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And there will be more stresses of a dif-
ferent kind, according to Biddle. ‘Some 3
billion more middle-class consumers are
expected to enter the global economy by
2030,’ he told his IERC audience in the Aus-
trian city of Salzburg. ‘Economic growth
in emerging markets is fuelling dramatic
increases in demand for resources.’ Fur-
thermore, the world population will have
grown from 7 billion people in 2011 to 8
billion as early as 2024.

Biddle quoted a recent study by McK-
insey & Company which concludes that,
within the next 15 years, demand for ener-
gy will grow by 33%, water by 41% and steel
by 80%. Based on another recent study, at
least US$ 1 trillion more will be needed
in the resource system every year to meet
future resource demands.

A task for all

Clearly, a major responsibility in all of
this is shouldered by governments – but
also by companies both large and small,
Biddle stressed. The crisis of our time can
also be seen as ‘the opportunity of our
time’, he believes.

The speaker identified Unilever as an
example of a major company that has
taken its responsibility seriously by reduc-
ing its CO2 emissions by 1 million tonnes
between 2008 and 2014. The so-called Uni-
lever Sustainable Living Plan is a blueprint
for the company doubling in size while
reducing its carbon footprint by 50%.

Another example is offered by out-
door wear producer Patagonia, which has
recently won recognition for its mobile
repair shops initiative designed to give its
products a longer life. ‘It is a good sign that
a company that makes money by selling
new clothes is actually working towards a
more sustainable business by openly say-
ing that throwing away clothes is a shame,
and so promoting reuse and refurbish-
ment,’ Biddle commented.

Big brands and companies may be
doing a lot already but there is still plenty
more to be done – ‘together with recyclers’,
Biddle stated. ‘They will simply have to
use more recycled materials in their prod-
ucts. The impact of every individual of the
recycling community is enormous.’

According to Biddle, a sea of opportu-
nity lies ahead specifically in his own field
of expertise, namely plastics recycling.
Although plastics recycling rates are on
the increase, there is still a lot of progress

to be made, he believes. ‘For instance, the
US currently recycles less than 10% of its
plastics, which of course is bad news,’ he
told delegates.

Regulation a must

Obviously, more recycling will not
happen automatically. ‘I believe in entre-
preneurship, but you need regulation to
truly boost recycling and (you also need)
to better enforce existing policies,’ Biddle
stressed. ‘Governments should also cre-
ate policies that reward circular economy
practices.’

In addition, they should put more effort
into studying and communicating ‘the
many benefits provided by recyclers’. Bid-
dle used the IERC stage to call on govern-
ments and NGOs to ‘get out of the way’
and let recyclers show what they can do
to help save the planet.

Closing the materials loop

The Salzburg conference showcased
several best practices that prove the
broader e-scrap recycling industry is well
on track to take up this challenge. Elec-
tronics producer Dell takes repairabil-
ity and recyclability into account when
designing products, stated Jonathan Perry,
producer responsibility compliance con-
sultant for the computer manufacturer.
‘The batteries of our laptops are easily
removable and we use recycled plastics
from recycled electronics in our housing
parts, effectively closing the materials
loop,’ he explained. Dell’s experts are look-
ing at future design as well as recycling
technologies ‘to ensure that our products
remain highly recyclable’, he added.

Proving the company’s desire to adopt
a leading role when it comes to sustain-
ability, its laptop packaging incorporates

Hamarec’s Brazilian connection
bears fruit
The International Electron-
ics Recycling Congress pro-
vided a trade area platform for
some 70 companies – mainly
machinery and technology
suppliers, but also a handful of
recyclers. Among them was the
Hamarec Group of Germany.
Established in 2011,
Hamarec’s core business is
the purchase and recycling
of electronic components
sourced from computers,
household appliances and
medical devices. The company
handles a total of 50 000
tonnes of electronic scrap
every year and offers proof that you
can still make money out of e-scrap
– ‘as long as you are willing to seek
new frontiers and explore emerging
markets’, the company’s founder and
managing director Marco Geers told
Recycling International.
Hamarec operates from two locations
in Germany and has run a subsidi-
ary in Istanbul, Turkey, since 2013.
Last year, furthermore, the company
opened a scrap yard in Curitiba,
a city some 500 km south of São
Paulo. According to Geers, business

in Brazil looks promising. ‘It’s the
story of an emerging economy,’ he
explained. ‘People are buying more
and more electronics, so sooner or
later used devices are turned in as
scrap.’
Geers currently ships 10 containers
of e-scrap per month from Brazil to
Antwerp in Belgium. ‘We are now on
an average of 250 tonnes per month,’
Geers said. ‘I expect to reach 3000
tonnes in the first year, with a good
chance to double in the next year.’

Marco Geers (left) with his Turkish business
partner Halil Danisan.