Draft:SENS eRecycling

  • Comment: Largely summarizes the routine activities of the company. A few niche awards are mentioned, but those don't contribute to notability unless the awards merit articles themselves(like Nobel Peace Prize or Academy Award) 331dot (talk) 14:50, 13 September 2024 (UTC)

SENS eRecycling
SENS eRecycling
Company typeFoundation
Founded1990
Headquarters
Zurich
,
Switzerland
Key people
President Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher
ServicesTo promote recycling solutions organised by the private sector
Websitehttps://www.erecycling.ch/en/

The SENS Foundation is a privately organised, non-profit foundation under Swiss law. It operates externally under the brand name SENS eRecycling.[3]

SENS eRecycling operates a nationwide take-back system for electrical and electronic appliances, light bulbs and luminaires, photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, e-cigarettes and batteries for vehicles and industrial use. In this way, it contributes to environmental protection and the promotion of a sustainable circular economy.

The services provided in the SENS take-back system are financed via a market-compliant advance recycling fee (ARF), based on the Swiss Regulation on the Ordinance on the Return, Take-Back and Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (ORDEE).[4]

The SENS Foundation is a member of Swiss Recycle[5] and the WEEE Forum[6], the global centre of competence for electronic waste.

History

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SENS eRecycling was founded in 1990 as Stiftung Entsorgung Schweiz (S.EN.S). One year later, it introduced the nationwide disposal of refrigerators and freezers with the help of a vignette system. In 1998, the Federal Council issued the Regulation on the Return, Acceptance and Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Devices (VREG).[7] Together with major distributors and the household appliance industry, the SENS Foundation set up a nationwide recycling system in the years following this and introduced the “Recycling assured!” label.[8]

In 2002, SENS eRecycling co-founded the international WEEE Forum (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) based in Brussels[9]. In the same year, it introduced the advance recycling contribution (ARC) for consumer electronics, large domestic appliances, small domestic appliances, refrigerators, air conditioning units and freezers, toys with electrical components, as well as light bulbs and luminaires.

In 2008, SENS eRecycling founded the SENS International Foundation (now known as Fair Recycling) to deal with the huge amount of electrical waste worldwide. It is still committed to the environmentally friendly disposal of refrigerators in emerging countries.[10]

In 2013, the SENS eRecycling brand was launched together with the new CI/CD and the company name changed to the SENS Foundation.[11] The Foundation then concluded a contract with the industry association Swissolar, and photovoltaic modules have been recycled ever since.[12]

SENS eRecycling received the German Design Award[13] and the iF DESIGN AWARD [14] for the digital campaign “SENS City – 30 years of eRecycling” in 2021. In the same year, SENS eRecycling merged with the Swiss Lighting Recycling Foundation (SLRS)[15]. Since then, the SENS Foundation has also been responsible for the collection, transport and recycling of light bulbs and luminaires in Switzerland.

In 2022, SENS eRecycling published the results of a study by the School of Applied Psychology at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) on the recycling behaviour of the Swiss population with regard to used electrical and electronic equipment.[16] In the same year, it concluded an industry solution with the Swiss association of independent car dealers (VFAS) for the collection, transportation and recycling of industrial and vehicle batteries.[17]

In 2023, it launched the heat pump industry solution[18] with the organisations GebäudeKlima Schweiz (GKS) and the Swiss Professional Heat Pump Association (FWS) and shortly thereafter concluded the e-cigarette industry solution for the collection and environmentally friendly disposal of e-cigarettes (vapes) with representatives of the tobacco industry.[19] At the same time, SENS eRecycling launched the Circular Platform for a strong circular economy and resource-saving use of electrical equipment.[20]

Since 2023, SENS eRecycling has been using artificial intelligence (SENS AI) to identify and more precisely analyse the life cycle of electrical equipment[21]. In the same year, the SENS Foundation exceeded the 1 million mark for the first time in the collection and recovery of recyclable materials [22]. Together with Swissolar, the Bern University of Applied Sciences and other partners from the Swiss PV industry, it founded Swiss PV Circle to promote the circular economy in the solar industry.[23]

In 2024, SENS eRecycling extended the disposal of small electrical appliances to the whole of Switzerland via the Electro Recycling bag scheme. Since then, up to 10 kg of small electrical appliances can be picked up from people’s homes by the post office.[24]

The SENS take-back system

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Participation in the SENS take-back system is voluntary for importers, manufacturers, specialist retailers or installers.[25] Partners who are part of the SENS network collect an advance recycling contribution on the purchase price of a new electrical appliance and pay the amount into a separate fund of the SENS Foundation.[26] SENS eRecycling then uses this fund to finance the sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation as well as the collection and disposal of electronic and electrical equipment (see diagram).

 
Material and financial flows SENS take-back system

Thanks to the advance recycling contribution, consumers can return their used electrical and electronic equipment free of charge to SENS collection points throughout Switzerland or wherever electrical and electronic devices can be purchased.[27]

The SENS eRecycling Technical Commission is responsible for ensuring compliance with the uniform and binding quality standards and guidelines for eRecycling. It is made up of independent experts who regularly audit the affiliated recycling companies.[28]

Studies

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Professor Anne Herrmann, Steven Bürgin, Sarah Heather Lehmann: Study on the behaviour of the Swiss population with respect to the return and recycling of electrical and electronic appliances, FHNW (2021).[29]

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References

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  1. ^ "Mutation Stiftung SENS, Aarau, neu Zürich". Eidgenössisches Amt für das Handelsregister (in German). 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  2. ^ "Organe". Stiftung SENS. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  3. ^ "The SENS brand".
  4. ^ https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2021/633/de
  5. ^ Swiss Recycle
  6. ^ https://weee-forum.org/members/
  7. ^ 814.620 | Verordnung über die Rückgabe, die Rücknahme und die Entsorgung elektrischer und elektronischer Geräte, auf fedlex.admin.ch
  8. ^ https://www.sens-city.ch/30-jahre-sens.html
  9. ^ "Who we are | WEEE Forum". weee-forum.org. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  10. ^ "Über uns". Fair Recycling (in German). Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  11. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/sens/marke.html
  12. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/wissenswertes/wissensblog/pv-finanzierung.html
  13. ^ https://www.german-design-award.com/en/the-winners/gallery/detail/38245-sens-city.html
  14. ^ https://ifdesign.com/de/winner-ranking/project/sens-city/299261
  15. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/wissenswertes/wissensblog/fach-86.html
  16. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/wissenswertes/geschaeftsbericht/overview-2021/sens.html
  17. ^ https://vfas.ch/entsorgung_fahrzeugbatterien
  18. ^ https://www.energie-experten.ch/de/wissen/detail/waermepumpen-richtig-entsorgen.html
  19. ^ https://www.vape-recycler.ch/en/
  20. ^ https://www.presseportal-schweiz.ch/pressemeldungen/sens-erecycling-lanciert-circular-platform-zur-foerderung-der-kreislaufwirtschaft
  21. ^ «SENS AI» – How we are harnessing artificial intelligence to foster the circular economy in Switzerland (erecycling.ch)
  22. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/wissenswertes/wissensblog/oekobilanz-2023.html
  23. ^ https://www.pv-circle.ch/en/news/pv-klw.html
  24. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/wissenswertes/sens-projekte/electro-bag.html
  25. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/vrg-partner.html
  26. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/wissenswertes/faq.html
  27. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/wissenswertes/wissensblog/vRB-Vorgezogener-Recyclingbeitrag.html
  28. ^ https://www.erecycling.ch/en/sens/organe.html
  29. ^ https://www.fhnw.ch/de/forschung-und-dienstleistungen/psychologie/innovative-marktangebote-und-konsum/e-recycling