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Limits of the Circular Economy: Fairphone Modular Design Pushing the Limits

Authors:
Markus A Reuter at SMS group GmbH
Markus A Reuter
Antoinette Van Schaik at Material Recycling and Sustainability (MARAS) B.V., The Netherlands
Antoinette Van Schaik
  • Material Recycling and Sustainability (MARAS) B.V., The Netherlands
Miquel Ballester
Miquel Ballester
Miquel Ballester
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
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Abstract and Figures

The limitations to materials flows from recycling in the circular economy are discussed using as a case a simula- tion-based analysis of the recyclability of the Fairphone 2. Three different recycling routes are analysed using simula- tion models that link the bill of materials and full material declarations to the final metal recovery via physical separation models. The recycling and recovery rates are de- picted in an innovative recycling index and material flower that helps drive the discussion about the inevitable trade- offs between the recyclability of different target materials and debunks the myth of a total recyclability of materials. Modular design is shown to have clear recycling as well as environmental advantages. This study is part of the Sus- tainablySMART project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 680640.
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