Finding and Capturing Value in e-Waste for Refrigerators Manufacturers and Recyclers

Paper in proceedings, 2020

In today’s highly competitive world, companies need to rethink how they create and capture value at all stages of their offering’s lifecycle. A major challenge is to integrate sustainability as a core source of value creation in their business model rather than as an add-on. E-Waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally, and its value is still largely uncaptured. Urban communities generate high environmental and health impacts due to the e-waste produced by households. This paper aims to evaluate the value retained in refrigerators’ components at their end-of-life. This research work presents findings on how recyclers identify, categorise, and capture value from e-waste. Although we focus on refrigerators recyclers, the results could motivate refrigerators manufacturers to collaborate with recyclers for a more circular economy.