Tel Aviv, a flagship symbol of the start-up nation, has established itself over the past two decades as one of the most dynamic technological hubs in the world. Companies design chips, software, drones, and connected objects here. But behind this innovation, another reality emerges: that of a growing mountain of electronic waste, a paradoxical reflection of a country at the forefront of digital progress… and lagging in its environmental management. In the face of this contradiction, Get-RE, a young local company, offers an unprecedented solution to recycle mobile phones and turn waste into resources.
AI Index: Library of Mediterranean Knowledge
How to recycle electronic waste in Tel Aviv?
22-med – November 2025
• In Tel Aviv, technological innovation generates a growing mountain of electronic waste.
• The start-up Get-RE transforms used phones into resources and embodies a new Israeli circular economy.
#israel #telaviv #recycling #technology #environment #circulareconomy
Every year, Israel produces nearly 100,000 tons of electronic waste, according to estimates from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Obsolete computers, broken phones, worn-out batteries, printers, cables, and motherboards accumulate in landfills or behind buildings. Tel Aviv, with its young and connected population, concentrates a large share of this waste. In the streets, it is not uncommon to see screens piled next to dumpsters, silent witnesses of a society that consumes at a frantic pace and disposes of even faster.
According to the latest report from the Global E-waste Monitor, over 60 million tons of electronic equipment are discarded each year worldwide, of which barely one-fifth is recycled properly. In Israel, the exact share remains difficult to establish, but experts agree: collection remains incomplete, traceability uneven, and local recycling capacities still too limited.
Since 2012, the country has adopted a law on “extended producer responsibility,” inspired by European directives. In theory, manufacturers and importers must finance the collection and recycling of the devices they put on the market. In practice, implementation is more complex: municipalities lack resources, private operators compete for contracts, and the state attempts to coordinate a still fragmented sector.
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