Reducing E-waste by using artificial intelligence to develop repair diagnostic tools

Electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. With the United Kingdom (UK) generating ~25 kg of WEEE per person it is among the highest globally – the consumption and disposal of electrical and electronic products are on unsustainable trajectories. These trends are leading to exacerbated greenhouse gas emissions, depleted critical materials, and adverse pollution social and health impacts globally.
Electronic products are often thrown away due to a single faulty component. Many of them send up in landfill or incineration, others are exported abroad to be dumped in other counties. Due to increasing extended producer responsibility (EPR) and the UK Carbon Emission Trading scheme due to come into operation in 2028, the economics of this waste are set to change dramatically this decade. In this project we will develop scanning and AI methods to automatically assess and diagnose product faults. We will develop tools to certify the fitness for reuse and repair as well as their economic value to current supply chains, as well as environmental benefits. The project seeks to understand how digital passports can help build the reuse and repair economy.

The project is part of a multidisciplinary team including behaviour science researchers, economists, materials and design researchers as well as environmental science experts. Our aim to reduce electronic and plastic waste and builds on our previous work in this area [1,2]. The successful candidate will work as part as part of this UCL team and the EPSRC Sustainable Engineering Plastics Manufacturing Hub [3] in collaboration with Warwick and Manchester universities and more than 60 companies and organisations including JLR, Polestar, Siemens, BEKO, Bellway, and Biffa.

Apply here

Led by Silvia Anselmi, Jack Jeffries and Helen Hailes our works shows that enzymes can biodegrade spandex in lab conditions. This research is part of our plastics recycling research programme funded through a number of UKRI grants. Read the full paper here.

Animate materials, characterized by their activity, adaptability, and autonomy, emulate properties of living systems. While only biological materials fully embody these principles, artificial versions are advancing rapidly, promising transformative impacts in the circular economy, health and climate resilience within a generation. This roadmap presents authoritative perspectives on animate materials across different disciplines and scales, highlighting their interdisciplinary nature and potential applications in diverse fields including nanotechnology, robotics and the built environment. It underscores the need for concerted efforts to address shared challenges such as complexity management, scalability, evolvability, interdisciplinary collaboration, and ethical and environmental considerations. Read the roadmap here.

Transforming our understanding of how we make, use, reuse and recycle products will be my mission in my new role as Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science.

The production and use of materials accounts for more than 40% of global warming emissions. Transforming how we make, use, and recycle the materials and products that are central to modern life will be vital to achieving our Net Zero targets and reducing the risk of dangerous climate change.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, says:

“Our throw-away culture ignores the fact that resources are finite and we have to get smarter about how we consume things. More sustainable products are already a growing part of the economy and I am sure Mark will get people thinking about how we can all leave less of a harmful footprint on the earth.”

The French translation of my book Stuff Matters wins the Cosmos Prix 2025. Big thanks to my translators Ian Dufey and Lionel Pousaz.

Our latest citizen science project shows that customer want their electrical and appliances to last longer, 5 years for small electricals and 10 years for large appliances. Read the full paper here:

Photos showing field trials of five Nupik PP cups in a Dorset field. Five cups were positioned 15 cm apart on open ground and covered with chicken wire mesh to prevent being blown away in the wind. They were monitored for 24 months: (a) the initial set-up in Jan 2021; (b) showing the cups 14 months later and, May 2022, one of these (inset) was removed for laboratory testing; and (c) showing the remaining four cups 24 months later, and close up (inset). Read full paper of our lab analysis here.

Gemma Ware and I made a podcast for The Conversation on how we ended up with so much plastic waste and what we can do about it. My suggestion is that we need to move to an economic model where companies can only sell products into regions where the waste infrastructure exists to collect, reuse, repair and finally recycle those products. Listen here.

The airlines are magicians. The magic lies in how the airlines have positioned flying as a minor part of the environmental crisis, and one which they will soon solve. They have used the classic techniques of magicians to weave this illusion: distraction, manipulation but above all psychology. We all want to believe in the magic of sustainable flight they offer us, even though it is fantasy. Read full article here

It’s a Gas was also named as one of the Daily Telegraph’s science books of the year.