Government and industry together tackle electronic waste at source

Many electronic products are a boon to those who work with them. But they can also turn into a huge waste and environmental problem. To prevent and reduce that, Rijkswaterstaat researched the needs of businesses in this sector to promote circularity. One of the results is the online course Design for Recycling of Electronics in a Circular Economy. This course, developed by TU Delft and Partners for Innovation, will be available for free starting Nov. 10, 2021.
Electronics consist of more than 60 elements from the periodic table. In addition to using more recycled materials, manufacturers will have to consider recyclability as early as the design stage of electronics.

What does this course offer?
Participants learn how to optimize the recyclability of EEE with good design, and how to apply recycled plastics. Practical examples and expert insights provide insight into current and future recycling technologies. With a better understanding of the impact of design choices on the recovery process of the materials used. Also covered are expected developments in legislation and business models.

For whom.
The course is designed for designers and engineers, but is also suitable for marketing managers and policy makers.

Sign up
By now there are already 450 participants. So are you active in the EEE industry and want to be ready for the Circular Economy? Then click on the 'sign up for the course' button below.

Hands-on course for a better understanding of Design for Recycling
The Design for Recycling of Electronics course meets the needs of leaders in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) industry. Together with parties from the chain: material suppliers, collectors and recyclers, they have united in RE-CET (Redesigning Electronics in a Circular Economy Transition). This consortium aims to promote the use of plastic recyclate within the European electronics industry. They stress the need to develop a better understanding of Design for/from Recycling (DfR) among designers and engineers. A theoretical approach to this principle is already available. But an alignment with common end-of-life practices in industry and its implementation in design practice is still lacking. This hands-on course fills this gap.

Connecting parties in the chain
"What is special about this course is that we are connecting parties at the front and back of the chain," emphasizes Mireille Reijme of the Department of Public Works. The course involves recycling companies as well as producers and suppliers. "With this we are taking an important first step to actually reduce electronic waste."
The Dutch government aims to use 50% fewer raw materials by 2030. As the implementing agency, Rijkswaterstaat has the task of giving hands and feet to this ambition.

Transition to Circular
Reijme sees a clear link with the transition agendas Plastics and Consumer Goods and the knowledge center Waste Circular, which co-implements the Circular Economy Implementation Program. The transition agendas state how the relevant sector can become circular in 2050 and what actions are needed to achieve this. Reijme: "This course gives substance to this program and its agendas. Recycling is indispensable for the circular economy, but ultimately it is also about longer life, reuse and refurbishment."