In recent years the market for electronic products has skyrocketed. Due to rapid innovations, devices get replaced more frequently than ever before. Often, they end up forgotten in a drawer after only one to two years. Only a small percentage of those products get repaired, recycled, or rather end up in African landfills. People tend to keep old devices because they are emotionally bonded to them or they have difficulties finding appropriate ways to dispose of the products. Due to the fact that the resources in those “lost” devices are not recycled, new materials have to be mined, eventually leading to irreversible environmental destruction. Another recurring issue is incorrect disposal of e-waste – especially Li-Ion batteries are prone to causing fires in waste sorting facilities and therefore leading to extensive damage of expensive infrastructure.
Core is an urban mining service assisting people in bringing their old electronics back
into the circular economy. Via the app, a shipping box can be requested. The customer then sends it to a refurbishing or recycling company. The proceeds either go back to the
user or can be donated.