From trash to treasure

A waste mountain the height of 4,500 Eiffel Towers? That's roughly how much electronic waste (e-waste) is added every year. Only 20 per cent of this total, or 10 million tonnes of electronic device waste, is (partially) reused. This should be much higher, says student team CORE, because all this waste is full of harmful chemicals for humans, nature and animals. Children who come into contact with it can develop serious motor problems and behavioural disorders. In addition, all these mountains of e-waste contain numerous materials that are not readily available and are running out. Think gold, platinum and cadmium. Together, they have an estimated value of €55,000,000,000.

So the need to curb this waste stream is great and the potential benefits gigantic. This led Dirk van Meer and two friends to start the student team 'Team CORE' at the TU/e Innovation Space in 2018 to contribute to this. With an ever-growing group of students, Team CORE set out to find ways to filter useful substances and parts from waste streams. This has already led to great successes, such as detecting batteries using AI. Recycling batteries is not only good for the world, but it also prevents dangerous battery fires. Every year, a new batch of students works energetically to develop a new contribution. And it doesn't stop there. TMI investments, a technology development company, sees great potential in the further development of team CORE and has decided to help founder Dirk van Meer and the team further in developing their business. And that shows exactly the strength of our region. Here we work together and develop further, from student to independent entrepreneur.