Analysis: Remanufacturing and refurbishment are sometimes used interchangeably but there are differences in each
Our love of technology and consumer electronics has changed how we work and live for the better, but it is causing issues for our planet due to the amounts of electronic waste (e-waste) being generated and turning up in waste streams.
Consumer electronics is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world, for example in 2022, a record 62 billion kg of e-waste was generated globally with only 22% being collected and recycled. In Ireland, we generated 11 million kilos of small electronic waste in 2022, the equivalent of 25 million items. This e-waste is a serious problem as it contains materials that do not breakdown easily, as well as hazardous materials. Many of these materials are also important to our manufacturing industries in Europe.
Electronic devices are turning up as waste for several reasons; poor quality design, not easily reparable, too many refresh cycles (no longer the current model), not supported by the manufacturer due to older hardware or software updates not available. All electronic devices require large quantities of energy, water and materials in their manufacture.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, what is e-waste and how can you cut it down?
Many of the materials that are required for consumer electronics are also required in other industries such as clean technology, from wind turbines to solar panels to electric batteries. These materials that are used in our everyday electronic devices are extremely important to the future of the European Union, so much so that the European Commission has implemented the Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act to protect the supply and treatment of the most important materials.
The European Union’s CRM Act lists all the materials that are critical to the current and future needs of Europe’s manufacturing sectors. Access to our supply chains has been threatened by recent global events, and the CRM Act aims to increase recycling and reuse to secure our supply chains against future uncertainty.
Many of these materials are currently sourced from China and the Chinese government has implemented quotas restricting exports to protect the Chinese manufacturing sectors, and to maintain China's place as the lead manufacturing nation.
Read more: 10 ways to keep your electronic devices in top working condition
Reuse is an umbrella term that includes strategies such as repair, refurbish, repurpose and remanufacture. Extending the life of a product or device is much better for the environment as it prevents disposal, reduces the carbon footprint and it reduces the amount of electronic waste. Repair is a key activity to increase the lifetime of a device, such as a smartphone, and the European Union is encouraging and legislating to increase repair activity.
The Circular Economy is a business model that aims to keep materials in use for as long as is possible and to be able to recover and recycle these materials when they are no longer needed. In order to enable this the European Commission has introduced the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) to set requirements for products to be more durable, reuseable, repairable and upgradable. This regulation will also make products more energy and resource efficient while reducing non-recyclable materials in products and increasing recycled content. It will also help make products easier to remanufacture.
Read more: Do you really need a new phone? The curse of planned obsolescence
Remanufacturing is a reuse strategy where a product is returned at the end of its first life and is put through a manufacturing process to repair, clean, test the device and it is sent back out with the same quality and warranty as a new device. Remanufacturing and refurbishment are sometimes used interchangeably but there are differences in each. Many of the top manufactures of consumer electronics have well established refurbishment programs from Dell to Lenovo to Apple. Some of these refurbishment programs operate at a remanufacturing level with similar testing, quality and warranty standards in place.
Apple has a long-established refurbishment program from right across its product range, from smartphones to laptops. These products are usually returns or have been repaired by Apple. They are inspected, repaired, cleaned and tested and are sold with the same quality and warranty as you would get on a new device. These refurbished devices are sold at a lower cost with savings ranging from €100 to €600 depending on the product. A recent study has shown that purchasing a refurbished Apple iPhone 13 instead of the new variant can save up to 78% of CO2.
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From RTÉ News, Despite a rise in electrical goods recycling, reuse rates in Ireland are low, explains UL's Dr Damian Coughlan
Circular Computing are a remanufacturing company that specialise in remanufacturing high end business laptops from brands life Dell, Lenovo and HP. They operate as a third-party remanufacturing company in that they source the laptops themselves and put them through a remanufacturing process to assess, repair and replace damaged components. These devices are tested and re-installed with an operating system and are sold with similar quality and warranty to a new laptop. Circular Computing estimate that by purchasing one remanufactured laptop it will save 316kg CO2 along with savings of 190,000L of water.
The benefits of reuse through refurbishment and remanufacture of consumer devices can have a positive impact on our journey to becoming more sustainable. These devices benefit the environment by offsetting the embodied energy from manufacturing and by keeping critically important materials in use for longer and have economic benefits for manufacturers, resellers and consumers.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
