waste monitor from the UN, concerning the extent of the material that is dumped, are disturbing, with it estimated that around 82 billion kilograms of e-waste will be generated by 2030. Worldwide, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6 million tonnes annually.

The UN also exposed the challenges tracking hardware disposal, with 22.3% of the e-waste documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving $62bn worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for.

“From smartphones and laptops to countless other devices, electronics are integral to our daily lives – yet, we often dispose of them long before necessary. Treating these items as disposable exacerbates the global e-waste problem,” said Andreas Nobell, development manager at TCO Development, a founding member of the Circular Electronics Initiative and the organisation behind Circular Electronics Day.

“Circular Electronics Day urges us to adopt smarter, more sustainable solutions to reduce waste and prolong the usage of our devices. Every small step counts,” he added.

Customers are urged to recycle and reuse more equipment, upgrade and repair devices that could last longer, as well as being more open to buying remanufactured products.

The remanufactured market is starting to be taken more seriously by hardware vendors, with more options emerging to put products into the hands of the channel.

In the meantime, there is encouragement to buy durable products and think about what happens when equipment does come to the end of its life.

Hanne Sjoeberg, vice-president of channels for secure power Europe division at Schneider Electric, said that there was awareness across the channel of the need to tackle e-waste.

“There is some cause for optimism when it comes to sustainability in the channel, though. Research published by Canalys in 2024 found that 50% of partners expect to generate revenue from sustainability solutions this year, and that a further 92% of customers are seeking guidance from partners around sustainable product procurement processes, including circular IT systems,” she said.

“Partners are tackling the growing problem of e-waste, with legislation and repairability becoming significant business drivers, with the French market leading the way. As such, partners are focusing on circularity services, with take-back and recycling most frequently offered by partners, with device as a service also gaining traction,” she added.

She said that there was a responsibility across the industry to work together to improve knowledge and prmote sustainable approaches and solutions.

“Collaboration across the industry is important to drive circularity, and partners rely on vendor support in embedding repairability, recyclability and durability into product design,” she said.

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