So I’m Jos and I’m working on research in circular economy and automotive sector, and I would like to know your point of view. If you accept, I’m going to record our conversation, transcribe it and put the transcription with a pseudonym, not with your real name in a repository of text documents that will be used for the research. If you do this and you change your mind later and no longer want to participate, get in touch with us and we will immediately remove your interview from the repository. So I leave you a little information sheet and with the contact information. So if you agree, please tell me your first name and that you agree.
Ghadi Eichmann I agree.
Thank you very much. So, Ghadi, can you define a circular economy in your own words? What is it?
Um, circular economy is, uh, is is an economy that you can use, you know, use and reuse. So it’s like when you are, um, can use, uh, scrap to the main purpose that is, was, you know, used for in the, in the beginning.
Uh, do you participate in a circular economy yourself in any aspect of your life?
Yes, I’m we are actually we are the biggest electronic recyclers in Israel. And we, we are doing a lot of circular economies, mainly with computers. We give them them, you know, the second life. We extend their lifetime of usage. We support them with warranty parts, labor, and then we bring them, bring them back to the bring them back to the market. And and you are and by that you are. It’s being saved to, you know, to build a new computer and and helps are you know earning from from mining and other metals.
Good. How did you become interested in circular economy ideas and practice.
We started from the from the um we started to sell new items, new hardware and then, you know, we got into this possibility of extending life of, uh, of used computers by trading promotion, like IT a disposal programs. And it makes sense, it makes sense, you know, to combine the environment with economic model. And when we combine, you know, the economic models with a sustainability issue. So it’s, it’s, you know, the environment must, you know, if you wants to support the environment, you want, you need to combine it with economic model is visibility model. And this is what we’ve done.
In your opinion, can a circular economy be implemented in in individual sectors or individual industries?
Yes, I think that it’s you can you can you can do it in any, any um, any activity. Um, what’s whatsoever because it’s it’s when we are when you are for example extracting, you know, the life of the main purpose of a product our car part, it can be a computer, it can be whatsoever. Then you we are saving the mining of new metals and then we are using it again and again. This is the one hand second hand in When you are doing the recycling, then you producing raw materials for other metals and then you are doing the circular economy as well. So it’s only not only reuse of the main purpose, it’s also when you are, you know, when you are collecting old materials, all parts old cars, old computers, then you can do in recycling and then you can put inside, you know, the recycled metals with much less carbon footprint to the world and then you can use it.
Do you think the circular economy already exists in the car industry?
In the car industry, yes. It’s exist. You know, it’s exist by by if you are recycling, you know, cars and you’re producing, let’s say, ferrous copper whatsoever and you’re bringing it back to the back to the manufacturers. It’s not must be, you know, the main, the main purpose it can be you can take the aluminium and you can produce, you know, aluminium scrap which can go to a melting melt smelter of aluminium and you can use it afterwards for windows. For me it’s the same.
Okay. Do you currently own a car?
Of course.
Which kind?
I have. I have a few cars at home. One is Tesla. Yeah. Electric car. And I have a hybrid car of Toyota.
Uh, when is the one adjective that comes in mind to mind when you think about electronics in a car.
Can you repeat the question?
What is your first thought when you think about electronics in a car?
I think that we are living in a electronic world. Everything is running by electronics these days. Even our clothes, toys, and now it’s cars. And I think that it’s the car now is is becoming much more sophisticated, much more computers controlled. And this is becoming like a car now is like an iPhone. Yeah. Yeah.