In2tec back Scottish reuse and recycling powers

The Circular Economy Bill gives ministers powers to set local recycling targets, restrict the disposal of unsold consumer goods in order to prevent good products ending up in landfill, and place charges on single-use items like disposable cups.

Emma Armstrong, Sustainable Electronics Ambassador at In2tec, which has developed a process to revolutionise recyclability in the electronics sector, said: “It’s fantastic to see lawmakers putting their money where their mouth is with concrete measures to tackle electronic waste.

“Modernising and improving waste and recycling services is vital to the UK’s net-zero efforts.

“Scotland has boldly taken inspiration from the fantastic work done by the Welsh Government, which has the best recycling rate in the UK.

“Vital materials are becoming more and more scarce while an estimated £60bn of recoverable materials are needlessly scrapped every year globally. This must stop.”

In2tec has developed a pair of patented technologies – ReUSE, the manufacturing of unzippable electronics assemblies, and ReCYCLE a low energy disassembly process – that allow full end-of-life disassembly, reuse, and recyclability.

Emma added: “In2tec’s leading-edge tech allows businesses the world over to collect, refurbish, and recycle technology and conserve rapidly dwindling resources, such as rare earth metals.

“Circularity in the electronics industry is no longer ‘too expensive’ because ReUSE and ReCYCLE remove technical challenges, such as the stress caused to de-soldered components by the reclamation process and turns e-waste from a liability to a valuable asset”

Scottish Minister for Climate Action Gillian Martin says circularity has already created jobs by turning materials that might otherwise be added to landfills into new products.

“The measures in the Circular Economy Bill will give local Councils and the Scottish Government the powers needed to support the sustainable use of resources and cut greenhouse gas emissions,” she added.

“For people to do the right thing for the planet, it is crucial that everyone experiences a modern, easy-to-use waste service.”