Effect Display for Increased Circularity of Telecommunication Equipment 

The telecom industry has revolutionized global connectivity, driving economic growth and societal progress, and digitalization expects to be the most important tool for the green transition. This advancement has a significant environmental cost. Waste of obsolete and discarded telecom equipment, from phones to large-scale infrastructure components, is becoming a critical concern. Operators are implementing 5G, and the 3G and 4G equipment are discarded and transformed into waste. Large quantities of outdated equipment stay onsite, and only a minor part is reused or recycled. 

The purpose of this project is to explore the possibilities to reduce the amount of and to utilise waste from outdated telecom equipment. Utilising secondary resources enables to both decrease greenhouse gases and help reach the climate goals while contributing to the EU resilience recycling goals for critical raw materials (CRM) set at 25 % by 2030 in the Critical Raw Materials Act. 

This project aims to investigate what preparations that would be necessary to set up a diverse data reporting service for stakeholders within the telecom value chain, to show benefits of circular ways to manage telecom equipment and increase the resource efficiency. To do this the lifecycle impact and potential for increased circularity of items and materials within the value chain needs to be understood. At the same time, tracking the ecosystem within the Industry and barriers for increased material recycling are investigated and improved. Phase 1 is conducted by Ericsson, Boliden and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, while phase 2 will hopefully attract additional stakeholders in the value chain to join as project partners. 

Project name: Effect Display for Increased Circularity of Telecommunication Equipment 

Reference: 2024-03049

Status: Active

Call: Ökad resurseffektivitet och resiliens

Project type: Feasibility study

Administrator: Vinnova

Project coordinators: IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet AB

Project partners: Ericsson AB, Boliden AB

Project leader: Simone Andersson

E-mail: simone.andersson@ivl.se

Start date: 2024-12-01

End date: 2025-05-01

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