ATRenew is making second-hand the first choice in a world that can’t afford waste. Through AI and a global scale, they’re creating a future where reusing electronics is the new norm.
We throw away electronics at an astonishing rate. The constant production needed to meet demand uses vast amounts of energy, generates harmful emissions and depletes finite resources, such as copper and lithium.
Recycling alone is not enough. It uses lots of energy, and many materials can’t be endlessly recovered. With e-waste rising fast, recycling systems are under pressure, making it crucial that we reduce what we throw away.
Today, the average lifespan of a mobile phone is just two years. As devices pile up, global e-waste, or discarded electronic devices, is projected to hit 82 million tonnes annually by 2030 and without intervention, the cycle of disposal and production will continue to strain the planet’s resources.
The urgency is clear and it’s against this backdrop, that ATRenew’s mission is a global priority.
Based in Shanghai, China, ATRenew makes it easy, affordable and desirable for people to trade in old phones, laptops and watches, giving devices a second, third and even fourth life.
What sets ATRenew apart is its scale and speed. At its heart is Matrix, an AI-powered system that sorts, tests, quality controls, grades and prices up to 100,000 devices daily. In just five years, ATRenew has processed 150 million electronics, equivalent to every smartphone in the UK and France combined, while supervising the green disposal of one million discarded devices, preventing nearly 155 tonnes of e-waste pollution.
Through a network of more than 2,000 retail locations, eight regional operation centres and consumer resale partnerships, ATRenew has built a circular economy model with huge reach. Already active in China, Japan and Sweden and expanding into Southeast Asia and Latin America. ATRenew is ensuring the phone in your pocket can be reused across borders, tackling the e-waste challenge far beyond a single country.
And it’s not stopping its innovation there. By 2030, ATRenew’s goal is for its AI system to boost efficiency by 20% and second-hand electronic recycling rates in China from 10% to 30%, ushering in a world where every device is used for longer. In this future, products once tied to a use-and-discard mindset become symbols of sustainable consumption.
Being recognised as a Finalist of The Earthshot Prize marks the culmination of 15 years of work to help advance a zero-carbon future and reduce the growing flow of e-waste in modern society.
With this accolade, we hope to spotlight our circular economy model for the second-hand electronics industry with a model that can be applied globally, at scale.
