E-waste can become an opportunity not only for materials recovery, but for people too. That is the idea behind REVALUE, one of the winners of the first Open Call. The project connects reuse, repair, recycling, digital traceability and inclusive employment into one integrated circuit for electrical and electronic equipment, tested across three European regions. We spoke to Iñaki Mas Erice, European Projects Manager at Fundación Koine, who represents the REVALUE consortium, to find out more about the project.
What inspired the idea behind this project?
The idea for REVALUE emerged from a clear contradiction. Europe needs to recover more critical raw materials, reduce electronic waste and develop new circular value chains. However, equipment and components that still retain significant economic value continue to be discarded, prematurely recycled or destroyed.
At the same time, many people facing barriers to labour market access remain excluded from high-growth sectors linked to the green transition, technology, advanced repair, data management and the recovery of strategic materials.
REVALUE was created to connect these two opportunities. The project is based on the conviction that social inclusion should not be confined to peripheral or low-value-added activities. People in vulnerable situations can also participate, acquire specialised skills and build professional careers within a technological and industrial sector with growing market demand.
REVALUE therefore integrates repair, refurbishment, technical sorting, material recovery, digital traceability and access to industrial buyers within a single value chain. Social inclusion is not introduced at the end of the process as an additional measure. It is embedded at the core of the project’s productive and business model.
How did the project partnership come together?
The partnership was built around the business model we wanted to demonstrate and the full range of capabilities required to make it operational under real-world conditions.
No single organisation could independently develop a value chain combining collection and sorting, repair, training, labour market inclusion, industrial treatment, material recovery, digital traceability and commercialisation. For this reason, we brought together organisations with clearly complementary expertise and operational roles.
Koine Aequalitas contributes its experience in social innovation, training, inclusive employment and project coordination. AMIMET and CRAR Normandie provide real operational environments in which technical capabilities, professional pathways and productive activities related to repair and reuse can be developed. WEEECycling brings the industrial dimension of electronic waste treatment and material recovery. IPC contributes specialised technical expertise in materials, plastics and valorisation processes. Vaste provides the digital infrastructure required to ensure traceability, organise material flows and connect supply with industrial buyers.
The partnership is distinctive because the social organisations do not participate as secondary service providers or passive beneficiaries. They are operational actors within a shared industrial and commercial value chain. Each partner performs an essential function in ensuring that the model generates economic, social and environmental value.
What would success look like if the project develops as planned?
Success would mean demonstrating that social inclusion can be an integral part of a competitive, technologically advanced and economically viable circular business model.
From an industrial perspective, REVALUE must prove that a greater number of electronic devices and components can be repaired, refurbished, reused or redirected towards higher-value recovery processes before becoming waste. It must also demonstrate that digital traceability can strengthen buyer confidence, improve data quality, increase operational efficiency and support the commercialisation of secondary materials.
From a social perspective, success will not be measured solely by the number of people trained. The project aims to ensure that people facing barriers to employment develop real and transferable skills in future-oriented areas such as technical equipment assessment, repair, specialised sorting, digital materials management, quality control and circular logistics.
The objective is for these individuals to be recognised not merely as participants in a social programme, but as skilled professionals capable of contributing productivity, expertise and value within an industrial value chain.
The true measure of success will be the model’s capacity to continue operating and scale beyond the pilot phase. REVALUE must deliver a credible commercial proposition, validated processes, clearly defined occupational profiles, established relationships with buyers and a methodology that can be replicated across other European regions.
The project will have succeeded if it demonstrates that inclusion and profitability are not competing objectives, but interconnected components of the same business model.
What makes this project unique?
REVALUE is unique because it positions social inclusion within a cutting-edge, market-oriented sector, rather than at the margins of the economy.
Many circular economy projects focus exclusively on technology, recycling or waste reduction. Others address labour market inclusion primarily from a social perspective. REVALUE connects these two dimensions and integrates them within a complete value chain.
The project combines early-stage sorting, repair and refurbishment, the recovery of valuable and critical materials, digital traceability, commercialisation, access to industrial buyers and the creation of inclusive employment opportunities.
Its main differentiating factor is that social economy organisations participate in productive activities that generate real economic value. The objective is not simply to create occupation or temporary employment opportunities, but to professionalise capabilities, improve operational processes, meet quality standards and respond to specific market needs.
REVALUE does not approach inclusion as a corporate social responsibility initiative. Instead, it treats inclusion as a competitive and operational advantage. By expanding the available talent pool, developing local capabilities and connecting social organisations with technological and industrial operators, the project creates a more resilient, specialised and inclusive supply chain.
Furthermore, the model will be tested in Navarra, Normandy and Scotland, three distinct ecosystems that will allow its technical, economic, environmental and social performance to be assessed under different conditions. This will generate robust evidence on how inclusion can become a structural component of Europe’s emerging circular business models.
Follow the journey
REVALUE shows what the ECIV Open Call is meant to enable: partners from different regions combining their strengths to turn circular ideas into real-world solutions. Learn more about all the winning projects here.
