SNEW – Adding value to waste
Planet Earth’s raw materials are running out. In 20 years’ time, over 30% of all raw materials may have disappeared. In our consumer-driven society, innovative products are increasingly being manufactured without paying much attention to these depleting resources. With a fast-growing population, this could have catastrophic consequences, even though there is enough in the waste yards to delay the process for decades.
“We have to start thinking circular! Let go of linear-thinking and you will see that solutions are available. Every industry can ‘unmake’ things.”
– Martijn van Engelen, CEO
200,000 refurbished products a year
SNEW approaches things differently, striving for a circular economy in which products are reused in one way or another. Such an economy is a necessary development for a sustainable future. The company has developed a unique and circular model in which the raw materials of existing equipment can be reused rather than disposed of. It has a vision and passion for the return of the raw materials that we have borrowed from the Earth, as well as the will to empower disadvantaged people.
Normally, end-of-life equipment is immediately recycled, which is not necessary and even burdens the Earth. In a circular system the raw materials of existing equipment are reused instead of misused. Where the economic life of a product usually stops, SNEW continues. What is termed the ‘3R-concept’(recollect, reuse and recycle), focusses on lengthening the lifecycle of a product.
Fully track and traceable
SNEW sells over 200,000 refurbished products per year. Buyers also receive a buy back guarantee after five years for their discarded ICT appliances, thus reducing their e-waste and giving appliances a third life. All products are manufactured according to ISO and WEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) standards. As a result, the concept can also be applied to medical and household appliances. At the same time, all SNEW’s activities are fully track and traceable.
