Up-cycling e-Waste into Innovative Products through
Social Enterprise
Jarrod Trevathan
1a
and Tony Sharp
2
1
Institute of Integrated and Intelligent Systems, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road Nathan, Brisbane, Australia
2
Substation33, 31 Mary Street Kingston, Logan, Australia
Keywords: e-Waste Recycling, Social Enterprise, Green IT, Renewable Energy, Environmental Monitoring, Road Safety.
Abstract: Advances in information technology have brought about numerous benefits for many aspects of life. However,
the increased pervasiveness of electronic devices has also resulted in significant amounts of e-waste. E-waste
now extensively occupies scarce landfill resources and contributes to pollution due to the toxic and highly
reactive materials used in construction. This paper describes a unique social enterprise business model that
deals with the duel problem of social disadvantage and e-waste. Through building capacity across all sectors
in the community, this case study shows how a social enterprise can improve societal outcomes through
training and education, whilst also dramatically reducing the amount of e-waste going to landfill. Furthermore,
in addition to recycling, this social enterprise model can work with relevant stakeholders to up-cycle e-waste
into practical and environmentally conscious commercial products. The social enterprise model (with partner
organisations) and spin-off projects have led to multiple individual and commercial successes. This paper
provides an overview of how this social enterprise operates and some of the major projects that are underway
using up-cycled e-waste.
1 INTRODUCTION
The information age has led to an almost infinite
amount of possibilities and applications. The price of
technology continues to decrease resulting in
computerisation becoming increasingly pervasive.
However, this dramatic surge in computing devices
and electronics has also led to a negative
environmental outcome electronic waste (or e-waste)
(Kiddee et al., 2013). E-waste refers to any electrical or
electronic component that has been fabricated for use
by humans in electronics or a computing capacity, that
is now obsolete and has been discarded. While
technology companies are keen to promote the next
latest gadget on the market, little thought is often given
to what happens at the end of the item’s usable lifespan.
As such, e-waste now accounts for a significant
amount of landfill. E-waste is highly toxic, which
results in further environmental pollution (e.g.,
chemical leeching into waterways, explosions from
discarded batteries, noxious fumes from burning
plastics) (Wong et al., 2007).
Developing
countries and areas susceptible to
a
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7328-8741
social disadvantage are particularly impacted by e-
waste (Babu et al., 2007). In many cases, developing
countries are the recipients of vast volumes of e-waste
from established countries (in some cases up to 80%
of e-waste is exported) (Nnorom and Osibanjo, 2008).
Most of the e-waste disposal methods either involve
landfill and/or mass burning of the materials (Kang
and Schoenung, 2005). However, in recent years
initiatives have been enacted specifically targeting
productive e-waste recycling via social enterprise and
community engagement.
A social enterprise is typically a not-for-profit
organisation that pursues a positive social agenda
ahead of corporate profit (or individual gain) (Borzaga
and Defourny, 2004). Many social enterprises exist
that target pertinent issues in the community such as
affordable groceries for low income earners, free text
book donations for students, micro-lending, renewable
power generation for disadvantaged communities, and
low-cost exercise equipment to promote fitness and
well-being (Thompson and Doherty, 2006).
Environmentally sustainable products and initiatives
are a key focus of many social enterprises.
Trevathan, J. and Sharp, T.
Up-cycling e-Waste into Innovative Products through Social Enterprise.
DOI: 10.5220/0009350301850193
In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems (SMARTGREENS 2020), pages 185-193
ISBN: 978-989-758-418-3
Copyright
c
2020 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
185
This paper describes a unique social enterprise
business model that deals with the duel problem of
social disadvantage and e-waste. The social enterprise
targets disadvantaged members of society and
couples them with high-skilled labour to provide
valuable training and employment outcomes. At the
core of the operation is an e-waste recycling facility
that has positive reciprocal arrangements with
business to deposit, disassemble and sort e-waste that
would otherwise go to landfill. Working in
conjunction with the community (academics,
governments, entrepreneurs), major components of
the e-waste are up-cycled (transformed) into new
products aimed at road safety, environmental
monitoring, 3D printing, education and
environmental sustainability. Many of these projects
have led to multiple individual and commercial
successes, with the revenue being reinvested in the
social enterprise to further expand capacity.
This paper is organised as follows: Section 2
outlines related work on e-waste recycling and
introduces social enterprise business models. Section
3 presents a case study for a social enterprise that
specifically targets social disadvantage and e-waste
recycling. Section 4 presents several successful
projects that the social enterprise has engaged in with
academia and the community that utilise up-cycled e-
waste. Section 5 provides some concluding remarks
and avenues for future opportunities.
2 e-WASTE AND SOCIAL
ENTERPRISE
2.1 e-Waste
Almost 100% of e-waste components are recyclable.
There are numerous items that can be recovered from
e-waste including plastics, metals, batteries and glass.
However, e-waste is one of the fastest growing
components of the municipal solid waste stream.
Global e-waste recycling rates tend to be as low as
10-15% (EPA, 2018). This means that most e-waste
ends up in landfill. E-waste never fully breaks down
or gets burned on mass releasing noxious fumes into
the atmosphere. The excessive lead in e-waste, if
released into the environment, could cause severe
damage to human blood, kidneys and the nervous
system (Wong et al., 2007).
In 2018, approximately 49.8 million tons of e-
waste was generated worldwide, with an annual 4-8%
growth. Each year, globally, around 1 billion
mobile/cell phones and 300 million computers are put
into production. Every day, over 416,000 mobile
devices and 142,000 computers are discarded.
Approximately 26.9 million television sets, weighing
910,600 tons, were scrapped in the U.S during 2017
(EPA, 2018).
An EPA report reveals that by recycling one
million mobile/cell phones, we can recover more than
20,000 lbs. of copper, 20 lbs. of palladium, 550 lbs.
of silver, and 50 lbs. of gold. Mobile/cell phones
contain a very high amount of precious metals such
as silver and gold. Americans throw away
approximately $60 million worth of silver and gold
per year (EPA, 2018).
Producing a computer along with its monitor
takes at least 1.5 tons of water, 48 pounds of
chemicals and 530 pounds of fossil fuels. Compared
to disposal in landfills or by incinerators, reusing or
recycling computers can create 296 more jobs per
year for every 10,000 tons of computer waste
processed (Cui and Zhang, 2008). Recycling one
million laptop computers can save enough energy to
run 3,657 homes for a year.
2.2 Social Enterprise
2.2.1 The Role of a Social Enterprise
A social enterprise is an organisation that addresses a
basic unmet need or solves a social problem through
a market-driven approach (Borzaga and Defourny,
2004). In recent years, traditional non-profits have
become more entrepreneurial and interested in
generating earned revenue to supplement charitable
contributions. Furthermore, traditional businesses
have begun to integrate greater levels of social
responsibility and sustainability into their operations.
The growth of social enterprise reflects this
convergence and helps fill the void between
traditional approaches that have focused solely on
creating either social impact or financial returns.
A social enterprise’s charter is to create value for
the community by providing an innovative and
unique solution to some entrenched problem. The
problem is tackled in a way that brings benefits to
people and is achieved in an environmentally friendly
manner. Typically, the problem has been unable to be
solved by the usual market mechanisms, as such
social enterprise focuses on cost effectiveness.
A social enterprise is the inversion of a regular
business model. Rather than focusing on individual
gain, the goal is to benefit all members of the
organisation and the community. As such, many
social enterprises focus on improving the livelihoods
of the poor or disadvantaged through their operation.
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186
This is also usually achieved by directly including the
disadvantaged group in the charter and execution of
the social enterprise. Social enterprises may offer a
flexible working environment to help engage the
disadvantaged groups, such as transient employment
arrangements and flexible working hours. The work
environment can be targeted to a specific workgroup,
geographic community, or to people with disabilities.
2.2.2 Advantages and Benefits
Social enterprise can lead to numerous benefits for
the environment, society and individuals involved:
Products and Services As previously
mentioned, a social enterprise will provide a
product or service in a manner that traditional
market mechanisms have failed. This approach
can potentially offer stakeholders a better and
more customised solution to the problem. The
solution will also be designed in harmony with
all other systems (i.e., the environment, society
and the people involved).
Cost Affordability – The solutions offered by
social enterprise in the form of either products or
services are often comparable to the same service
provided by a profit-making organisation. This
drives down the costs of basic amenities such as
healthcare or education. The focus on cost
affordability means that typically disadvantaged
people now have access to these basic amenities.
2.2.3 Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurs are afforded some unique
benefits through taking a social enterprise approach:
Raising CapitalThere are many governmental
incentives and schemes that specially target
social enterprise. Furthermore, the ethical nature
of social enterprise may make it easier to raise
capital at below market rates.
Support Garnering support from like-minded
individuals may be easier as those engaged
around a cause or common problem will
typically be passionate about addressing the
problem. The social nature may also mean that
people are not as motivated by personal gain and
provide resources and/or support typically below
the cost of normal market rates.
Marketing/Promotion Social enterprise tackle
difficult problems in a unique manner, therefore
it may be easier to attract media attention and
community support. The more unique the
solution is, typically the more interest there is
from the media and community.
2.2.4 Social Enterprise Business Models
Many organisations are now making corporate social
responsibility a focus of their business charter.
However, most companies are not driven by making
a real difference, but rather just a way to improve their
public image and profit.
A business model is a structure, design or
framework that a business follows to bring value to
its customers and clients. A business model’s success
is measured in one of three main ways:
1. Ability to generate profit for its owners;
2. Ability to generate positive change in the world;
and
3. Ability to achieve a balance of profit and positive
change.
The first metric applies to traditional for-profit
companies. The second metric is relevant for
traditional charities. The third metric (i.e., a balance
between profit and positive change) applies to social
enterprises. As such, a social business model is a
structure, design or framework that a social business
follows in order to bring about a positive change
while maintaining healthy financial returns.
3 e-WASTE RECYCLING VIA
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Substation33 is a social enterprise originally
established as an e-waste recycling social enterprise
business to reduce the amount of electronic
componentry being dumped as landfill. Substation33
has its primary operation in Logan City in Australia.
3.1 Youth Disadvantage in South East
Queensland
Logan City is located between Brisbane and the Gold
Coast in Queensland Australia. The unemployment
rate in Logan trends above the national average. This
earns Logan a reputation in South East Queensland as
a low socioeconomic area.
There are numerous reasons for this
unemployment outcome including: 1) A large
migrant population with a locally unrecognised
skillset; 2) Prevalence of substance abuse; 3) Either
first in family or no one in family has gone on to
tertiary education; 4) Low-skilled job opportunities;
Up-cycling e-Waste into Innovative Products through Social Enterprise
187
and 5) Skill flight (i.e., qualified people move away).
Note that it is not always easy to tell which of these
are causes or symptoms of the unemployment rate. As
a result of these reasons, Logan experiences many
social and economic challenges.
3.2 Substation33’s Charter
Substation33s primary charter is to connect with
people marginalised from mainstream employment
for a variety of reasons (such as long-term
unemployment, physical or other disability, early
school leavers or students at risk of disengaging from
school). These people are then mentored by
community leaders and are engaged in innovative
projects that promote sustainable environmental
practices (Taylor et al., 2016).
In addition to working with marginalised
community members, Substation33 engages with
high-achieving school students, university students
and graduates. Most interesting, Substation33 has
attracted highly skilled personnel who are referred to
as “altruistic volunteers”. Altruistic volunteers are
people who may have exited the workplace early in
their careers due to selling or moving on from their
businesses. Such people may become socially
isolated and disengaged from the community,
whereas Substation33 provides the opportunity for
them to re-engage and use their skills for social
benefit. Substation33 also works closely with tenured
academic staff members from local universities, high
school teachers, small business owners and
government agencies.
Over time, Substation33 has been moving
towards becoming an innovation space naturally
morphing from not only being a recycling centre, but
to a melting pot of ideas where e-waste is up-cycled
and transformed into commercial/manufactured
products. Essentially, Substation33 has become a
leading force in taking conceptual ideas arising in the
community, innovating around these projects, and
delivering commercial outcomes.
3.3 Primary e-Waste Operation
3.3.1 e-Waste Collection
Substation33’s core operation is in recycling e-waste.
Substation33 has arrangements with numerous
companies to collect the e-waste for free, thereby
saving the company the expense of having to dispose
of it. The community has also been encouraged to
establish e-waste deposit sites (e.g., at schools or
social clubs), which Substation33 collects from.
Substation33 has entered arrangements with peak
recycling organisations such as BidVest. Whenever a
consumer purchases an electronic item (such as a
laptop computer) a small fee is charged with the
item’s future obsolesce in mind. This fee is based on
the volume of future landfill the device will occupy.
Substation33 is then able to reclaim a portion of this
fee from the regulatory authority through evidencing
that that item has been recycled, thereby saving the
landfill resource.
3.3.2 The Recycling Process
Figure 1: The e-waste disassembly line.
Initially, e-waste is deposited at Substation33’s
premises. The e-waste undergoes a preliminary audit
to determine whether any items are still functional
and/or can be used in their present form. These items
are stowed, and the remaining items proceed to a
sorting phase. Once sorted, the items enter a
disassembly line (Figure 1). The items are broken up
into their constituent components and all salvageable
parts are sorted and stowed. Less than 3% of the
disassembled parts become landfill.
3.3.3 Recycling/Repurposing Batteries
Figure 2: Battery testing and classification.
Laptop batteries are a significant component of e-
waste. These components are highly energised and
represent a significant danger and pollutant. A laptop
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battery is made up of multiple smaller cells. When a
laptop battery dies, it is usually only one of these cells
that is problematic. The rest of the cells are typically
in a reasonable condition.
Substation33 operates a special purpose battery
unit whereby each laptop battery cell is tested.
Batteries are then graded A to D depending on the
maximum charge they can hold and their discharge
rate (Figure 2). This way, higher and lesser quality
cells can be grouped together. These cells can then be
repackaged as a battery of any desired capacity with
reliable charge in the zone of 3.6 to 4.2 volts. The
batteries are then repurposed for use.
3.4 Capacity Building and Successes
Substation33 have diverted over one million
kilograms in total of e-waste from landfill.
Approximately 100 people per annum who have
engaged with Substation33 have gone onto other
employment over the last two years. During 2018,
623 people gained work experience through
Substation33. Of these, 343 were work-for-the-dole
participants, 126 volunteers, 33 school students, 60
special school students, 6 university students and 55
from the youth justice system. Substation33 currently
employs 14 permanent staff. Substation33 is typically
frequented by up to 50 people per day including
volunteer staff and visitors. Substation33 generated
$4.25 million for the Australian economy throughout
2018. Substation33 has attracted multiple awards
from government, industry and academia recognising
their work in the community.
4 UP-CYCLING e-WASTE INTO
USEABLE PRODUCTS
Substation33 deals with taking e-waste and up-cycles
it (i.e., transforms e-waste into a higher level) to
create innovative commercial products that promote
environmental sustainability, community
development and safety. One of their core activities is
looking for ways to improve solar and battery
management technology to take products off-grid.
By using recycled battery cells, Substation33
have been able to refurbish or retrofit a vast variety of
electrical products. For example, recycled drill
battery packs, developing battery-powered electric
bikes, repurposed ammunition boxes converted into
amplifying speakers, etc.
2
innov8logan.com.au
Substation33’s experience is that people with
academic, industry and/or commercial experience can
engage on a research and commercial level with
university students and inventors who have ideas, that
support people less fortunate. This has given
Substation33 the capacity to tap into a very diverse
group of subject matter experts, and low-cost, leading
edge technologies, manufacturing equipment and
applied science.
Substation33 promotes an innovation “DNA” that
can be described as “give and take”. Substation33 is
happy to help inventors to further develop their ideas
in a low-cost manner utilising up-cycled e-waste.
However, in return Substation33 asks that they give
something back to the community. This could be in
the form of providing mentoring to Substation33’s
marginalised cohorts, applying their specialist skillset
to other projects Substation33 is working on, or
providing in-kind resources to help support the
expansion of Substation33’s business model.
In 2017, Substation33 formally activated a
hackerspace/makerspace to complement their
existing social enterprise e-waste recycling and
manufacturing facility. As part of this initiative they
formed Innov8 Logan
2
in collaboration with local
industry. The following subsections describe some of
the projects Substation33 has developed as part of the
hackerspace/makerspace through up-cycled e-waste.
4.1 3D Printing Capabilities
Figure 3: 3D printer assembled from e-waste.
Substation33 can construct 3D printers using up-
cycled e-waste for as little as $64 AUD (see Figure
3). Substation33 have built a fleet of over 40 3D
printers across Logan City. This provides the ability
to mass produce 3D designs for innovation ideas and
undertake rapid prototyping for manufacturing
purposes. Substation33 works with local schools,
educating students on how to construct 3D printers
using e-waste and operate them to print innovative
Up-cycling e-Waste into Innovative Products through Social Enterprise
189
designs. Substation33 is currently developing one of
Australia’s largest 3D printers, which is capable of
printing objects equivalent in size to a small car.
The focus of the 3D printing initiative is to
produce easy to construct, highly marketable and
small form factor 3D printers. These are then
provided to high schools. This enables students to
have access to a reliable, easy-to-use system that
makes for a great learning tool and an excellent
pedagogical aid for teachers.
The latest v4.0 printer is low-cost and uses
recycled and 3D printed parts. This is delivered to
schools as a kit. This kit provides an interactive
experience where students learn to build, operate,
maintain and repair a 3D printer. This affords the
students an opportunity to learn about mechanical and
electrical design elements and computer aided design.
Additionally, students are provided with an
introduction to the environmental challenges that
fast-changing technology creates.
E-waste contains a significant amount of plastic.
To further promote the theme of environmental
sustainability, Substation33 creates 3D printer
filament from recycled ABS plastic. This plastic can
be cleaned, granulated and then processed by an
extruder to create 3D printer filament. This can
dramatically reduce the price of filament to as little as
$4 / kg (versus $40 / kg for commercial filament).
4.2 Road Flooded Safety Signs
Figure 4: A road flooded safety sign deployed at a road
crossing subject to flooding.
A major product Substation33 produces is a solar-
powered flooded road traffic sign (Figure 4). In
conjunction with the Logan City Council and Griffith
University, Substation33 has developed technologies
to detect when a creek or river has flooded a road. The
road sign is remotely triggered to display a warning
to motorists about the flood hazard. Road crews and
decision makers can also remotely view roads that are
flooding and map this data as a flood event unfolds
via a dashboard.
Substation33 currently operates 80 deployed
flooded road signs across Logan City and the
Sunshine Coast. In a 2017 flooding event caused by
Tropical Cyclone Debbie, not one car entered
floodwater where the flooded road signs were active.
Substation33 won the national Innovation in Road
Safety Award 2017 as a result.
The flooded road safety signs utilise up-cycled e-
waste in their construction (i.e., batteries, solar panels
and other electrical components). This approach has
effectively saved the Logan City Council over
$120,000 per crossing compared to their previous
approach to sourcing flooded road signs. This project
has provided paid employment for numerous
Substation33 personnel.
As a follow-on project, Substation33 is
developing a pedestrian crossing road safety sign.
The signs are installed on non-controlled pedestrian
crossings to alert motorists that someone is trying to
cross the road. The pedestrian pushes a button on the
sign, which lights the sign up. It is then up to the
motorist to slow down or stop to allow the pedestrian
to safely cross the road.
4.3 Affordable Aquatic Environmental
Monitoring
Figure 5: The Smart Buoy remote aquatic environmental
monitoring system.
The Smart Buoys project is about developing
affordable aquatic environmental monitoring
equipment that remotely collects data in near real-
time (Trevathan et al. 2012; Trevathan and Johnstone
2018). The traditional approach to water quality
monitoring is to travel to the water body and take a
one-off manual sample. This sample is then taken
back to a laboratory for analysis. However, this
approach is expensive, time consuming, slow and is
often of limited usefulness.
In contrast, the Smart Buoys are placed in water
bodies and take a series of sensor readings every 15
minutes that are remotely transmitted back to a web-
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based dashboard (Figure 5). This allows the relevant
stakeholders to view how the water quality and
condition is changing over time. Such insight also
allows the stakeholders to undertake proactive actions
during the unfolding of an environment event (e.g., an
algal bloom, contamination, flooding).
The latest version of the Smart Buoys collects
data on the following environmental parameters:
Temperature (-400 to +1250 C);
Light (0.1 to 40,000 Lux in the 300 nm to 1,100
nm wavelengths);
Turbidity (0 – 4000 NTU);
pH (0 to 14 pH);
Dissolved oxygen (0 to 100 mg/L); and
Conductivity / Salinity (10 μS/cm to 1 S).
This project is being developed in collaboration
with Griffith University. The collaboration has led to
innovative solutions for power management and
electronics miniaturisation. Substation33’s extensive
3D printing capabilities have allowed for rapid
prototyping of the physical buoy components.
Recycled laptop batteries and solar power each buoy.
The system has been deployed across lakes,
rivers, dams and creek catchments in South East
Queensland and North Queensland. Smart Buoys is
the winner of the SeqWater Water for Life
Community Grant, Ipswich Environmental
Sustainability Award and Transurban Community
Grant. Smart Buoys has won the Logan City Council
EnviroGrant Scheme for three consecutive years.
This project has provided education and training
for Substation33 staff, university students and high
school students. Smart Buoys has also resulted in
several spin-off projects for remotely monitoring the
water height of creeks/rivers, and remote dust sensor
data acquisition in a new housing estate.
4.4 PowerWells
Figure 6: A PowerWell being deployed in a village in South
East Asia.
PowerWell’s charter is to repurpose recycled laptop
batteries and other e-waste componentry to provide a
renewable power supply for remote communities. A
bank of recycled laptop batteries is configured with a
solar panel and power management electronics.
The system can be used to charge mobile phones,
torches, computers, lights and other devices. The goal
is to provide electricity to remote or disadvantaged
communities who may not have a reliable power
source, or no connection to the electricity grid. The
system raises revenue by charging users a minor fee,
whilst promoting a sustainable lifestyle.
This project has won several grants, including the
JetStar Flying Start Grant. There are over 20
operational PowerWells currently in use throughout
isolated regions in Indonesia and East Timor (Figure
6). The project employs 2 technical staff and engages
with Substation33’s existing labour force in training,
development and manufacture of the equipment.
4.5 Electric Bikes
Figure 7: An electric bike.
The electric bike, or e-bike uses recycled laptop
batteries and 3D printed battery modules (see Figure
7). A standard bike (often taken from scrap) is
converted by adding recycled batteries and a
purchased mid-drive motor kit. The battery pack
provides over 1kW-hour resulting in a range of
around 100km with minimal peddling.
The battery packs are designed to have a very long
life. By using recycled laptop batteries, the cost of the
e-bike can be reduced to just the cost of the motor kit.
The e-bike is an educational tool to teach people how
to build battery systems and e-bikes.
4.6 AMPLFY Bluetooth Portable
Speakers
AMPLFY is a revolutionary online platform,
designed to disrupt the traditional business of buying
and selling portable speakers (Figure 8). The goal is
Up-cycling e-Waste into Innovative Products through Social Enterprise
191
to educate people to become creators, tinkerers and
innovators so that they now become the disrupters.
Substation33 provides the kit and instructions for
people to learn how to build their own speakers for
the purpose they desire. The kits and instructions are
designed to allow individuals to be as creative as
possible. This project desires to bring back the age of
handcrafted and bespoke goods and empower as
many people as possible to become the creators.
Figure 8: An AMPLIFY speaker kit.
4.7 Solar Trailer
Substation33 have developed a mobile solar power
battery storage trailer (Figure 9). Equipped with
multiple solar panels, the solar trailer is capable of
supplying power to over 20 televisions simultaneously.
This project has important ramifications in areas that
may lack traditional electrical infrastructure (e.g., a
rural/remote area or developing country). Furthermore,
this product will become more relevant as existing
residential solar systems move into obsolesce and
discarded solar panels transition to e-waste. In 2019,
the solar trailer was used to power several stalls at the
Logan Eco Action Festival.
Figure 9: The solar trailer.
5 CONCLUSIONS
E-waste is an increasing global problem. While
almost 100% of e-waste components are recyclable,
e-waste recycling rates continue to be low. Part of this
problem is due to the way people view the industry.
Social enterprise can play a significant role in
changing people’s attitudes towards recycling
through combining several causes together to provide
a community-led solution.
This paper introduced Substation33, which is an
e-waste recycling social enterprise. Substation33
engages people who are marginalised from
mainstream employment. In exchange for providing
services in e-waste recycling, these people are
afforded with valuable skills and training in
electronics, 3D printing, programming and general
computer technology.
A significant component of e-waste is discarded
laptop batteries. Substation33 recognises the stored
energy potential of these components and proactively
salvages, reconditions and then ultimately repurposes
the batteries for use in other products.
Through its operations, partnerships and skilled
labour force, Substation33 has established a
hackerspace/makerspace to complement the e-waste
operation. This has resulted in notable commercial
products including 3D printing farms, flooded road
safety signs, smart environmental water quality
monitoring buoys and PowerWell solar battery banks
for remote communities. This particular hybrid social
enterprise business model is a testament to
Substation33’s success in tackling multiple social and
environmental problems simultaneously.
Future work involves seeing whether this social
enterprise business model can be replicated in other
areas especially developing countries where
mounting e-waste is a problem. Additionally, we will
continue to expand the use of the products being
developed through Substation33.
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