On 22 March 2023 GRINNER partners gathered in Buzau, Romania for the second in-person consortium meeting at the occasion of the six months of the projects. The discussions focused on the ongoing work and plans for the future activities. Partners also had the possibility to visit the recycling facility of GREENWEEE which showed the necessity of the GRINNER solution on the ground.
Core part of the meeting focused on an in-depth project work plan review where each partner led the discussions on what’s being done in their work package and on the interdependencies with other tasks.
- The most important takeaways on the project’s progress are the following:
- The technical specifications and requirements of the GRINNER solution are finalised;
- The deployment of an early X-Ray prototype and building of a database of WEEE scrap are under way;
- The University of Essex also explained the progress made in the battery detection process.
- The visit of the recycling facility was an eye opener for the partners and helped visualise why GRINNER is a project with a real mission: understanding the hazards caused by the batteries that enter the plant hidden in e-waste and how GRINNER can help protect the health and safety of the 200 employees working in the plant, was an additional motivation for further work.
The host of the meeting, GreenWEEE International, works in the field of collection, treatment and recycling of e-waste, cables, batteries, and automotive components. With recycling capacity of 100.000 tonnes a year, two operating facilities in Romania holding the WEEELABEX (WEEE label of excellence) certificate since 2012, ensure the highest recovery level of raw materials, reducing the reliance on virgin materials.
The next in-person GRINNER meeting is planned for September 2023 in Milan, hosted by Erion WEEE, the biggest e-waste collection scheme in Italy.