Umicore, WorldLoop win award

Umicore, a Brussels-based precious metals recycling firm, has announced that a three-year old partnership between itself and WorldLoop, a nonprofit organization focused on developing e-scrap recycling in developing countries, has received the first Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs Trophy award.

The organization giving the award is a Belgian not-for-profit that says it engages with companies and NGOs “that are committed to sustainable economic growth in developing countries by working in search of local and sustainable initiatives.”

The jury, comprised of people from the private and non-profit sectors, praised the partnership for its “joint efforts providing local African entrepreneurs with the educational tools and knowledge to set up environmentally sound solutions for e-waste collection and dismantling in Africa.”

Since 2011 WorldLoop has set up cooperative ventures with entrepreneurs in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Senegal, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile. The centers have collected and dismantled more than 954 tons of electronic scrap. Of the amount collected, roughly 25 tons of circuit boards have been sent to Umicore’s recycling facility near Antwerp with another 20 tons on the way.

Luc Gellens, Umicore’s senior vice president of recycling, says, “We are very pleased with this recognition as our partnership with WorldLoop [is] perfectly putting into practice our vision on sustainability and contribution to society. It speaks to the hearts and minds of people well beyond the Umicore community.”