{"id":691846,"date":"2025-09-25T05:40:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T02:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-robotics-could-turn-e-waste-into-a-tech-goldmine\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T05:40:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T02:40:30","slug":"how-robotics-could-turn-e-waste-into-a-tech-goldmine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-robotics-could-turn-e-waste-into-a-tech-goldmine\/","title":{"rendered":"How robotics could turn e-waste into a tech goldmine"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3732448a3f3\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3732448a3f3\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-robotics-could-turn-e-waste-into-a-tech-goldmine\/#A_Danish_robotic_solution\" >A Danish robotic solution<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-robotics-could-turn-e-waste-into-a-tech-goldmine\/#The_business_value_of_e-waste\" >The business value of e-waste<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-robotics-could-turn-e-waste-into-a-tech-goldmine\/#Why_is_e-waste_an_untapped_billion-dollar_industry\" >Why is e-waste an untapped billion-dollar industry?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-robotics-could-turn-e-waste-into-a-tech-goldmine\/#Modern_tech_problems_%E2%80%94_and_solutions\" >Modern tech problems \u2014 and solutions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">E-waste has become a global problem. Unfortunately, the majority of discarded used <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>, known as e-waste, is dumped or processed in unsafe conditions. Around <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/electronic-waste-%28e-waste%29?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">78%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of electronic products aren\u2019t properly recycled \u2014 and the garbage pile keeps growing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2024, the world churned out <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.semiconductor-today.com\/news_items\/2025\/mar\/trendforce-140325.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.22 billion smartphones<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Add this to the billions of TVs, laptops, and computers, and what we have is a saturated market that fuels a throwaway cycle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ewastemonitor.info\/the-global-e-waste-monitor-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United Nations report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> forecasts that e-waste will grow to 80 million tonnes by 2030. \u201cThat\u2019s enough to fill 1.5 million 40-ton trucks, which could circle the planet,\u201d says <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eric Ingebretsen<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Chief Commercial Officer at <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SK Tes<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which runs 40 global IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) sites and processes hundreds of millions of pounds of electronics annually.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clearly, the world urgently needs e-waste projects that can reverse the global situation \u2014 while driving business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Danish_robotic_solution\"><\/span>A Danish robotic solution<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tnw.events\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tnw.events\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The \ud83d\udc9c of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dti.dk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Danish Technological Institute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, researchers are building an AI-driven robotic system that could help tackle e-waste while scaling, modernising, and empowering the tech refurbishment industry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TNW received a demo of the project from <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mikkel Labori Olsen<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a consultant in robotics technology at the institute and researcher on the <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/robosapiens-eu.tech\/danish-technological-institute\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RoboSAPIENS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> project, which aims to make robot-human interaction safer. His team is developing a robot that automates laptop refurbishment, creating a revenue stream while reducing e-waste.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The system is equipped with a robotic arm, a dedicated toolbox, and a camera. It\u2019s trained to replace laptop screens \u2014 a manual and time-consuming task that local businesses struggle to find workers for due to the tedious processes involved, Olsen said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Olsen and his team have already trained the robot to replace screens of two laptop models and their submodels. They\u2019re now hard at work to expand the robot\u2019s screen disassembly capabilities to more laptop models and brands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The robot combines AI and visual recognition to adapt to different laptop types, remove the plastic protectors, unscrew the screens, and carefully remove them. A <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4k9CJm25opo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recent v<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ideo <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">showcases it<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in action<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe can drastically reduce waste if instead of throwing a perfectly useful laptop out, we just change the screen and then sell it again,\u201d says Olsen.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_business_value_of_e-waste\"><\/span>The business value of e-waste<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on the region, laptop model, and other circumstances, a refurbished laptop can be sold for about \u20ac200, while the material value of a recycled laptop \u2014 obtained by grinding down the entire device \u2014 is only about \u20ac10, says Olsen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe essence is that by changing a few components, and especially a few simple components, you can make a lot of value from it instead of just selling the recycled components,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, training the AI that powers systems such as Olsen\u2019s is challenging. If the robot encounters unexpected events that weren\u2019t in its data set, it may struggle to complete tasks. Even small details like different colours of screws could require new AI training to expand the data set on which the system relies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These unexpected events are the reason why robotic systems in the technology recycling industry must include humans-in-the-loop, says Olsen. They could address any problems the robot flags.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_e-waste_an_untapped_billion-dollar_industry\"><\/span>Why is e-waste an untapped billion-dollar industry?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The value of e-waste is incredibly high. A <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.astutegroup.com\/news\/general\/a-ton-of-mobile-phones-has-100-x-more-gold-than-a-ton-of-gold-ore-reports-e-waste-initiative\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tonne of discarded smartphones<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> yields more gold than a tonne of mined gold ore, according to a report by the Astute Group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn addition to gold, components like copper, silver, palladium, and rare earth metals are critical for manufacturing the technology hardware that the world demands,\u201d says Ingebretsen from SK Tes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, most of the e-waste is never recovered. But why aren\u2019t the tech industry <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">other sectors t<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ing into this market?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Olsen, the field is yet to be recognised globally as one with significant value. However, companies are slowly waking up to the potential of e-waste robotic recycling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another factor holding back the technology is cost. \u201cRobots and automation are expensive and complex\u201d, says Olsen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An additional challenge is the overwhelming diversity of hardware, components, devices, model variations, and states of e-waste products when they\u2019re found<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This causes issues when building robotic systems that can adapt to different e-waste devices without hitting snags. AI that can do this is highly advanced and largely still in research and development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Modern_tech_problems_%E2%80%94_and_solutions\"><\/span>Modern tech problems \u2014 and solutions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As technology becomes more compact, manufacturers are radically changing how they build devices. They often glue components together instead of using screws, making disassembly and recycling without damaging components very difficult.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite these challenges, Olsen is optimistic. He\u2019s impressed by the progress being made by local, European, and international companies, which are levelling up their <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> to either refurbish tech or recycle components.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Denmark, companies such as <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.t1agroup.com\/b2b\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tier 1A<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.refurb.eu\/da-dk\/om-refurb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Refurb<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/greenmind.dk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greenmind<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show refurbishment can be a scalable business model- \u201cSome of these companies are aiming to refurbish up to 2,000 units per day,\u201d Olsen says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Olsen and his team plan to continue expanding the capabilities of their robotic system. The goal is for it to recognise many different laptop models and submodels. Ultimately, they want to build a ready-for-production robotic system that supports local Danish tech refurbishment businesses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His optimism makes sense: robotics is set to reshape the future of e-waste management and reuse. From Denmark to global recycling operations, AI-powered systems are being developed to identify, sort, and dismantle devices with precision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These robots will enable the automation of hazardous and labour-intensive tasks and enhance safety and efficiency. They\u2019ll also unlock the hidden treasure trove of e-waste. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/denmark-robot-e-waste-recycling\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>E-waste has become a global problem. Unfortunately, the majority of discarded used technology, known as e-waste, is dumped or processed in unsafe conditions. Around 78% of electronic products aren\u2019t properly recycled \u2014 and the garbage pile keeps growing. In 2024, the world churned out 1.22 billion smartphones. Add this to the billions of TVs, laptops,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":691847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2025%2F09%2FUntitled-design-3-1.jpg&signature=b6f82410fc246ad5b0312ec2e1b9df91","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-691846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}