E-waste: from overhead to revenue stream

In2tec Commercial Director Emma Armstrong outlines how ReUSE and ReCYCLE overcome the difficulties of safely disposing of throwaway electronics.

As the climate crisis deepens, valuable resources used to manufacture electronics grow scarcer while governments worldwide tighten environmental regulations, so businesses can no longer pretend the e-waste crisis isn't happening.

The status quo of 'burying or burning' unwanted and obsolete technology is no longer acceptable in the face of the looming ecological catastrophe, to say nothing of the dwindling stocks of materials like lithium, gold, and copper and the reputational damage risked by organisations that fail to recognise their responsibility to future generations.

Recent UN data shows e-waste volumes are shamefully continuing to rise while recycling rates are falling. This must change.

Responsibly tackling e-waste does not need to be a troublesome and expensive process comprised of e-waste charges and paid-for PCS compliance schemes. New technologies can turn what was once a liability into a profitable asset.

UK manufacturing firm In2tec's patented ReUSE and ReCYCLE technologies allow the complete removal of components and substrates at end-of-life allowing for reuse in next-generation products.

ReUSE is the manufacturing of unzippable electronics assemblies and ReCYCLE is an ultra-low energy unzipping process that allows full end-of-life disassembly for reuse, and recycling.

These unique technologies help manufacturers and the wider electronics industry introduce circularity to their operations – while opening new sources of income from the recovered assets.

No one else in the world has access to ReUSE and ReCYCLE and there is no comparable technology. It was first developed 15 years ago and is finally gaining traction as OEMs and contract manufacturers begin to wake up to the benefits of the circular economy.

Inefficiency and waste

Removing components from substrates manufactured using traditional processes is problematic, with 90% of components rendered unviable for reuse. The current method for soldered component recovery requires either high heat, mechanical force, or a combination of both. The viability of these components is questionable, and the process is costly with minimal recovery, so the cost outweighs the gain.

The COVID pandemic highlighted the issue when many companies bought white goods and attempted to desolder them to get the chips they needed to continue manufacturing - but the components recovered were useless. This is why In2tec is growing - its technology delivers genuine reuse and recycling opportunities which secures the supply chain long term.

Take the components in a laptop as an example. They are manufactured to withstand at least 25 years of useable life, but the expected lifecycle of the equipment is just 3-4 years. Over 80% of the electronic components are common and will be used to manufacture laptops for a long time yet, but these currently all go to waste after using less than a 5th of their available life.

When you manufacture a laptop with ReUSE conductive adhesives, you can easily recover the components as a valuable asset that can go on to make several next-generation models.

Waste as growth

In2tec’s solution will significantly enhance the bottom line of OEMs or contract manufacturers and enable them to incentivise customers to return devices or gadgets because they can take the components off the board with ultra-low energy and go on to make new devices from components that are then cost free and carbon free.

Over 347 million metric tonnes of e-waste is lying around on the floor somewhere on this planet, and that’s going to grow to 746 million by 2030 if something isn’t done.

More and more companies are waking up to the climate crisis, but In2tec's solution helps them do their part for the betterment of the planet with significant CO2e reductions while generating higher profits - satisfying shareholders, regulators, and stakeholders.