How robots are helping tackle the issue of electrical waste and recycling

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves reusing and recycling materials and products, aimed at tackling environmental challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. However, some of the processes involved in breaking down surplus products, to harvest materials for re-use, can be hazardous to health. Votechnik has developed an automated application that utilises a KUKA industrial robot, to safely dismantle LCD TV screens and monitors. Extracting dangerous gasses (mercury) and removing sharp elements (fluorescent tubes & screens) the cell removes the dangers posed to humans, whilst also tackling the issue of growing electrical waste.