In this episode of Circle Up, we take a closer look at the electronics that shape our daily lives and the strange journey they take once we’re done with them. Phones, laptops, tablets, earbuds, chargers, monitors, even solar panels… they’re everywhere, and they move through our hands faster than almost any other product category. But unlike cars, which come with a built‑in culture of maintenance and longevity, electronics are designed to cycle quickly. That gap didn’t happen by accident, and it has huge implications for our homes, our communities, and the materials we rely on.

To understand what’s happening behind the scenes, we visit Sycamore International, where CEO Steve Figgat oversees one of the region’s most sophisticated electronics refurbishment and reverse‑logistics operations. His team manages the full lifecycle of devices from school district laptops and corporate IT refreshes to municipal electronics drop‑offs sorting, testing, harvesting components, and putting usable equipment back into circulation. Steve gives us a rare look at the physical reality of the electronics ecosystem: the volume, the complexity, the opportunities, and the bottlenecks that keep so many devices sitting idle instead of moving back into use.

Then we zoom out with Aaron Perzanowski of the University of Michigan, a leading scholar on the Right to Repair. Aaron helps us understand how design choices, software restrictions, and policy decisions have shaped the modern electronics landscape and why consumers often feel stuck between keeping outdated devices or buying new ones. He traces the legal and economic forces that created today’s electronics culture and explains how emerging Right to Repair laws could open the door to a more durable, more circular future.

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Sycamore International is a Pennsylvania‑based electronics refurbishment and reverse‑logistics company led by CEO Steve Figgat. Sycamore processes devices from school districts, corporate campuses, and municipal electronics drop‑offs; testing, sorting, repairing, and recirculating equipment to keep valuable materials in use and out of disposal streams. Their work demonstrates what real circular infrastructure for electronics looks like at scale. Learn more at sycamoreinternational.com.

Aaron Perzanowski is a law professor at the University of Michigan and one of the country’s leading experts on the Right to Repair. His research examines how software locks, intellectual property rules, and design choices shape the modern electronics ecosystem; and why consumers often feel stuck between outdated devices and expensive replacements. His work helps chart a path toward a more durable, more circular electronics economy. Learn more at perzanow.ski.

To learn more about the circular economy and support Circular Philadelphia’s work to transform waste and resource systems for all, visit circularphiladelphia.org.