The Mayor of Kettering called In2tec’s sustainability technology ‘very, very cool’ during a visit to the leading sustainable electronics provider’s HQ.
Cllr Emily Fedorowycz, a Green Party councillor for North Northamptonshire Council, says she is excited by the potential of In2tec’s ReUSE® and ReCYCLE™ technology and how they bring circularity to the electronics industry.
ReUSE® is a comprehensive suite of materials, manufacturing processes, and proprietary design techniques facilitating the production of fully unzippable printed circuit boards, while ReCYCLE™ is the ultra-low energy mechanism to retrieve the components and materials when a product reaches the end of its useful life.
Cllr Fedorowycz spoke to staff at In2tec about the ecological damage and wasted materials generated by throwaway electronics and the importance of the circular economy.
She said:
“It’s massive in terms of reducing landfill and the Kettering-based technology is completely unique to you guys and that’s really exciting. I learned so much today.
“Being able to recover more of these resources makes a lot of sense. So many of us don’t think about how anything with a battery or a wire is ewaste.”
Emma Armstrong, the Sustainable Electronics Ambassador at In2tec, said:
“The Mayor was really enthusiastic about In2tec’s future and it’s wonderful to see local politicians placing such importance on reducing the waste of our rapidly dwindling resources and cutting the carbon footprint of the electronics industry.”
According to The Circularity Gap Report, the current global economy is just 7.2% circular (dropping from 9.1% in 2018), meaning that for the most part, materials are mined, created into products, sold, and then disposed of. This very wasteful way of life has sadly been the norm for decades.
Circularity in the electronics industry was historically deemed an impossibility due to multiple challenges, including the complexity of the construction of conventional PCBAs and the limited repair, recycling, and reusability options. The process of separating soldered components from a substrate is slow, costly, and the stress caused to de-soldered components leads to their questionable viability.
In2tec’s sustainable electronics solution; ReUSE® and ReCYCLE™, is a closed-loop process allowing manufacturers to remove components from existing electronics at the end of their useful life and reuse them.
“Our technology allows manufacturers to easily repair and extend the life of products or reuse the electronic components and materials in manufacture. We’re bringing full circularity to the electronics industry and minimising the use of raw materials and minerals that are rapidly running out,” Emma adds.
“Linear economies cause devastating pollution to our water, soil, and air while raising the earth’s temperature to unstable levels. More than 90% of materials are either lost or remain unavailable for reuse. The Global Electronics Council reported that within the 57Mt of e-waste generated in 2021, over $60bn of valuable components were wasted.
“The electronics industry needs a solution to minimise waste by reusing existing components that in most cases have been used for barely a quarter of their viable lifespan.”
“The waste isn’t just unsustainable; we can’t let it continue. Global resources are running out and for the benefit of future generations, we need to reuse what we already mined. The electronics industry must address its impact on the planet’s resources, and having a solution that provides value means we’re seeing OEMs take an interest in ReUSE® and ReCYCLE™” concluded Emma.
In2tec’s solution means that ewaste becomes a value chain, not a cost chain.
Manufacturers can reduce the costs spent on components and WEEE charges and create additional revenue streams through the reuse or resale of valuable components and materials by OEMs and Recyclers.
