Italians believe in the circular economy of tech
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How much do Italians know about the circular economy? And, specifically, how much do they think is applicable within the tech sector?
These are the topics of a survey conducted by SWG and commissioned by Swappiesthe Finnish startup that brought the term “refurbished” linked to iPhones to the world’s attention and that has its raison d’être in the circular economy.
Technology
Behind the success of Swappie, the company that recycles iPhone
by Jaime D’Alessandro
The research reveals that despite Italy, together with France, being the country that recorded the best circularity performance last year (68% waste recycling against the European average of 35% and a rate of circular use of 21.6% against 12.8% in Europe) only one out of two Italians is familiar with the concept of circular economy.
Faced with the definition of its guiding principles (although in researching which swg the famous 3Rs, reduce, reuse, recycle become recondition, reuse, recycle…)however, 82% of citizens recognize the potentially decisive role for the protection of the environment. Compared to its actual ability to spread, however, there are more skeptics than optimists: 23% are convinced that the circular economy model will have a significant diffusion, while 3 out of 5 Italians (59%) argue that the circular economy will not succeed to spread enough to be effective.
A refurbished smartphone is the icon of a better planet
by Riccarlo Luna
More than half of the interviewees (57%, especially women and residents of the north) believe that a new, more sustainable development model based on the circular economy is already a viable path.
Unsurprisingly, waste management optimization and the use of renewable sources rank first among the most relevant practices to be implemented, followed by two key points for Swappie, namely the reuse of materials and the reuse of products already existing with an improvement of the original characteristics. The Finnish startup, which has its main market in Italy, has been promoting the world of refurbished since its foundation in 2016, giving a second life to technological devices and recycling iPhone components that cannot be regenerated.
Disposal
The problem with e-waste: we keep it because we don’t know where to throw it
by Simone Cosimi
The circular economy is therefore a model that can also be applied in the technological sector: for 3 out of 4 respondents, electronic waste can be transformed into resources, have a new life and therefore be re-entered into the market. This vision is also fueled by the concern for the management of e-waste, widespread above all among the over 40s: for half of them this problem is in fact still underestimated.
Coming to Swappie’s core business (which has decided to renew the brand, with a new slogan, “Around for good” which refers precisely to circularity), reconditioning, for over half of Italians a reconditioned product is similar to the new one from the point of functioning (58%), while among young people this percentage rises to over two thirds. Respondents also acknowledge that the development of the refurbished sector could have a positive impact in limiting electronic waste (87%) and in educating people about a circular economy model (86%).
Ipsos: every Italian has nine disused or broken appliances at home
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