The authors of the 2024 Technical Report

Isabelle Baudin has been working as a research associate at the FOEN in the Waste and Raw Materials Department since 2008 with various focus areas in the field of the circular economy. As a university-trained qualified media engineer, she continued her education in environmental technology and management and graduated with an MAS from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. At the FOEN, she leads projects related to municipal waste, electronic waste (ORDEE and enforcement guidelines on the state of the art), electronics in end-of-life vehicles, reuse and optimisation of the recovery of rare technology metals. In addition to national matters, Isabelle Baudin represents Switzerland in various working groups of the Basel Convention (Expert Working Group on E-Waste and PACE II). She gained further international experience in 2011 during an Empa project on the environmentally friendly disposal of electronic waste in Peru.

Andreas Bill completed his Master’s degree in Energy Management and Sustainability at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Lausanne and subsequently gained initial experience in the field of electrical and electronic waste at Empa while completing his civilian service. He has been working as a research associate in the Technology and Society Department there since 2019. His core task is to support projects aimed at setting up electronic waste recycling systems in developing and emerging countries. He is a member of the Swico TC and has been auditing Swico recyclers since 2020.
 

After graduating as a rural engineer from ETH Zurich and completing a postgraduate course in Domestic Water Supply Construction and Water Conservation (NDS/EAWAG), Heinz Böni worked as a research associate at Eawag Dübendorf. After holding the position of project manager at the ORL Institute of ETH Zurich and completing a stint at UNICEF in Nepal, Heinz Böni took up the position of Managing Director of the Büro für Kies und Abfall AG in St. Gallen. After that, he was Co-Owner and Managing Director of Ecopartner GmbH in St. Gallen for several years. He has been at Empa since 2001, where he is Head of the CARE (Critical Materials and Resource Efficiency) Group. He has been an audit expert for Swico since 2007 and has held the position of Head of the Technical Audit Department of Swico Recycling since 2009.
 

Anahide Bondolfi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Lausanne. She started working in the electronic waste sector in 2006 while writing her Master’s thesis in South Africa, in collaboration with Empa. She then spent nearly ten years working as an environmental consultant and project manager at two Swiss environmental consulting companies, first at LeBird in Prilly, then Sofies in Geneva. In January 2017, she founded Abeco Sàrl. She has been a member of the Swico/SENS Technical Committee since 2015. She is responsible for almost half of all the audits of the Swico and SENS dismantling facilities. Anahide Bondolfi has also been auditing several SENS recyclers and collection points since 2016.
 

Manuele Capelli studied Environmental Sciences and Management, Technology and Economics (MTEC) at ETH Zurich. He gained initial experience in the field of electronic waste through a university internship at the World Resources Forum (WRF) with Empa. He has been working at Empa as a research associate in the Technology and Society Department since 2021. His work involves projects on the circular economy and recycling systems, as well as supporting projects to set up electronic waste recycling systems in developing and emerging countries. He is a member of the Swico TC and has been performing audits since 2022.
 

Flora Conte completed her Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences, majoring in Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, at ETH Zurich. She has been working in the Environmental Consulting Department of Carbontech AG since 2013. She manages various projects in areas such as renewable energy, recycling and entrepreneurship at both national and international level. Since 2015, she has been a member of the Swico/SENS TC and an auditor for SENS and Swico dismantling facilities and collection points. Flora Conte has been auditing SENS recyclers since 2016. In addition to her activities as an environmental consultant, she is involved in a non-profit organisation for access to solar power in developing countries.
 

Fabian Elsener holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST) in Rapperswil. He completed his master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Natural Resources, specialising in green technology and life cycle assessment, at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Wädenswil. He works as a project manager in the Department of Environmental Consulting at Carbotech AG and is responsible for work in the specialist field of mechatronics. His main areas of focus are life cycle assessment calculations for mechatronics products, recycling systems and packaging.
 

Roman Eppenberger completed his degree in Electrical Engineering at ETH Zurich. In tandem with his professional activities, he completed the postgraduate Executive MBA at the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland. He gained initial industrial experience as an engineer and project manager in the field of medical and pharmaceutical robotics. As a project manager, he moved to the Contactless Division of the company Legic (Kaba), where he was responsible for the worldwide purchasing of semiconductor products. Since 2012, Roman Eppenberger has been responsible for the Technology and Quality Division at SENS Foundation. In this position, he coordinates the Swico/SENS TC in conjunction with Heinz Böni.
 

After completing his basic technical education and working in his acquired profession for several years, Urs Gerig obtained his federal technical merchant diploma in 2001. In early 2002, he moved to the recycling industry by joining RUAG Environment AG, where he was responsible for scheduling, notifications and billing. From 2005, he took responsibility for quality and in 2007, he moved to production management. He monitored the audits – in-house and at the dismantling facilities – as well as refrigerator demanufacturing batch trials and performance tests. Among other roles, he worked as the logistics and project manager. Following the takeover of RUAG by Immark AG and the job relocation from Schattdorf, he is now responsible for all of Immark AG’s dismantling facilities as of November 2023.

Roger Gnos has been working in recycling since 1991 and has actively experienced and shaped the development of the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment. He worked as an operations manager in an e-waste processing company for almost 20 years, and has been working at Swico Recycling, where he advises collection points, for over a decade. In 2019, he worked on the launch of the Swico Innovation Fund and has served as Chairman of the Advisory Board ever since. He is fascinated by both the technology and the people behind the scenes in recycling.
 

Arthur Haarman completed his studies in Industrial Ecology at Delft University of Technology. His stepped into the world of e-waste in 2014 with a six-month assignment in India, where he investigated the prevalence of brominated plastics in the informal sector. He then worked as a research associate at Empa for four years, where he led several projects on electronic waste management. At Empa, he was also a member of the Swico Technical Committee. In 2019, he switched lanes to the environmental consulting firm Sofies, which was taken over by dss+ in 2021. As a Senior Consultant at dss+, he supports a range of customers in achieving their circular economy goals, especially in the electronics sector. He set up the Technical Audit Department for the VSPR monitoring system as Co-Lead and, as of early 2024, is once again a member of the Swico Technical Committee, where he works as Lead Auditor.

Sabine Krattiger has been working in the electronics recycling industry since 1992. Since 2009, she has been the Managing Director of Immark AG, the Swiss market leader in the disposal and recycling of waste electrical, electronic and refrigeration equipment. She is a Member of the Board of various organisations in the recycling sector, including the association for ORDEE disposal, R-Suisse and EERA, and is also a member of the FOEN’s Environmental Research Advisory Board. Sabine Krattiger began her professional career with a foundation education in business, followed by training and further education in human resources, marketing and an NDS HF in management and leadership as well as a CAS Board of Directors. 

After completing his studies at the Lucerne School of Music, Niklaus Renner studied Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich. Since 2007, he has worked at IPSO ECO AG in Rothenburg (formerly Roos + Partner AG in Lucerne). He deals with the issues of contaminated sites, soil protection and the environmental compatibility of various recycling processes and advises companies on questions relating to compliance with environmental law. Together with Dr Erhard Hug, he developed the mathematical evaluation model for the European refrigerator recycling standard CENELEC EN 50625-2-3. Niklaus Renner has been a member of the SENS Technical Committee and an auditor for recycling companies since 2017. His area of expertise includes audits and plant performance tests at refrigerator recycling companies.
 

After graduating as an environmental scientist from ETH Zurich, Daniel Savi joined SENS as Head of Collection Points and Head of Quality Assurance. He held these positions for seven years before joining Büro für Umweltchemie as a research associate, where he has been a Co-Owner and Managing Director since 2015. He focuses on the health hazards and environmental effects associated with construction work and waste recovery.
 

Thekla Scherer studied Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich. After completing her studies, she worked in an engineering office for 10 years, where she mainly focused on air pollution control and energy. She has been working at IPSO ECO AG in Rothenburg since 2016. As a project manager, she prepares environmental impact reports and visits construction sites as an environmental construction supervisor. She is an all-rounder who covers a wide range of environmental issues such as waste, environmentally hazardous substances and disposal. She has been a member of the SENS TC and an auditor specialising in refrigerator recycling facilities since 2021.
 

Marius Schlegel has been working at Swisscom since 2012 and is the Deputy Head of Corporate Responsibility. He is responsible for the circular economy programmes focusing on extending the lifespan of end-customer equipment. He is also a Visiting Lecturer in Corporate Responsibility at Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). Marius Schlegel has a Master’s degree in Geography, focusing on environmental, resource and transport economics. From 1999, he worked in strategy consulting at BHP, and from 2006 to 2012 as Head of Sustainability at Axpo. Marius Schlegel has been a member of the Swico Recycling Board since April 2019.
 

After training to become an environmental engineer at ETH Zurich, Esther Thiébaud worked as a research associate at Empa on research and implementation projects in the field of electronic waste. She combined these activities with a dissertation at TU Clausthal. From 2010 to 2017, she was Swico’s inspection expert and was responsible for monitoring material flow data. Since moving to the environmental consulting firm Sofies, which was taken over by dss+ in 2021, in her role as Senior Consultant she has developed and led projects in the fields of circular economy, policy development and manufacturer responsibility. She set up the Technical Audit Department for the VSPR monitoring system as Co-Lead and, in early 2024, took over management of the Technical Audit Department at Swico Recycling. 

David Wampfler grew up in a recycling family and became familiar with the craft of recycling at an early age. He has been working in the recycling industry since 2004 and has, among other things, completed his training as a recyclist. He gained experience in the areas of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, electrical and electronic waste, processing and treatment, as well as in retail. He has also continuously pursued further education, particularly in the metallurgical and environmental sectors and has lectured trainees and employees in the recycling industry. He has worked at Thévenaz Leduc SA in Groupe BAREC since 2021, where he is responsible for E&E waste (processing of lighting equipment and flat panel displays containing Hg and LEDs).