Reconditioning mobile phones

The environmental cost of a smartphone is far from negligible. In particular, the manufacture of these concentrates of technology requires the use of raw materials, the extraction of which emits large quantities of greenhouse gases. To minimise these impacts, the main challenges are to extend the life of these devices, promote reconditioning so that certain devices can be put back on the market and support re-use. Operators are well aware of this challenge, encouraging repair rather than replacement and encouraging their customers to return their old smartphones so that they can be reconditioned or given a second life, including through associations supporting digital inclusion.

Robin and its circular paint

Committed to producing environmentally-friendly paints, Peintures Robin has developed the Robin Loop range. It was conceived at a time when the company was facing a shortage of raw materials. So it looked for alternative sources of supply... in unused paint recovered from Superdreckskëscht sorting centres. From the quantity of ‘discarded’ paint (around 1,000 tonnes a year), a sorting process is carried out to identify the part that can be recycled: it has to be white, harmless, water-based and, of course, still applicable. The paint is then rebalanced. The laboratory carries out another post-processing check to ensure that it meets the quality criteria for Robin matte white interior paint. The paint is then bottled and sold.

Re:Use, the construction re-use platform

Re:Use allows you to take a virtual tour of a building that is due to be demolished and to reserve items-- partitions, joinery, furniture, etc.--that can be reused in a future project. Implemented by BIM-Y, in collaboration with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (List), Schroeder & Associés and the Fonds de compensation. The platform also makes it possible to manage the time between the deconstruction of the old building and the construction of the future project, avoiding the need for the user to move the object and store it until it can be used. The List also proposes to calculate the carbon footprint reduction achieved through re-use. Schroeder & Associés is providing the engineering expertise and accredited status required to carry out the inventory.

Recycling batteries with Circu Li-ion

Circu Li-ion is committed to upcycling three billion batteries by 2035, while reducing their environmental impact. The start-up, which raised €8.5m last autumn, is developing AI-based technology to optimise the battery recycling process. In particular, the aim is to break down used batteries to extract their various components and give them a second life. The unit is also developing the world’s largest library of battery recycling data. It intends to forge partnerships with electric vehicle manufacturers and recyclers. Up to 90% of the cells contained in a battery can be reused.

From tennis balls to flooring

Since 2022, the commune of Mamer has been taking part in the Action Balles de Tennis operation, launched by Superdreckskëscht in cooperation with the Luxembourg Tennis Federation. The aim is to collect and recycle tennis balls from the Capellen Tennis Club. The balls are 82% rubber. An estimated 11 tonnes are used every year in Luxembourg. It takes around 2,500 years for a tennis ball to degrade, and once used, they end up as household waste. The challenge is to collect the balls and transform them into sports flooring. In 2022, 570kg of tennis balls were recycled at the TC Capellen site, equivalent to around 12,000 balls. This quantity makes it possible to produce 250,000kg of aggregates and ultimately create a 25m2 court.

New carpet from old

Composil specialises in advising on the purchase and maintenance of office carpets. It implements a cleaning methodology and associated maintenance programme to double the life of the material. The company looks after more than 2.5m square metres of carpet in Belgium, Luxembourg and France. It has also launched the first office carpet tile re-use and recycling scheme. To achieve this, the group has created a whole ecosystem that includes manufacturers, installers, recyclers and recovery teams working to recover tiles, reuse those that are still in good condition and recycle them by a manufacturer. The production of 1m2 of carpet tiles consumes 5kg of refined petroleum. This solution quickly saves thousands of tonnes of CO2.

Building a circular economy

According to the LetsGoCircular platform, what are the main principles of the circular model?

Create, conserve and recover value: For businesses, adopting a circular approach means creating value, conserving it and then recovering it. It means creating quality products that are designed to last, but also to be dismantled, and whose materials/components can be returned to the cycle. 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage. It is essential to get things right from the outset. Once the product is in service, it is important to retain this value through repair and maintenance. Finally, the value must be recovered through reuse, reconditioning and/or recycling, ideally never to be lost altogether.

Developing global approaches: We need to be able to adopt a global approach to the management of products, components and materials, from the idea stage to the final tangible result, which includes a human element if we consider how the product is used.

New business models: The players involved will have to develop new business models that favour sharing over personal ownership. Sharing a car, rather than owning one, is a classic example of a unique product that can meet the needs of many people.

This article was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.

This article was written for the supplement of the July 2024 edition of , published on 19 June. The content is produced exclusively for the magazine. It is published on the website as a contribution to the complete Paperjam archive. .

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