Conference Agenda
E-Waste & WEEE Recycling
2 DAY CONFERENCE: Wednesday 26-27 June 2024
DAY 1
08:00 am - 09:00 am
Morning Delegate Coffee & Networking
09:00 am – 10:40 am
Opening Keynote Presentations
09:00 am – 09:05 am
Opening Remarks
09:05 am – 09:30 am
Critical Raw Materials in E-waste and Recovery – Findings From the Global E-waste Monitor and Recent Projects
The world is experiencing significant electronification, including a digital transformation, with technologies profoundly changing the way we live, work, learn, socialize, and do business. Many people own and use multiple electronic devices, and the increasing interconnectivity of urban and remote areas has led to a rise in the number of devices and objects linked to the internet. This growth has seen a concomitant surge in the amount of EEE and e-waste. At the same time, the global e-waste collection and recycling rate is not keeping pace with this growth, and at the same time resources are becoming increasingly scarce and most critical raw materials are hardly reclaimed. What can we do about this?
09:30 am – 10:00 am
ESG – a joint look at the requirements, challenges and impacts for recyclers
10:00 am – 10:40 am
Panel Discussion: From consumer to recycler: boosting e-waste recycling
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
10:40 am – 11:10 am
Coffee Break
11:10 am – 13:05 pm
Transparency and Takeback initiatives
11:10 am – 11:35 am
The challenges and solutions of WEEE Take Back in B2C Market
1 – Introduction about WEEE Take Back challenges.
2 – Brief review about current regulation in European Level and examples of National regulations regarding take back obligations.
3 – Presents the challenges of this market and potential future based on e-commerce growth.
4 – Share the current solutions applied by Landbell Group to tackle the challenges.
5 – Discuss future steps of take back regarding reuse and refurbishment.
11:35 am – 12:00 pm
The importance of transparent waste management reporting
12:00 pm – 12:40 pm
Panel Discussion: Insights into EPR and Takeback Schemes for E-Waste Management
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
12:40 pm – 14:05 pm
Lunch Break
14:05 pm – 17:20 pm
Ewaste Management Projects
14:05 pm – 14:30 pm
Advancing Global E-Waste Recycling: Overcoming Regional Challenges to Establish Efficient, Green, and Clean Solutions
SMS group has been a pioneer in e-waste recycling and has become a leading supplier of e-waste recycling technology. Our presentation addresses regional challenges, highlighting the need for tailored solutions to establish efficient, green, and clean recycling practices. We’ll provide insights into supply chain challenges, environmental, and health risks, particularly in and with the informal sector. We’ll propose strategies for establishing efficient recycling solutions tailored to each geographic region’s specific needs. We will also emphasize the urgency for innovative technologies and best practices to ensure sustainable recycling.
14:30 pm – 15:20 pm
Panel Discussion: Pragmatic Impact: Does Current Waste Reduction Deliver System Change?
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
This panel will explore the various industries that are expected to drive the growth of the materials market in the coming years. Our expert panelists will discuss the current trends and opportunities in industries such as automotive, electronics, and renewable energy, and how they will impact the demand for different materials. Join us for a dynamic conversation that will offer valuable insights into the future of the materials market and the industries that are shaping it.
15:20 pm – 15:50 pm
Critical Raw Materials in e-waste: developing innovative recycling value chains
We introduce Erion’s pioneering role in advancing the recycling value chains for critical raw materials (CRMs). As Italy’s foremost Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, Erion is at the forefront of projects that seek to refine recycling processes, particularly focusing on Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and permanent magnets. Our initiative underscores the significance of CRMs in sectors pivotal to the renewable energy and digital transitions, aligning with European Union goals for self-sufficiency in CRM mining, processing, and recycling to diminish dependency on external sources. ERION leads efforts in projects like NEW-RE, RENEW, INSPIREE and HARMONY, aiming to pioneer advanced recycling technologies that enhance the efficiency of waste collection and treatment, specifically targeting the sustainable recovery of CRMs from e-waste. A key aspect of our work is addressing the challenges in recycling PCBs, which is currently a high energy-consuming process with limited efficiency in separating CRMs from the epoxy. Moreover, our presentation highlights also the importance of recovering rare earth elements and neodymium from permanent magnets, critical for their use in various technological applications. This comprehensive approach not only seeks to improve environmental impacts but also to innovate in the extraction and recycling methodologies of CRMs.
15:50 pm – 16:10 pm
Coffee Break
16:10 pm – 17:20 pm
Panel Discussion: Enhancing small e-waste collection – motivation and incentives in practice
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
According to the European Commission, the collection rate of small electronic devices across the EU remains low. For example, the collection rate of mobile phones is reported to be under 5% and an estimated stock of 700 million unused and waste mobile phones are stored in households across the EU. This session will focus on the policy panorama around small e-waste collection and demonstrate on concrete examples how the recommended incentives and other motivational strategies can be put in practice to enhance the collection of small electronics based on the pilots run by the ECOSWEEE and DiCE projects.
17:30 pm
Drinks reception
E-Waste & WEEE Recycling
Thursday 27 June 2024
DAY 2
09:00 am – 12:20 pm
Circularity of the Energy Transition
09:05 am – 09:20 am
The E-waste Amendment and the Basel Convention as a Means to Enable Responsible Trade and Recycling
Electronic devices and electrical equipment are embedded in our daily lives. They encompass personal items such as watches, smartphones, cables, computers, and e-bikes, household utilities such as fridges and washing machines, and all the batteries that make equipment work, from the very small ones present in watches to batteries used in electrical vehicles. As explained in the UN’s fourth Global E-waste Monitor in 2024, the world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling. Recycling batteries and electrical and electronic waste is key to sustaining e-mobility and renewable energy transitions towards more climate neutral societies. E-waste recycling can provide key minerals and metals, essential to sustain these transitions while building a circular economy. But recycling requires standards, respect for human rights as well environmental protection to play this role in our economies and our societies. The presentation will show the role of the Basel Convention and the e-waste amendments in this scenario, as a means to avoid illegal movements of e-waste, and enhance the environmentally sound management of e-waste to promote a circular economy
09:20 am – 10:00 am
Panel Discussion: Impact of the energy transition: Assessing Demands and E-Waste Generation
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Coffee Break
10:30 am – 10:50 am
High value in PV Recycling
10:50 am – 11:10 am
Offbeat results from EU H2020 joint project Photorama for hightech recycling of hightech waste
11:10 am – 11:30 am
Moving up the waste hierarchy: challenges and opportunities for solar PV reuse, repair and rehousing
11:30 am – 11:40 am
Interview with Davide Polverini on Eco-design
11:40 am – 12:20 pm
Panel Discussion: How can we improve circularity in the photovoltaic value chain?
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
12:20 pm – 13:30 pm
Lunch Break
13:30 pm – 14:05 pm
Tackling WEEE Plastics
13:30 pm – 14:05 pm
Panel Discussion: Tackling WEEE Plastics: Design to Recycling Phases
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
14:05 pm – 14:10 pm
Break
14:10 pm – 15:20 pm
Technological Landscape
14:10 pm – 14:35 pm
Selective treatment of VHC-fridges
The share of halogen-free refrigerants and blowing agents is increasing in the disposal of cooling devices. Analytical detection of blowing agents in polyurethane foam is our solution. URT Umwelt- und Recyclingtechnik GmbH has been working on concepts for reducing operating costs for years. Core technology is the unequivocal selection between halogen-free and halogen-containing insulation foams. This is the basis for a later selective treatment of the refrigerators. For this purpose, openings are made on the corpus and on each door of the respective end-of-life refrigerator by robots, and gas samples are taken, which are subsequently analysed automatically.
14:35 pm – 15:00 pm
How technology is changing e-waste recycling
Opening Keynote Presentations
In a series of keynote presentations, our expert speakers will aim to uncover the challenges and opportunities of global e-waste management as highlighted by findings from the Global E-waste Monitor. This session will explore emerging consumer behaviour trends in electronics disposal and delve into environmental social governance requirements for recycling companies. Learn practical strategies to boost e-waste recycling efforts, bridging the gap from consumer to recycler with real-world examples.
CURRENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Transparency and Takeback Initiatives
This session on transparency and takeback Initiatives will begin by examining the challenges and solutions of WEEE Take Back in the B2C market, including current regulations and future trends. Our speakers will demonstrate the importance of transparent waste management reporting and its role in facilitating traceable and comparable e-waste processing, delve into the evolving landscape of vape recycling addressing collection costs, safety concerns, the need for traceability to promote a sustainable approach, and examine insights into EPR and Takeback Schemes for E-Waste Management.
CURRENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Ewaste Management projects
This session will spotlight innovative e-waste management projects that drive sustainability in CRM and e-waste recovery through international collaboration or the scaling of novel technologies. Topics will include challenges in recovering rare earth elements from permanent magnets, recycling PCBs, e-waste management in the global south and enhancing small e-waste collection
CURRENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Circularity of the Energy Transition
The session will explore the impact of the energy transition, assessing the demand for green technology and renewables, as well as the potential amount of e-waste generated. Subsequently, our speakers will highlight various aspects of photovoltaic waste management and recycling, examining regulatory perspectives, current practices, and the implications of eco-design policies.
CURRENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Tackling WEEE Plastics
This session will take a comprehensive approach to tackling WEEE plastics from product design to recycling phases. The discussion will explore integrating waste recovery into product development, addressing challenges like brominated flame retardants, and navigating recycling challenges. Speakers will analyse technological solutions and legislative frameworks aimed at addressing these issues.
CURRENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Technological Landscape
This session will delve deep into the impact of technological advancements on the e-waste recycling sector, paving the way for its future evolution. Discussions will analyse cutting-edge technologies like digitalization, AI, and advancements in analytical detection, while also exploring the role of robotics in enhancing recycling processes through it’s capabilities in capturing hazardous components.
CURRENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Circular Electronics
2 DAY CONFERENCE: Wednesday 26-27 June 2024
In partnership with:
DAY 1
08:00 am – 09:00 am
Morning Delegate Coffee & Networking
09:00 am – 09:25 am
Opening Keynote Presentations
09:05 am – 09:25 am
The next generation of E-Waste
The world’s ambition has evolved from stopping pollution and the dumping of e-waste in other countries, to buidling circular and sustainable value chains. Let’s reset our focus on the whole lifecycle of electronics and the waste within at every stage.
09:25 am – 12:25 pm
First Use Phase
09:25 am – 09:45 am
Human Mobile Devices challenge the norms in the tech industry
Launched to acclaim at MWC2024, Human Mobile Devices (HMD for short), looks to change the tech industry, leading the way in solving real world problems amongst mobile device users worldwide. We started off making Nokia phones for years, and now we’ll kick it up to high gear with things like making self repairable phones cool, attractive and accessible for even the most aspirational mainstream users.
09:45 am – 10:05 am
Recognizing More Sustainable Products
What is better than even the best recycling? Its longer use. Longer product use begins with better product design to enable sustainable practices, like repair, upgrade, reuse, and recycling. This session digs into leading design practices for new electronics to enable circularity.
10:05 am – 10:25 am
Reparability - the essential tools to enable a repair culture
How do you build a thriving repair economy around a product? Just like natural systems, repairable product ecosystems require nutrients: parts, information, tools, and a spares supply chain. The easier a product is to repair, the more fertile the ground and field-serviceable it will be. In this session, we’ll walk through the elements of a functioning repair system.
10:25 am – 10:55 am
Coffee Break
10:55 am – 11:35 am
Panel Discussion: Maximizing the life of electronics
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
How can we build products to last? Electronics only last as long as the shortest lived component. Regulators are pressing for increased product lifetimes, with rules encouraging easy battery replacement, mandating longer software support, and requiring years of spare parts availability. We’ll discuss optimizing for durability and practical design for repair techniques.
11:35 am – 12:25 pm
Panel Discussion: State of Play and Future Developments of the Digital Product Passport
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
How Sustainability & Digitization Are Shaping The Future Of Product Identification, Standardization & Disclosure In A Circular Economy
12:25 pm – 13:55 pm
Lunch Break
Lunch Workshop
Delivering Consumer Trust In Mobile Repair
The repair sector of the Mobile Industry has a wide range of stakeholders, ranging from the single technician repair shops to the massive repair facilities supporting marketplaces and major mobility supply chain operations. One critical element all businesses have in common to running a successful mobile repair business is earning the trust of your customers.
This workshop session will explore knowledge and skill building to assist mobile businesses of all sizes delivering trusted repair processes. You will also learn about the industry-recognized WISE Certifications that reward quality in repair services that helps open new opportunities to work with OEM’s, wireless network operators, service centers and others in the supply chain.
The lunch workshop session is a great opportunity to network with other mobile repair operators and refurbishers. Lunch will be provided during this workshop.
13:55 pm – 14:15 pm
Challenges in Sustainable Returns
How are logistics and transboundary movements of returns challenging to navigate in a sustainable way? What can change to make returns more sustainable?
14:15 pm – 17:30 pm
Reuse Phase
14:15 pm – 14:35 pm
IT Resale Markets
Beyond the WEEE and E-Waste recycling sector in the EU, a vibrant reuse market exists where IT resellers are buying and trading UEEE from corporations ITAD programs. Are all IT Resellers the same? How do you know?
14:35 pm – 14:55 pm
Data Center Equipment Reuse Potential
Data centers continue to grow with the cloud and AI expansions, but hyperscalers are faced with the same challenge when refreshing IT equipment like servers and storage arrays. What are the opportunities to reuse data center equipment and extend their useful life?
14:55 pm – 15:20 pm
Coffee Break
15:20 pm – 15:40 pm
Role of Data Erasure in Promoting a Circular Economy
In this session, we will explore how secure data erasure plays a pivotal role in advancing the principles of a circular economy by enabling the reuse of devices, prolonging the lifespan of electronic assets, minimizing electronic waste through resource conservation, and fostering eco-friendly business practices. Participants will discover best practices for data security, prioritizing responsible recycling, promoting reuse of IT assets, and maintaining Certificates of Destruction to meet GDPR compliance.
15:40 pm – 16:25 pm
Panel Discussion: Evolution of Repair Options
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
Repair capabilities in the mobile industry have evolved over last decade with many options from the local tobacco shop doing screen replacements to OEM authorized service centers. This session will explore the evolution of mobile repair options and where the sector is headed.
16:25 pm – 17:25 pm
Tear Down with iFixit
Take a deep dive into the latest gadgets. The gadget surgeons at iFixit will disassemble some of the latest tech, showing specific design techniques that encourage—and inhibit—repair. What mechanical tradeoffs are designers making
17:30 pm
drinks Reception
Circular Electronics
Thursday 27 June 2024
In partnership with:
DAY 2
09:00 am – 10:30 am
Reuse Phase
09:10 am – 09:30 am
Insight From HP's Certified Refurbisher Program
HP launched a new Certified Refurbished program in 2023 to add an HP warranty to full functional refurbished HP brand electronics by channel partners. Learn how this new program is furthering the life of used HP products.
09:30 am – 09:50 am
Will Right to Repair Reduce Electronic Waste?
Everyone talks about circular economy and means recycling. If we were more focused on repairs, would we have to talk less about recycling by reducing electronic waste. We need the right to repair, but a good one, to reduce Waste. A bad one will do the opposite.
What does that mean?
09:50 am – 10:10 am
ReThink Repair
How can AI be used in electronics repair? Can this innovation increase repair and reduce e-waste? This session will explore the possibilities of AI to increase circularity.
10:10 am – 10:30 am
Evolving ITAD Trend in Japan
We Get-IT, ITAD and reuse-based solution company in Japan, conducted a wide-scale research in September, asking 1000+ employees engaged in IT service/procurement. The purpose of this survey was to shed light on their company’s environmentally oriented attitudes and practices especially related to ITAD and refurbished IT products. While conservative business culture in Japan may have created obstacles to circularity in the past, we will share the results and learnings how Japan is moving towards a more circular economy with electronics.
10:30 am – 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am – 14:20 pm
Circular Initiatives
11:00 am – 11:45 am
Panel Discussion: EU Policy: Updates and recommendations
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
This panel will explore the EU regulatory landscape and how new EU regulations are helping and hurting sustainability efforts in repair, reuse, and recycling.
11:45 am – 12:05 pm
Lenovo 360 Circle Community
Lenovo is leading electronics circularity through a program that focuses on collaborative actions of channel partners to drive circular outcomes for customers and build a more sustainable future. Learn how you can drive sustainability through your own channels.
12:05 pm – 13:35 pm
Lunch Break
13:35 pm – 14:20 pm
Panel Discussion: Measuring Circularity through ESG Reporting
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
ESG reporting is taking shape through regulations and voluntary reporting. One of the largest impacts of any corporation is actually in the supply chain. In this session, panelists will explore developments in ESG reporting, standards making efforts, and ways the electronics industry is driving circularity and positive outcomes as measured through ESG reporting. Learn about both environmental and social impacts that can drive change.
14:20 pm – 15:15 pm
Recycling Phase
14:20 pm – 14:40 pm
Innovating with Next Life Plastics at scale
More than 2 in every 3 Logitech devices now use recycled plastic. Logitech has introduced post-consumer recycled plastic across a broad range of our products to reduce dependency on virgin plastic, give end-of-life plastic a second life and reduce their carbon footprint. Recycled plastic is now used at scale across a diverse range of product categories and is available in a broad range of colours Our goal is to use Next Life Plastics across our entire portfolio. In the last three years, we have made several breakthroughs, which have solved technical challenges that were previously impeding our progress.