From business models and purchasing practices to product design, user behavior, and recycling systems, a wide range of barriers continues to stand in the way of circular IT. This overview highlights the key challenges that prevent longer product lifetimes, higher levels of reuse, and more effective material recovery — and points to where change is needed.
IT products are made for a short life
IT products contain valuable, scarce natural resources, and their supply chains include thousands of suppliers worldwide. Still, many products are designed for short life cycles. As a result, electronic waste has become the world’s fastest-growing waste stream, with more than 60 million tonnes discarded each year.
Products are made for a long life, but are replaced prematurely
Products that are built to last are still being discarded too soon. To support a more circular approach to IT products, we need better planning for longer lifetimes, as well as routines for repair, upgrade and reuse.
Unsustainable, linear business models persist
Linear business models are typically based on extracting natural resources and producing products with short lifespans that quickly become waste. To address this, businesses need to transition to circular models that retain the value of products and materials for longer. This can include offering products as a service, enabling repair and refurbishment, and creating value beyond the sale of new products.
Reused products are often seen as less attractive
IT brands invest heavily in promoting the latest product models, which can make new products feel more desirable. As a result, reused or remanufactured IT products are often perceived as less attractive, even when they function just as well. To support circularity, we need to shift the focus from owning the newest product to choosing products based on functionality, quality, and responsible use of resources.
Low-quality is mistaken for low-cost
Choosing the cheapest product that only meets today’s needs can lead to higher costs in the long run. When performance needs increase, the product may need to be replaced. By investing in a higher-performance product with a longer usable life, organizations can extend use, support reuse, and reduce both costs and sustainability impact over time.
Replacing products is seen as energy-efficient
IT products are sometimes replaced to reduce energy use, but from a life cycle perspective, this is often the wrong approach. Manufacturing IT products requires large amounts of energy and generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. In many cases, the total environmental impact can be reduced by extending the lifespan of products.
Lack of collaboration
Materials and components that are considered waste in one industry can be valuable resources in another. However, large amounts of resources are lost due to limited communication and cooperation between industries. A fully circular value chain requires collaboration across sectors throughout the entire product lifecycle.
How TCO Certified promotes circular thinking
Criteria support a more circular approach to IT through longer product lifetimes, repairability, and extended software support. IT brands must support certified products for at least five years, helping shift expectations away from frequent replacement while incentivizing the industry to develop longer-lasting products.
Products are too fragile
Mobile IT products are constantly carried in pockets, bags, and backpacks, exposing them to everyday wear and tear. To achieve longer lifespans, products need to be durable and designed to withstand drops, frequent handling, and both high and low temperatures.
Concerns about data protection
Every year, millions of IT products are left unused or prematurely discarded because of concerns that sensitive data may fall into the wrong hands. If users are provided with secure data sanitization software, this can be avoided.
Poor battery lifetime
Portable IT products are often discarded when the battery has lost its ability to hold a charge, even if the device itself remains fully functioning. To address this, batteries should be high-quality and easy to remove and replace using commonly available tools.
Barriers to repair or upgrade
Many IT products are designed to be short-lived. If a single component — such as a keyboard, battery, or memory module — fails or becomes outdated, the entire device may be discarded unless the component can be replaced. Products should therefore be designed for disassembly, repair, and upgrade using commonly available tools, with replacement parts and service manuals readily accessible.
Difficulty assessing repairability at the time of purchase
It can be difficult to assess how easy a product is to maintain, reuse, and repair at the time of purchase. The internal components of IT products are often hidden, making repairability hard to evaluate. Repair also requires technical expertise, and in most cases, it is not possible to inspect a product’s repair features before purchase. Verified repairability scores, assessed by independent experts, provide a reliable way to address this challenge.
Lack of warranties
IT products are often sold with a short warranty — or no warranty at all. Extended warranties are a key enabler of longer product lifespans. When products fail during the warranty period, the IT brand carries the cost of repair or replacement, creating strong incentives to design more durable, high-quality devices. Extended warranties also give purchasers and users the confidence to plan for longer use cycles without the risk of unexpected costs.
Lack of functionality and security updates
Without regular functionality and security updates, IT products become less secure, reliable, and effective. The risk of cyberattacks and data breaches increases, along with performance and compatibility issues. As a result, devices may no longer meet security or operational requirements, leading to premature replacement of otherwise functional products.
How TCO Certified removes technical obstacles
TCO Certified helps remove technical barriers to circularity by requiring products to be durable, repairable, and upgradeable, with high-quality, replaceable batteries in mobile devices. Free data sanitization software must be provided, and an independently verified repairability index helps purchasers assess how easy products are to repair before purchase.
Materials containing hazardous substances
Materials that contain hazardous substances are often difficult to recycle or reuse in new products. By replacing these substances with safer alternatives, materials can be safely recycled and remain compliant with increasingly stricter legislation.
Products do not reach recycling facilities
Only around 20 percent of discarded IT products reach safe recycling facilities. The rest may be sent to landfill, incinerated, or illegally exported to regions with weak or non-existent e-waste legislation. This leads to significant negative impacts, including toxic pollution, risks to human health, and the loss of valuable natural resources.
Products and materials are not made for recycling
Products and materials are often not designed with recycling in mind, which reduces the value that can be recovered at end-of-life. Materials present in very small quantities are difficult and costly to extract. Components such as batteries can also pose safety risks — if they cannot be easily removed, they may enter the shredding process and create fire hazards. To enable effective material recovery, recycling considerations should be integrated already at the product design stage.
Unsafe and unregulated e-waste handling
Environmentally sound collection and recycling of IT products often have to compete with cheaper, less transparent alternatives. This creates incentives for misclassification of e-waste and exports that avoid the true cost of safe treatment. Although regulations have been strengthened and controls expanded, enforcement and traceability remain limited. As a result, e-waste may still be processed in systems where valuable materials are recovered, while hazardous or low-value fractions are dumped, incinerated, or otherwise poorly managed.
Virgin materials are preferred over recycled materials
Virgin raw materials often remain more commercially attractive than recycled alternatives. Prices for newly extracted materials do not reflect the environmental and social costs of extraction and refining, and they can offer more predictable quality and availability. Recycled materials, especially post-consumer content, may vary in quality, have limited availability, and carry risks of contamination. As a result, their uptake remains limited. To enable wider use, stricter requirements, better traceability, and clearer quality standards are needed.
How TCO Certified promotes material reuse
Criteria for safer chemicals improve material recyclability, while requirements for responsible e-waste management help reduce waste and recover valuable resources. Unique product identifiers make it easier to share essential product information, supporting tracking, servicing and recycling throughout the product lifecycle.
