FEATURED TOPIC – E-WASTE
A positive disruption
Scipher Technologies aims to separate bonded plastic polymers and resins from e-waste.
SCIPHER TECHNOLOGIES IS TURNING TO INNOVATION AS IT STRIVES TO BE THE PRE-EMINENT E-WASTE RECYCLER IN AUSTRALIA.
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cipher Technologies is a new entrant to the Australian e-waste recycling arena, and in just 12 months has taken over the largest e-waste recycling facility in Victoria and is rolling out a strategy to establish operations across the country. The team has big plans to “positively disrupt” the national e-waste market, according to Chris Sayers, Executive Director. Chris says Scipher Technologies is on the cusp of introducing two key projects that will change the landscape of e-waste recycling. “We’re very aspirational,” he says. “We believe we’re ahead of the curve.” Chris has a background in finance and spent the past 25 years in Europe, 10 of those running his own advisory businesses. It was during this time that he worked with a Swiss-based company that developed and commercialised “game-changing waste processing equipment” that separates and recovers raw materials contained in e-waste
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to a high grade of purity. He says the opportunity to introduce the technology and know-how learned in Europe to Australia was a massive opportunity and he began to develop a business model for the Australian market. Scipher Technologies was formed in 2019. In 2020, the company bought the Cleanaway e-waste facility in Dandenong, Victoria and is now “the largest licensed e-waste recycler in Victoria”. Chris says the Dandenong site is considered the most advanced e-waste facility in Australia and is the only licensed facility operating a Blubox – a closed recycling system that operates under negative pressure to extract hazardous vapours and dust from e-waste as it’s processed. He says the site has accredited off takers for the recycled materials including InfraBuild, Sims Metal Management, Norstar Recycling and Mitsubishi Metals Group. Scipher is also working with other innovative
partners and research groups to enhance raw material recovery capability. Ultimately, the company wants to close the loop on e-waste and see the end-product reintroduced back to the economy. “We sell all of our product, with the exception of plastics, because there’s currently no viable offtake or disposal pathway for recovered e-waste plastics in Australia, with the exception of landfill,” Chris says. “The impact of the Federal Government bans on exporting recyclable plastics hit the industry hard. We and other e-waste recyclers are stockpiling because we can’t export.” Enter stage one of Scipher Technologies’ plan to revolutionise the industry.
TACKLING E-WASTE PLASTICS “We have been working on an industry solution for e-waste plastics,” Chris says. “Our aim is to separate bonded plastic polymers and resins, and recover
