Electric and electronic waste: a little incentive goes a long way
The lifecycle of our electric and electronic devices is constantly shortening, but reuse and recycling rates remain disappointingly low. Binee, a German start up funded within the Booster call (star ups call) of EIT Rawmaterials in 2016, aims to encourage consumers to give their outdated devices a new life.
Binee is a local in-store collection service to dispose of outdated electric and electronic appliances, currently mostly established in Leipzig and its surroundings. In addition to providing a responsible way of disposing of the appliances, the service rewards consumers with a discount for every returned device. The right mix of convenience (Binee boxes are available across the city), digital tracking, transparency and reward system, makes it an efficient approach to influence consumers' behaviour and maximise 'Urban mining' in EEEW.
In June 2017 Binee received recognition by being named as Excellent Place in Germany - the Land of Ideas ("Deutschland – Land der Ideen") competition.
The start up expects its model to increase the rate of collection in urban areas and is actively looking for expansion opportunities - more than 20 binee boxes have already been installed in Leipzig and surroundings, with the next 150 boxes in planning and production.
The next use cases for other problematic resources are under development.