Agents of change

Promoting sustainable behaviour for better circular economies at Waste Summit

While others see e-waste and discarded packaging as mere rubbish, LG Portugal, and Landbell Group companies, ERP Portugal and Novo Verde, see an opportunity to promote circular economies through the reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery of materials and energy.

The three forward-thinking companies came together in January to host “Waste Summit – Economy, Consumption and Sustainability” in Lisbon, Portugal.

The meaningful event inspired greater discussions on the urgency of responsible waste disposal, as well as growing issues related to consumption, the economy and sustainability.

Giving electronic equipment, end-of-life batteries, and their packaging a second chance at life and adopting sustainable behaviour, from production to disposal, are increasingly relevant in today’s society – considering the number of products we use every day. Research finds, however, that there’s much room for improvement.

According to the study, Habits of the Portuguese in Relation to Electronic Waste (co-authored by LG Portugal, ERP Portugal, QData and NOVA IMS), 59.2 percent of Portuguese people keep equipment they no longer use as it still works and may come in handy later.

But the truth is that old equipment tends to end up in drawers, cupboards, the garage, or storage rooms to gather dust, the same fate as old packaging for our large devices.

This timely Waste Summit promoted the sharing of knowledge and best practices across diverse society sectors to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable practices in Portugal.

According to ERP Portugal’s data, in 2021 alone, over 232,000 tonnes of electric and electronic equipment were placed on the market in Portugal, and more than 30 percent of the population still does not reuse or recycle their e-waste.

Meanwhile, around 806,153 tonnes of packaging for fast-moving consumer products were placed on the national market in 2021, equivalent to 76 kilograms per capita.

According to Novo Verde, the growing trend of packaging consumption has been accompanied by an increasing amount of collected packaging, which has increased 7 percent annually on average since 2017.

Waste Summit, which brought together more than a hundred people from industry sectors, distribution partners and academia, was another perfect opportunity for LG Portugal, ERP Portugal and Novo Verde to become agents of change and promote sustainable behaviour for better circular economies.

For more information on the event, please visit the LG website.