Circular Electronics Day, Jan. 24, was created in 2018 to inspire people to buy and manage their electronics in a sustainable way and prevent end-of-life electronics from going to waste. On its website in recognition of the day, Stockholm-based TCO Development, one of the founders of Circular Electronics Day and the creator of the TCO Certified sustainability certification, encourages people and organizations to recycle or refurbish their old electronics. Other practices it encourages include extending the product life of electronics through upgrades and repairs, choosing products that carry a sustainability certification, choosing durable products, and climate-compensating a new product by recycling a similar product or offsetting the product’s carbon emissions.
As part of Circular Electronics Day, TCO Development has created a quiz and will host a webinar Jan. 21 on five approaches to circular electronics. ISRI members who want to participate in Circular Electronics Day are encouraged to contact Clare Hobby, global director of purchaser engagement for TCO Development and to use the hashtag #CircularElectronicsDay on Twitter. “There’s some fantastic initiatives going on around refurbishment and responsible recycling,” Hobby says. “We would love to have [recyclers] get involved. It’s just a matter of showing up, sharing what you know, interacting, and creating some engagement.”
According to TCO Development, other organizations signed up to participate include 3stepIT, ATEA, Chalmers Industriteknik, Closing the Loop, Dell, Dustin, ETIRA, European Remanufacturing Council, Godsinlösen, Greenlyfocus, iFixit, Inrego, International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Lenovo, Recipo, Smithereens, Towards Zero Waste, Tradera and WEEE Forum.
