As simple as it sounds - why is this not practiced more widely?Laptops - used & refurbished laptops - And then?
It seems so simple in principle - well, appearances can be deceiving.
The following corresponds to our subjective opinions, thoughts & evaluations and is only intended to emphasize the importance of the topic as a whole and possibly give food for thought and we hope to be able to illuminate this topic in short words so that we do justice to this topic. If you have ideas & thoughts on the topic or think that important points have not been highlighted at all or perhaps even incorrectly, please let us know - by e-mail to e.dmitrik@esa-tech.de with the subject Circular Economy & Scrap.
Okay, circular economy, what does that actually mean?
According to a well-known search engine on 08.11.2023:
"The circular economy is a model of production and consumption in which existing materials and products are shared, leased, reused, repaired, refurbished and recycled for as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended."
Okay - so you should use, repair and reuse things as long and as often as possible? Personally, that sounds to me like part of my grandparents talking to me. There are already some companies that rely on the circular economy model (rightly so, in our opinion) and seem to us to be good role models. So we are also trying to set the tone with the model of recycling, "repairing" or so-called "refurbishing" and doing our bit.
Refurbished laptops - the cycle begins.
Where do the laptops we offer come from?
The notebooks that you can find in our shop were used in named European companies. After subsequent certified data erasure, we receive these devices. Our task is now to find and eliminate any apparent defects or weak points. Be it in the form of a battery that is too weak for effective use of the device or a fan that seems too loud, which is making the use of a business-line laptop unattractive. We eliminate defects as far as possible and, as a young company, we learn something new every day. (Of course, defects in our notebooks are explicitly defined in the offer - but defects that we cannot repair do not occur that often). After refurbishment, we resell the notebooks to private individuals and companies.
So this is the circular economy?
No - in our opinion, this is only a small part of the circular economy. However, in our opinion, this small part also has its weight. A microchip requires approximately 32 liters of water for its production - for a notebook it is even about 20,000 liters of water. There are also rare earths in the devices. These also have to be extracted before they become components of a notebook, for example. Conflicts and discussions often arise on the subject of where, how and, above all, by whom these rare earths such as gold, silicon, copper etc. are mined. Add to this the amount of CO2 generated by the transportation of the individual components to the finished, ready-to-buy device in the store. In our opinion, it is worth sending every single resource used into a "second round of use". The positive feedback from customers continues to reinforce our belief that we are making a positive difference in the bigger picture. We are very pleased to see that people and companies are happy about technology that has already been written off somewhere else or by someone else.
And rightly so, as the hardware and software is just waiting to be challenged and used.
We hope that with the help of our ESA-Tech - LIVE - PHOTO - VIDEO - service, our devices have a better chance of being given a second life. We have given the subject some thought and are of the firm opinion that devices are more likely to be given a second life if they are presented in a way that is true to the original and realistic.
In simple terms, this means that we present every used and refurbished product with actual photos and videos in our online store. We want to let the cat out of the bag and show our customers the actual condition of the goods with the help of high-resolution photos and videos. In our opinion, this promotes transparency and openness towards potential customers and increases the chance of giving a laptop a new product life.
Our previous customers have told us that our refurbished Businessline laptops are part of, for example, an escape room, an architecture firm or as a partner for school or distance learning courses at a private level. It always gives us great pleasure to hear such a story - this motivates us to continue, as we are shown each time - yes, we were able to provide someone with an affordable notebook, at a fair price and to further utilize the resources already spent.
What happens to the notebook after the "second circle"?
It is not without reason that laws and directives such as the Elektro-G and the Batterie-G exist.
In simple terms, in our opinion, these laws attempt to ensure the proper disposal of electronic waste and batteries in Germany. We at ESA-Tech UG (haftungsbeschränkt) dealt intensively with this topic before opening our start-up.
Even though we and our partners act in accordance with the current laws and regulations, we would like to explicitly point out the following to potential customers and readers of this text:
A lot of electronic waste is not disposed of properly. On the one hand, there is the option of disposing of it with household waste. Electronic waste and batteries do not belong in household waste. This type of "scrap" should be disposed of properly via the responsible recycling centers. This alone has an immense impact on the health status of the environment.
The other perspective we would like to raise awareness of is the sale of used hardware to sometimes seemingly shady scrap dealers. A certain type of scrap and old electronics dealers have specialized in buying up technical hardware that can no longer be used - after subsequently collecting such electronic scrap, these types of middlemen sell these scrap collections on to buyers in third world countries.
These devices are then incinerated en masse or in heaps in order to extract the rare metals in the most harmful way and resell them. On this topic, we recommend the documentary "Welcome to Sodom", which explains where some of Europe's enormous quantities of electronic waste actually end up and how it is "reactivated" there. With our existence we want to contribute to using electronics and hardware - in the first step notebooks - until their actual end of life and then to dispose of them properly. We therefore ask you, as our potential customer or simply as a reader of this text, to dispose of your supposed electronic waste properly.
Circular economy and the environment? Please explain the connection!
A statement, also according to a well-known search engine on 08.11.2023:
"Ensuring sustainable production and consumption patterns and greatly reducing the demand for resources is therefore one of the global sustainability goals. The circular
economy is one way to decouple growth from the consumption of non-renewable resources."
In simpler terms, the following can be said: "The more resources that have already been created are used, the fewer new resources are needed and the less the environment suffers"
As simple as it sounds - why is this not practiced more widely?
Yes, as hard as it sounds - it's up to me, you, him and her.
As long as the "only new is good" mindset exists in the open market economy, used and refurbished goods will find it extremely difficult to "compete" with new goods. In our opinion, the general public opinion on this topic needs to change. We think that instead of thinking "how can I dispose of this promptly", the more appropriate question might be "who might need this?"
It's the same with notebooks, we answer the question from well-known European companies "We no longer need these laptops, does anyone still need them?" - Clearly with "Yes - someone will still be able to use it and be positively surprised at the same time!" Please always think about it.
- Do I really need this? -
And if the answer is "yes", please always ask yourself the question "Does this have to be new?" and if the answer is also "yes", please sleep on it. When you wake up, you might feel - "No, it doesn't have to be new." At that moment, you start to conserve resources and energy in all areas and, in fact, save money.
Even if this does not only apply to our area, we want to actively promote the purchase of used and refurbished goods in general. Especially in times of inflation and possible shortages, the used and refurbished goods market can help.
New and more expensive < used and just as good or better - is our advice.
We hope that we have been able to make the purchase of used and refurbished goods more attractive in general with this article and ask for your feedback, which can help us to make our business more effective and continue to promote the purchase of used and refurbished goods.
