Stefan de Linde is the founder and CEO of Minimise, a Berlin-based startup making traceability accessible to the informal recycling sector. The difference? It is build on existing local practices and make formalisation simple, not disruptive.

You’ve seen e-waste recycling firsthand in several African countries. Can you describe what that actually looks like on the ground (beyond what reports and headlines often say)?

What often gets missed in reports is just how entrepreneurial and organized e-waste treatment really is on the ground. In many developing countries, demand and supply is driven by highly experienced individuals. In that market, the lines between repair, refurbishment and recycling are not as black and white as we are used to. The driving motivator for repair shop technicians, e-waste collectors and waste pickers is value. Everyone knows which activities are worth their time and which aren’t.

It's a predominantly manual process from start to finish. The most important difference is that people work together closely to share expertise. Electronics are valued by eye and through negotiation. If devices can be repaired or components can be harvested, they will be. Machines are rare, but for a different reason than expected. Why would you want a machine shredding your electronics when the individual components have a much higher value?

In many ways, the African system is superior to ours. Devices are repaired and re-used for much longer. Unlike what is reported, the issue isn’t the dumping of electronics from Europe in Africa and valuable resources getting lost. Any material with value won’t get lost. The problem centers around what happens with the material that has no value to anyone. What happens to toner and ink cartridges, mercury-containing backlights in displays and toxic plastics?

We often hear the term “informal recycling”, sometimes used interchangeably with “illegal.” From your perspective, what’s the difference between the two?

You can only answer that question by asking what is meant by illegal recycling? In India more than 2 million people rely on informal e-waste treatment for their livelihood. If you were to criminalize their informal status, the industry would collapse. Informal sector workers represent an unmissable gap in the recycling value chain in many countries, especially where formal systems are still developing. 

Most informal recyclers are simply working outside of official frameworks, not against them. Many follow their own internal codes, keep good customer relationships, and operate within their means. Lumping them together with organizations involved in illegal e-waste shipments or illegal dumping of e-waste does real harm. It criminalizes livelihoods and alienates people who could otherwise be part of the solution.

Understanding the nuance here matters because it shapes how we work with local systems. If we want to improve traceability and environmental outcomes, we need to recognize the informal sector as a partner, not a problem. We should support them to organize themselves, and incentivize them to take measures to protect their own health and the environment against the polluting aspects of their activities.

From your practical experience, what are the biggest breaks or blockers to traceable, responsible recycling of this kind of equipment?

The biggest barrier is lack of incentive. For many informal sector workers, the idea of reporting, documenting, or tracing materials feels like a distraction. Why start an activity that doesn’t generate clear, short-term value? Environmental or health concerns are rarely the primary motivators. What moves people to action is the possibility of income. That’s why traceability only works when it's linked to visible value. If data leads to funding, inclusion in larger projects, or just better prices for well-handled material, then reporting becomes worthwhile. But if it’s just a requirement imposed from above, it’s seen as a burden.

The second issue is mistrust in authorities. Visibility can attract unwanted attention: taxes, restrictions, or even shutdowns. In some cases, governments have used formalization efforts not to integrate informal actors, but to push them out. Closing sites or banning activities without offering meaningful alternatives for livelihoods. The result is that informal workers often keep a low profile, even if they’re doing valuable environmental work.

The better path is to motivate inclusion, not enforce compliance. By building trust, proving value, and ensuring that data collection serves the people doing the work, not just the ones monitoring it.

How does Minimise tackle those gaps? What are the most valuable things you provide?

Minimise focuses heavily on value generation for participants. That starts with the value of maintaining an up-to-date inventory. Even the smallest informal user can benefit from knowing the worth of the material in their possession. Furthermore, using the software opens doors to our funded projects. Using our customers’ contributions, we often initiate collection projects along pre-defined standards. A reliable user of our software is eligible to earn money for participating in these projects and documenting accurately.

These first steps towards self-formalization are key incentives for informal sector workers to grow their activities. It starts with a photo, and adding a location. It ends with a verifiable documentation trail that can be used by brand owners or even regulators. With the right rewards, the informal sector worker becomes a reliable business partner.

Of course this requires support. Recently in Zambia we trained collectors and dismantlers to create the first formally registered e-waste treatment facility. In India our partner has been motivated to get formally certified as an e-waste recycler, to be eligible for bigger funded projects.

Have you seen promising examples on the African continent ? Which countries, cities, or actors are most advanced when working with complex e-waste?

There are some incredible examples of local leadership. In Kenya, the WEEE Centre and Enviroserve in Nairobi are two of the most structured and forward-thinking actors on the continent. They combine strong partnerships with the private sector and government with practical projects to pilot new technologies for improved recycling efficiency. Equipment such as satellite dishes or internet installations are highly complex, containing many difficult-to-recycle materials. Local treatment can only be achieved through this mindset.

What these places show is that local ecosystems are already innovating. We need to recognize and support them, not replace them. Over time, these ecosystems will grow and set an industry standard for safe collection and treatment activities.

What would you personally hope the UpSatCycle progam achieves?

UpSatCycle has the opportunity to become the industry success story for satellite hardware retrieval. Not just in terms of environmental impact, but in how it respects and integrates local knowledge. These are often highly decentralized, hard-to-reach assets. Without local participation, collection would be impossible. With the right tools and recognition, those same actors can become stewards of high-value reverse logistics chains.

If we get traceability right, we can show that even in remote locations, responsible recycling is possible, valuable and scalable.

And finally : what should projects like ours not do?

The biggest trap is assuming that because a system isn’t formal, it’s broken. Many external models are well-intentioned but fail because they overwrite what’s already working. Instead of building parallel systems, the key is to build with existing ones. Understand what motivates local actors, co-create incentives, and be transparent about what’s being asked of them.

Don’t make visibility a burden. If we want traceability, we have to make it valuable to the people doing the work, not just to the people reading the reports. If done correctly, this project can produce long-term value for everyone involved.

Interview conducted by Irina Chèvre (Terraquota), and also available on UpSat Cycle Website.