It’s WEEE Wednesday!
A whole week full of news, insights and circular ideas!
It’s WEEE Wednesday
WEEE – one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU!
Did you know…
… that e-waste can contain up to 69 elements from the periodic table? Even gold! And the gold contained in 88 mobile phones is enough to make an engagement ring!
The challenge:
However, it is this complex mixture of various materials where the biggest problem of this waste stream lies, because some of these materials can cause environmental and health problems if not recycled properly. Also, the resources used to produce electronic devices are often expensive materials or rare minerals which are extracted under inhumane conditions. Therefore, it is really important to find solutions to reuse and also recycle this waste properly. Currently, only 40% of WEEE waste is recycled. Luckily, we see a lot of innovation activity happening in this field and the Green Alley Award had a very promising startup in this area among its 2019 finalists: RMF Tech!
RMF Tech
Founded in 2019, the German startup first concentrated on a chemical recycling process to extract the technology metal indium from residues. This element is used for the production of displays, LEDs and photovoltaic cells. With the patented technology the startup developed, it is possible to extract indium from primary sources (slag and ore) and secondary sources (electronical waste) to meet the rising global demand. Since its participation in the 2019 Green Alley Award, RMF Tech managed to extend its service range and now also provides its chemical recycling solution to extract Gallium, Germanium, Indium, Gold and Silver from primary or secondary sources – and other metals upon request. We are curious to hear about their next steps. Find out more on their website
https://www.rmf-tech.com/
Do you want to check out this year's circular pioneers and their ideas for a circular economy? The 2022 Green Alley Award public voting has just started with the winner receiving a place in the finals. Go to https://green-alley-award.com/poll/2022-green-alley-award-public-voting/ and vote for YOUR favourite circular economy startups.
