TNO: Sustainable solution to e-waste

Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) such as mobile phones and televisions are ubiquitous in modern societies. As the total amount of EEE grows steadily, this simultaneously creates an ever expanding amount of e-waste. Several problems are connected to e-waste. First of all, collection rates are still very low, compared to what they should be. Secondly, due to a myriad of reasons, e-waste is often processed in the informal sector, especially in developing countries. This informal processing creates a lot of problems, for instance by causing environmental pollution, loss of scarce resources and health hazards. Motivated by a desire to improve these circumstances, our client TNO asked us to develop a sustainable business model that provides a solution for one or more problems in the e-waste sector. To do this, we have first mapped out the sector in more detail. Subsequently, we will deduce possibilities for sector entrance from this data, and select the highest potential option(s) for the second phase of the project. During this second phase we will work towards our final deliverable: one or more business models that can contribute to improving conditions in the e-waste sector.