Raising awareness in society about the importance of proper waste management, to contribute to caring for the environment and the preservation of ecosystems is the objective of International Recycling Day, which is celebrated today. Undoubtedly, in this area one of the great enemies to combat is the accumulation of technological scrap or e-waste, which jeopardizes the continuity of many natural environments.
Both at the individual level and, especially, at the business level, the increase in the amount of e-waste has become a worldwide concern. Currently, according to data from the Global E-Waste Monitor 2022 report, prepared by the United Nations, the percentage of e-waste that is properly recycled is worryingly low. Specifically, only 17.4% of the e-waste generated in the last year was collected and recycled properly, which translates into more than 44 million metric tons of e-waste being landfilled, burned, or traded. and they dealt illegally.
More than 44 million metric tons of e-waste was landfilled, burned, or illegally traded and treated
This situation highlights the growing need to promote consumption models that promote the circular economy, as is the case of consumption by subscription. This new paradigm aims to achieve a more sustainable production and consumption model, which avoids the throwaway model and evolves to one that promotes the constant reuse of products, also in the case of technology.
At this point, Simplr, a company that promotes the circular economy and SDG 12, of Sustainable Consumption, makes available to the consumer all the products and services necessary for daily life through a subscription that is easy to activate and deactivate, through a single platform: vehicles, technological devices, household services such as supplies, and many others.
More than a thousand products
Simplr is the pioneering Spanish company in the field of the access economy and the first to offer a single marketplace for all the products and services necessary in our daily lives under subscription. The platform allows access any product or service through subscriptions and an easy activation and deactivation of the same with which to interrupt them when they have fulfilled their function.
It was founded in 2020 by a team with experience in technology companies such as Google, Apple or Zuora and in venture capital firms such as Inveready or Antai. After raising a round of financing of 4.5 million euros, Simplr launched its platform in 2021 and currently offers more than a thousand products and services in around 50 categories and subcategories through agreements with more than 200 brands, such as Damm, Hyundai , SEAT MÓ, HP or Flax & Kale.
In the words of Ángel Bou, CEO & Co-founder of Simplr: “Thanks to this model, citizens and companies have the possibility of being part of the change, which is already taking place at a European level, using only the products and services they need , at the required time and for a specific time, estimated by the user himself.
In this way, he explains, “the use of products is adjusted to the usual needs, both of companies and individuals, and once these are finished, it allows the products chosen to be returned so that other people can use them, maximizing their cycle of life and contributing to reduce e-waste”.
Simplr is the first company to offer a single marketplace for all the products and services necessary in our daily lives under subscription
Technological devices
In the case of the technological devices available on the platform, you can find computers and tablets, as well as mobile phones, monitors or televisions. These products usually carry a high initial outlay, so the subscription model allows access to them with a small monthly fee, making them more accessible. In addition, they contribute to the circular economy, since they extend their useful life by giving them a second life after their return.
Beyond the individual environment, the change towards this consumption model is increasingly necessary, also in the business sphere, since until now it was not necessary for companies to report on the traceability and life cycle of these products, but it is It is essential to ask a question: what happens to the ones that companies use in their day to day when the company decides to change them? Many of them bet on donating, but the reality is that later many of these devices end up in garbage dumps in the Third World, with a very negative impact on the planet. This is where the circular economy becomes a key element in the reuse and recycling of technological waste.
The recycling of obsolete computers, telephones and other technological assets represents a danger to the sustainability of today’s societies
In the words of Ángel Bou, CEO & Co-founder of Simplr: “Thanks to this model, citizens and companies have the possibility of being part of the change, which is already taking place at a European level, using only the products and services they need , at the required time and for a specific time, estimated by the user himself. In this way, the use of products is adjusted to the usual needs, both of companies and individuals, and, once these are finished, it allows the chosen products to be returned so that other people can use them, maximizing their life cycle and contributing to reduce e-waste”.
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