Pilot project for the reuse of waste electronic equipment
In November 2024, the Federal Council decided on the phased implementation of the legislative changes arising from parliamentary initiative 20.433 ‘Strengthening the Swiss Circular Economy’. The regulations, which have been in force since 1 January 2025, create a binding basis for closing materials cycles and further expanding the circular economy.
The reuse of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) plays a key role in this regard. A study conducted by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) shows that a significant proportion of disposed equipment is still functional. Appropriate measures could extend the useful life of devices and thus conserve valuable resources. But where to start?
The environmental benefits of reuse
Reuse significantly reduces the carbon footprint of numerous electronic devices. Every smartphone, laptop or tablet that remains in use conserves raw materials, saves energy and cuts emissions that would be generated during production. As well as conserving resources, systematic reuse could cut waste volumes and thus reduce the burden on existing waste management structures. But the one question that truly needs answering is: has Switzerland already exploited the full potential of reuse?
Reuse in Switzerland
Electronic appliances often change hands several times before they are eventually recycled. Online marketplaces enable private sales, while manufacturers and retailers offer trade-in programmes under which customers can exchange their old equipment for discounts on new products. Dedicated companies professionally refurbish and resell functional devices. Companies and private individuals also donate disused equipment to social organisations and schools.
However, every electronic device has a limited service life – at some point, it will become technically obsolete and no longer usable. A lack of software updates, poor performance and outdated connections can make it difficult to continue using devices, even if they are still working. At this point, the resources in the device are recovered in the Swico recycling process.
For Swico, the question is whether only technically irreparable and obsolete appliances should be recycled, or whether products that are still usable should also be removed from the functional cycle ahead of time. The potential candidates are huge: Swico collects tens of thousands of tonnes of WEEE each year.
The ReUse pilot project: a complement to recycling
The ReUse pilot project is designed to investigate the demand for fixed reuse structures as a complement to recycling, and to determine the benefits. The aim is to find out whether targeted collection of reusable electronic appliances at collection points is technically and organisationally feasible.
Over a period of 12 months, separate ReUse bins for mobile phones, laptops and tablets were installed for the first time at 12 collection points in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland, alongside the regular recycling bins. This gave consumers a dedicated point for dropping off their devices for reuse. The collected devices were then tested by a testing facility to see whether they were still usable. To gain a complete picture, appliances that had been sent for recycling were also tested. A total of 4,565 devices were analysed, 1,686 from ReUse containers and 2,879 from recycling.
Findings from the pilot project
What is the actual reuse potential?
The analysis shows that between 7% and 19% of the collected devices were suitable for reuse, with a particularly high rate for laptops. This means the vast majority of devices remained non-reusable. They were often too old, damaged or rendered unusable by cloud blocks. Consumers often overestimated the reusability of smartphones in particular.
How do consumers approach drop-off?
Many consumers took the opportunity to drop off their devices separately from recycling, which indicates a general willingness around reuse. At the same time, there were also devices found in the recycling stream that, in theory, could still be used. Whether these were deliberately sent for recycling – due to data protection concerns, for example – or whether a lack of knowledge or convenience played a role, remains unclear.
What are the logistical and organisational requirements of collection?
The project showed that sustainable integration of reuse into existing collection structures is possible. Nevertheless, challenges became apparent; at some locations, space for separate containers was limited and the distinction between the ReUse and recycling bins was not always consistently maintained.
At the same time, the logistical processes worked well. Transportation to the testing facility and subsequent evaluation of the devices were both efficient, which shows that scaling of processes is indeed feasible if the framework conditions are optimised.
Potential and next steps
The pilot project provided valuable findings that offer a basis for possible integration of ReUse into existing collection processes (see Table 1). A decision on next steps is yet to be made. However, it is clear that they will have to include a scaling review, process optimisation and structural adjustments. The foundation has been laid for the long-term establishment of reuse in Switzerland.