The Challenge

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is the world's fastest-growing waste stream (ILO, 2014 cited in WHO, 2024). Global e-waste production soared by 82% between 2010 and 2022 to reach a record 62 million tonnes (UNITAR, 2024), a growth rate nearly six times faster than that of the world's population. To put this in perspective, that volume of e-waste could fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough to form a bumper-to-bumper line encircling the equator (UNITAR, 2024). Yet only 22.3% of the WEEE was formally collected and recycled (UNITAR, 2024).

Large amounts of resources are utilised throughout the life cycle of electronic equipment, including mining, manufacturing, transport, retail, consumption, and disposal (Meidl, 2023). An estimated 31 million tonnes of metals were embedded in e-waste in 2022, with a value of US $91 billion, including US $19 billion in copper, US $15 billion in gold, and US $16 billion in iron (UNITAR, 2024). WEEE is often incinerated, dumped in landfills, or exported to developing countries at end-of-life (Meidl, 2023). When e-waste is improperly recycled, it can release up to 1000 different chemical substances into the environment, including known neurotoxicants such as lead, leaving pregnant women and children particularly vulnerable (WHO, 2024). In 2020, an estimated 580 MtCO₂e (Megatonnes of CO₂e) were emitted by WEEE (Singh and Ogunseitan, 2022), which is equivalent to the CO₂ emissions from 153 coal-fired [EV1] power plants in one year (EPA.gov, 2024). Extracting valuable materials from e-waste is essential to avoid further environmental degradation. E-waste management globally prevents 93 MtCO₂e emissions in the form of refrigerants in temperature exchange equipment (41 MtCO₂e) and through the lower greenhouse gas emissions obtained by recycling metals versus mining (52 MtCO₂e) (UNITAR, 2024).

The Circular Solution

Remanufacturing is one of the 10 R-strategies of a circular economy. A remanufactured product uses parts from a discarded product in a new product with the same function (Potting et al, 2017). Importantly, a remanufactured product must perform at the same level or higher than the original product, and it must have a warranty of the same or longer duration (Tant et al., 2018). Remanufactured products are disassembled, all components are cleaned, reassembled, tested, and repaired as needed (Tant et al., 2018).

GreenIT, an Irish SME and CIRCULÉIRE member, offers high-quality remanufactured laptops to the mainstream consumer as well as public sector bodies. Their preowned remanufactured laptops have been restored to a like-new condition, inside-and-out, through comprehensive testing, repair and updating of hardware and software components. The laptops go through the BSI (British Standards Institution) Kitemark certified Circular Remanufacturing Process where preowned laptops are inspected, disassembled, restored, re-assembled, tested and finished, meaning that every laptop must meet or exceed the quality and performance of new products (BSI, 2023).

GreenIT source laptops through a diverse network including corporate trade-ins and electronic recycling programmes. If deemed suitable for remanufacture all data on the laptops is securely erased, and key components such as the hard drive, memory, battery, and motherboard are tested for functionality. Any defective or outdated parts are replaced with new or refurbished components. The laptops are cleaned, and cosmetic damages, such as scratches or dents, are repaired. If necessary, they may be repainted or reskinned. The operating system and drivers are freshly installed, and the laptops undergo rigorous final testing to ensure they operate good-as-new. To guarantee their reliability, every GreenIT remanufactured laptop comes with a 3-5 year extended warranty, and cost up to 40% less than a new version of the same laptop (GreenIT, 2024).

In 2024, the Republic of Ireland’s Office of Government Procurement (OGP) launched a new ‘first-of-its-kind’ framework for public bodies to acquire remanufactured laptops (Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, 2024). The contract was granted to GreenIT who tendered as the lead entity in a consortium with Circular Computing, a UK-based company that specialises in the remanufacturing of enterprise-grade laptops (Pepper, 2024). 

The contract is valued at up to EUR €30 million and aligns with the circular economy objectives outlined in the Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027 (DCEE, 2024). Green Public Procurement is the process by which public bodies aim to procure goods, services and works that have lower environmental impact throughout their life cycle as compared to goods, services and works with the same primary function that would otherwise be procured (DCEE; OGP, 2024).

Climate Impact

Approximately 60,000 remanufactured laptops could be procured by public bodies throughout the four-year term, extending the life cycle of the laptops and minimising WEEE generation (Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, 2024). Purchasing a remanufactured laptop instead of a new one saves around 310 kilogrammes of CO₂e (Yuksek et al., 2023). Moreover, remanufacturing laptops can decrease energy consumption during manufacturing by up to 80% by eliminating raw material extraction and processing (Yuksek et al., 2023). Furthermore, remanufactured laptops save about 190,000 litres of water per laptop due to the absence of primary resource extraction and refinement, and new product component production (Maalouf et al., 2015). The Irish Government estimate the contract will equate to a reduction of 19 million Kgs CO₂, preserve 72 million Kgs of mined resources and save 11 billion litres of water (Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, 2024).       

Replicability

Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is EUR €506.30 billion (Central Statistics Office, 2024). The annual public sector purchasing accounts for 10% to 12% of the country’s GDP (DCEE; OGP, 2024), which represents a significant portion of economic activity and demand. As a result, Ireland’s public sector has the capacity to drive the procurement of more resource-efficient, less polluting goods, services and works within the marketplace.

This is a great advantage for companies who embed circular principles into their business models when competing for government tenders.

A noteworthy example is:

• Evolve, a CIRCULÉIRE Member, are an independent technology-driven supply chain solution that streamlines the sourcing of remanufactured green auto parts for automotive businesses. In 2022, An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force, saved the equivalent of 38,477 Kg of CO₂ by acquiring 551 reclaimed vehicle parts of various makes and models from Evolve (Fleetcar, 2023).