LIFE RUN

The recycling of electronics is more and more common. However the devices are generally scrapped for metals with a low recovery rate, and all of the currently non-recyclable parts are wasted in the process. The project sought to implement an alternative reuse scheme. A new system for collection, refurbishment and distribution of notebooks was designed. It grants used notebooks a ‘second life’, avoiding the environmental and resource costs associated with the production of new ones.

The major innovative feature lies in exploiting a previously unutilized waste stream - devices which would otherwise be recycled conventionally or remained unused by their owner. Whereas existing refurbishment and reuse schemes revolve around large corporations as the source of electronics, thanks to streamlined leasing contracts the project focused on private households and small and medium enterprises (SME). The fragmented nature of this segment presented a special challenge in terms of logistics, which the project successfully overcame while implementing an economically viable system.

Dr. Brüning Engineering UG led a consortium of 8 partners acquiring EU funding between 2014-2017. Thanks to a dissemination and transferability plan, the business concept has spread to 3 additional EU countries since the project’s conclusion.