Show Notes 189: How AI and Design Are Revolutionising E-Waste Management

The Cambridge tech scene continues to buzz with innovation, and this week's episode of the Cambridge Tech Podcast tackled one of the industry's most overlooked crises: electronic waste. We spoke with Sonia Lange Ramontja, founder of Retapp, about building a sustainable business that's as profitable as it is purposeful.

The Cambridge Tech Roundup

Before diving into our main interview, hosts James Parton and Faye Holland shared some impressive local updates:

Key Headlines:

• Local tech and life sciences companies raised over $1 billion in the past 12 months through Business Weekly's Killer 50 and Ones to Watch indexes

• Notable fundings include Cambridge Aerospace ($100M), Cusp AI ($100M), and New Quantum ($60M)

• Nvidia is consolidating into new office space on Station Road, joining Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Samsung AI

• Cambridge Wireless is hosting their international conference on 30th April themed "Networks of Intelligence" with Finnish innovation ecosystem partners

  
  

The E-Waste Opportunity Nobody's Talking About

Here's a sobering statistic: e-waste constitutes 70% of all toxic waste globally, yet it remains largely invisible in mainstream conversations. Sonia recognised this gap and built Retapp to address it.

Who is Sonia?

With a multicultural background spanning France, America, and South Africa, Sonia brought a decade of motion design and animation experience to the table before pivoting to entrepreneurship. After moving to Cambridge and starting her executive MBA at Judge Business School in 2024, she identified the e-waste crisis as the perfect intersection of her creative expertise and technological innovation.

"I always felt very uncomfortable with consumer sales because I just thought this is all going to end up in a landfill. It needs to be solved with AI, but also as a collective effort."

How Retapp Works: Design Meets AI

Retapp's platform combines consumer-friendly design with intelligent automation:

The User Journey:

• Users scan devices using the app (phones, laptops, toasters—anything with a plug or battery)

• AI identifies categories, estimates weight, and calculates resale value or eco-points

• Users choose drop-off or collection options

• Optional data erasure certificates available for enhanced security

• Sustainability metrics track environmental impact

The B2B Angle: Retapp also provides detailed device insights to refurbishers and recyclers through a web portal, helping them manage the deluge of electronics without overwhelming their operations.

"E-waste is 70% of all toxic waste. Those metals just seep into the soil and it's just awful."

From Pilot to Pre-Seed: Proving Product-Market Fit

Retapp ran a successful pilot from July to September 2025, collecting 860 kilos of electronics across five pop-up events in collaboration with Cambridge City Council. The product is now live on both App Store and Google Play.

Currently fundraising their pre-seed round, Sonia emphasises a crucial point for impact investors:

"A sustainable company doesn't mean it's not profitable. That really is a challenge. The challenge that we're aiming to solve has to be climate friendly but also it's a very good business model and a very good business long term."

The Investment Thesis

Retapp is seeking investors who understand the circular economy and recognise this as a genuine business opportunity—not charity work. With EU circular economy regulations tightening and extended producer responsibility (EPR) becoming mandatory, the timing couldn't be better.

As Sonia prepares to go full-time post-MBA, the next chapter of Retapp promises to be compelling. Whether through direct-to-consumer or B2B2C models, one thing's clear: the future of waste is circular, and Retapp's leading the charge.

Ready to hear more? Listen to the full episode on the Cambridge Tech Podcast and subscribe for weekly updates on the region's most exciting founders and innovations.

AI Generated Transcript

00:00VoiceoverTechnology moves fast and now so can you. Discover polestar, the all electric performance brand vehicles redefining how we drive. Precision engineering, minimalist design and software that evolves with you. Experience it at Holdham Group in Norwich and Bury St Edmunds, or let us bring the test drive to your door. Proud sponsors of the Cambridge Tech podcast, Polestar Electric Performance Redefined. Discover@holdengroup.co.uk Polestar. Welcome to the Cambridge Tech podcast, Talking all things technology from the heart of the UK's tech capital. Here are your hosts, Faye Holland and James Parton.

00:59James PartonHi, I'm James.

01:00FayeAnd I'm Faye. So, James, regale us with the highlights of your week last week.

01:07James PartonI think you just built it up a little bit too much there, but yeah, it was. It was nice to get out and about a little bit again after a couple of quiet weeks. I don't know who did I catch up with? I caught up with Jane Hutchins from Cambridge Science Park Salvo and Joe from kpmg. We had a really interesting chat about skills and AI. And just as a view ahead, we'll be covering their upcoming UK Tech Innovator competition. Planning another roundtable session with Tech uk, which is looking good already, and went to Trinity to kick off the planning for this year's Trinity Bradfield Prize. So it kind of never seems too far away, does it? So. And actually, while I was there, in their dining room, in their dining hall, I should say. Room is underselling it, isn't it?

01:48James PartonIt's a dining hall. There's the architect model for their proposed new boathouse event and study space building, which looks exciting, nice.

01:56FayeAnd is it going to be just for the university or are they going to. Is it going to be any bit. They open up?

02:02James PartonThat's a good question, actually. I don't actually know the answer to that. I will find out. Yeah, it looks really nice. Very modern, so quite, you know, a contrast to the backdrop of the college itself, but right on the backs, by the water, by the boats.

02:15FayeRight, because it's a boathouse.

02:17James PartonYeah. Who knew? Right? But how was your week?

02:21FayeOh, God, I think I'm in one of those moods today. Apologies, everybody. So, yeah, last week was a great week, I think, like, you just. Just busy. We've got a partnership board meeting coming up, so it's my first one, so it's all very serious and I've got to get everything right. So there's a lot of work going into that, thanks to the team as well. But I did manage to catch up with people because it's important to do that. So I spent some time with David Clevely on the deliverables of the partnership. So we're very much moving from that vision point to the how are we going to do it and what are we going to do? And then also Simon Thorn, who is just an incredible wealth of knowledge, not just for Cambridge, but Manchester.

03:02FayeYou know, he does a lot of work and has done for many years in Manchester. So it's great to be able to pick their brains and just run through ideas I've got and just let them give me their feedback and to take whatever feedback that they give me. So that's all good. We had another new team member join as well, Emma Tun, who's based actually up in Manchester. And the remaining roles that we've got, because when I arrived, there were a number of open roles, they're all going to get published. So loads of people have been pinging me saying, oh, when are they going to be published? What are those roles like? So just watch your space on the LinkedIn page if you are interested.

03:43FayeAnd then I also had lunch with Andy Turpin of pem, found out some really interesting news from him about the company, which will go public soon. So that's not going to hit the news today, but it might hit the news next week. Who knows?

03:57James PartonWe're both getting quite, really bad at teasing things and not. And not saying, maybe this needs to be news and gossip each week rather than just news.

04:03FayeI thought that's what it was. Yeah, sorry.

04:07James PartonI'm starting to worry that when I meet people for my actual job, people are going to stop talking to me because they know that we're going to start talking about it on the podcast.

04:16FayeYeah, but it's good as well because, like the KPMG stuff, they're taking submissions for their reward at the moment. So we're doing. We're doing a public service, I like to think.

04:24James PartonOkay, that's. That's fine then. So, speaking of news, our wonderful news partner, Business Weekly tracks a number of local tech and life science companies on its two indexes, the killer 50 and its ones to Watch, which are worth checking out. And this week they shared that those combined companies have raised more than $1 billion in the last 12 months. So very impressive there. Some highlights include Cambridge Aerospace, who raised $100 million, Cusp AI, who are coming up very soon. On the podcast, another $100 million, New Quantum $60 million, paragraph 55 million and Bitbio at $50 million. Also noteworthy was 53 investors in those companies were from the United States, 51 were from the UK, 20 from Europe and 13 from Asia. So I'd certainly recommend you head over to Business Weekly's website to get the full breakdown on that.

05:17FayeYeah, and what we should say is actually, you know, the ones you just gave us examples are tech. There are also a lot of bio and life sciences companies, news that we don't cover, whereas obviously Business Weekly will cover absolutely everything. And there's actually an event this evening over at, sponsored by Mills and Reeves and BDO and it's a business weekly killer 50 event. So I'll let you know if anything new comes out of that as well. The other piece of news we've got is about Nvidia, the US world leader in AI computing technologies. They are consolidating into new office space on Station Road in Cambridge, joining neighbors Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Samsung AI. And I think for me, the story is also a little bit about the support, hopefully for the startup ecosystem.

06:08FayeThey're already working with Hiverge, who are also based on Station Road to develop new quantum algorithms. So hopefully this new base will make them more accessible and give them a bit more of a local profile and we'll hopefully see them supporting more of the startup community too.

06:26James PartonChris Bruce of Cambridge Wireless has left us a voicemail, so over to Chris.

06:31VoiceoverHi, James and Fay. Chris Bruce from Cambridge Wireless here. This week on the 30th of April, we're again holding our international conference at Hingston Hall. The theme is Networks of Intelligence, where connectivity and innovation converge. I'd like to update you and your listeners about a program of work that I've been leading on behalf of Cambridge Wireless. I've been developing connections with the Finnish innovation and investment tech ecosystem, some of whom will be attending the conference this week. Why Finland? Well, because it's in some ways similar to the deep tech sector in and around Cambridge. A strong university research base, excellent technology skills, a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, an impressive track record of spin outs and startups.

07:16FayeYeah, do keep those show notes coming. All you've got to do is head to CambridgeTechPodcast.com and click on call the show and you can record as a little voice memo. So onto today's episode, we're joined by Sonja Lang Ramoncha, who's founder of Retap and they are working towards tackling waste and driving sustainable consumer behavior through technology. Hi, Sonja. Welcome to Cambridge Tech Podcast.

07:47SoniaThank you.

07:48FayeYeah, it's great to have you with us. Let's start finding out A little bit about you first of all. So tell us about your background and how you got started in tech and entrepreneurship.

07:58SoniaI am French and American, My mom is Puerto Rican, my dad is American and I was born in D.C. and we moved to France when I was young. So I grew up in France. I then went to university in Southampton and studied graphic arts for three years. I studied motion graphics and that started a decade of animation career. So I was a motion designer. I worked in fashion, I worked in art, also broadcast. So I worked for France Enfaut, which is the national news agency in France. Then I moved to South Africa for a year. I had found an internship there in events and I kept in touch with my boss at the time, wanted an excuse to move to South Africa. So I just lived in Johannesburg for a year with my friend and that's where I met my now husband.

08:52SoniaBut I moved back to France for a bit and worked there. I started a YouTube channel during COVID I moved to Bath in the UK because that's where my now husband was. And then I found a job, a remote job. They were based in Cambridge. So I was animator. And then we moved to Cambridge two years ago now and I started at the Judge Business School 2024. I started the executive MBA and that's when I started to research E waste and electronic waste, the largest waste crisis, but no one really knows about it. And when I learned that there needs to be more of a unified movement to solve it, that's when I thought, okay, my marketing and design background could really help with that. And I met my co founder last year as well.

09:44SoniaHe is an AI expert and data scientist and together we set out to solve the E waste crisis.

09:53James PartonSo clearly loads of creative jobs and roles and background. Am I right then in thinking you are coming at it more from the mission and the problem you're trying to solve rather than the technology per se? That's where your co founder comes in.

10:08SoniaI always had an interest innovation with animation and motion graphics in particular is actually a very technical role with that industry. I just found that there was a bit of a glass ceiling when it came to career progression. And also when I was working in fashion, there's all the luxury brands, right? I always felt very uncomfortable with consumer sales because I just thought this is all going to end up in a landfill, right? It's just such a complicated problem. It needs to be solved with AI, but also as a collective effort. And that's where we're coming from.

10:46James PartonFor listeners hearing about this for the first time. Tell us about retap and what you do.

10:51SoniaWe help you resell, refurbish or recycle your unwanted electronics. We set out to solve the E waste crisis and we're more in the waste industry than in the secondhand electronics. The first thing you want to do is be able to resell your electronics that still work. Then there is all the rest that actually is just waste and that people have in their homes they don't know what to do with. There's precious metals, there's critical minerals in all these devices, but there's no way to actually retrieve that properly dispose of them safely. So your phones, your laptops, they all have your sensitive data on it. That's very easy for criminals to actually take your data and then use it to upload to an AI or identity theft or scam people on Facebook.

11:47SoniaPeople don't send their devices to get refurbished or they don't resell it because of that as well. We say all your electronics can be recycled and for the ones with data on them, we can ensure data erasure. We wouldn't do that ourselves. We're a software provider. But we are partnering with ethical and sustainable refurbishers who can do that.

12:12James PartonSo just to clarify my own kind of thinking, are you going to go direct to consumer with the message that if your device doesn't have a resale value, there's now an alternative to stop it just hanging around the house or being thrown in landfill? You're going to market direct or are you providing like kind of the enabling software for recyclers to do this themselves? More of a white label kind of model.

12:35SoniaWe're going to consumers direct to build our brand, to raise awareness about the issue as well. But we can offer white labeling because what we've created is essentially a very easy to use solution for consumers, for households, for small businesses to use. And so if a recycler wanted to put their branding on it, they would just send it to you and say, please use this before we come and pick up your devices. But right now, because we're quite young, we're very new, and yeah, not a lot of people know about E waste. They just assume that it just goes in a closet.

13:12FayeSonia, you said earlier on about it's the perfect time now because AI can really help you to process it at volume. So talk us through a little bit about the platform and how you're putting that together.

13:25SoniaDo you use our app? The first thing you're prompted to do is scan all your devices if it's a phone, but also if it's like a toaster or anything with a plug or a battery. And that's a lot of stuff. Even just on this table right now, there's 10 things that you could recycle. The AI, it identifies the categories and everything that a refurbisher or recycler would need to know. And it also estimates the weight. You do that with several devices and you get an inventory of everything that you have and then you select okay, I want to get rid of this. That it also does quote you. This phone for example, I could get back like £300. So you'll see that as well. And that's calculated so we have like our internal calculations.

14:11SoniaAnd also based on what the refurbisher preference is, if the device doesn't have any resale value so it just needs to go for recycling, then you'd get eco points and those are redeemable at Curries, for example, you select the devices that you want to get rid of and you either select drop off or collection. So a collection you'd have to pay for. But we think some people would because if they're moving or they don't have a car, they can't get to the recycling center and then so drop off. At the moment we're still doing collection events. So I say still because we had a pilot last year and we collected nearly a ton of electronics in five pop up events, resold and processed everything quickly. So we're using that model again. You tell us if you want a data erasure certificate.

15:03SoniaSo a data erasure certificate you'd have to pay for. Some people really want that extra safety, that extra assurance that their data is deleted. And that's usually available for big corporations, the data erasure certificates. But we want to make it available to entrepreneurs, smaller companies and households. We can also track your sustainability metrics so how much you've diverted from landfill. Based on the weight and the device,.

15:28James PartonI'm guessing there's a sliding scale of the economic viability of recycling something for the materials that you can recycle and the rare metals and all that kind of stuff. Are you using AI to make that calculation? To understand, do you accept everything or is there like a cutoff point where it isn't viable to accept those items?

15:48SoniaWe do accept everything because we're aligning with large retails. It's called extended producer responsibility EPR and they legally have to take in what they put on the market. So however many electronics they're putting on the market, they have to be able to recycle the same amount and we think this could really help them to track how much they are recycling. Whatever the recycling center will accept, which is anything. We're trying to give a value to these devices before it becomes waste.

16:19James PartonOur local county council run recycling centre will accept electronics, but obviously you're just leaving it there and you've got no knowledge of what happens from that point onwards.

16:29SoniaPeople are busy, people don't want to think about this. I was like three months into starting retap when I realized how difficult it is to delete data. And you cannot really just do it with a factory reset. You have to. There are professional softwares and even those professional softwares are heavily scrutinized because just data just does not really go away. And I also remember buying a secondhand phone and the previous owner's location was still on it. And it's a huge problem. And these companies, it's an added cost to them and they don't really want to. I think they just don't want to talk about it.

17:08FayeLet's talk about the education model then, because there's so many different components in this consumers, it's the refurbishers, it's a big organiser. How are you going to balance communicating to all of those people? Is there a priority order to them or do you literally have to go to everyone at the same time?

17:27SoniaBecause we're trying to build our name and build a reputation. We're focused just on Cambridge. We're prioritizing the people who are using the platform because we have users, we have people contacting us, we have people scanning lots of devices and they have questions. So that's who we're prioritizing right now. And then for the B2B side, the way I see it is that we really just need to prove ourselves, we need to prove our value, we need to prove how helpful this is for people. They're giving us feedback and then we're moving up the chain. That communication has been a strategy and.

18:04FayeThat's the right way of doing it to get the proof points and to work out what actually works the best way. So I think that makes perfect sense.

18:13James PartonSo why don't we switch and talk about now, the progress of the company itself. What stage are you at? You mentioned, I think some pilots. So talk us through that and then we'll maybe talk about the investor side of things as well.

18:25SoniaWe ran a pilot from July to about September last year and we did pop up events. We were also offering collections. We collected 860 kilos of electronics. We've proved that there's demand for this. The first one was at the judge, then we did the repair cafes at the center of Computing History Museum. Our biggest event was Queen Mary's Skip Day and that was run by the council. And the council have also been extremely helpful. We're always in touch with them. And so there was a massive skip for electronics, but then they would send people to us first because a lot of the electronics still worked and then whatever didn't work we would put in the skip. We first had to test it to see if they had any resale value and then we fully developed the product and now the prototype is out.

19:19SoniaWe are on the App Store and Google Play.

19:22James PartonHave you bootstrapped the company to this point in time? Have you had conversations with investors?

19:27SoniaWe bootstrapped until October and then we raised a small friends and family round and then now we're actively fundraising our pre seed. So we have spoken mostly to angels and then your usual events and pitching and stuff. And I think now what I should spend my time doing is fundraising. From my perspective, fundraising is a full time job and now that I'm finishing my part time master's, I need to focus on fundraising.

19:59James PartonYou touched on a really interesting point there because obviously in our listenership we do have a lot of aspirational entrepreneurs that are thinking about building companies and starting their own thing. So that comes along with lots of opinions. So how are you figuring that out? How are you taking kind of those little tidbits that you pick up from all these conversations?

20:16SoniaIn Cambridge you have such a variety of people and backgrounds, so they all have opinions on what they know best, on whatever industry they're part of. Lately it's been intuition. Now we're in a position where we can make money from users. What we need to figure out is really how to make the most of that. So we're trying to automate that through the platform. But we need the capital to market properly to get the right team.

20:46James PartonI can predict that one of the questions you'll get from investors is the amount of money you will need to go direct to consumer and the marketing that will require versus focusing on more of a white label software approach. And going B2B would be quite different. So it would be interesting to see what kind of feedback you get as you have those kind of conversations.

21:06SoniaSo one piece of feedback I got was don't do it, you're wasting your time. It's a B2C is a nightmare. I understand why. But at the same time, what we've created is very user friendly. So if anything, it can be B2B2C or B2B white labels, which we are more than happy to explore because we're not only creating a solution, we're creating a whole new system.

21:33FayeRight?

21:33SoniaWe're trying to fix this supply chain of reusable electronics and precious metals and critical minerals that are very in demand by government these days. It can be B2B, but those businesses that are already set up, they're not set up for this system. They've been set up in a previous generation and they have their strict linear business models. So now there are regulations coming in with waste around waste and circular economy. The circular economy act from the EU saying that things need to be reused, they need to be recovered because it's just not sustainable otherwise. So these businesses have to retrofit whatever that looks like. And so we're trying to help that so they're not, they're forced to. And it's, oh man, like one more thing to do. So annoying. More costs. But we're saying, okay, no, this can be easier.

22:30SoniaYou have to be able to justify the costs and make the decisions because the time spent figuring out what you have, what it's worth and what to do with it, that raises their costs. So the other side of the product is this web portal that refurbishes and recyclers can see with a detailed breakdown of all the devices. And that is specific. So if you have a laptop, a tv, a toaster, a refurbisher who just does laptops, would only see your laptop, they wouldn't also see the toaster. So worth facilitating that because those refurbishers, especially the individual ones, they're the ones with the tightest margins, they're the ones who are really struggling. And there's this one refurbisher, called it a deluge of electronics. When you open the floodgates, people are just like, here, take this, I don't want it anymore.

23:22SoniaI just don't want to think about it. And they have to deal with that. They don't want things to end up in a landfill. E waste is 70% of all toxic waste. Those metals, they just seep into the soil and it's just awful.

23:36FayeSo if you're talking to a deep tech B2B investor in Cambridge, their answer is absolutely going to be what you've just said. But there are plenty of other people out there, so I think it's getting that message across that there has to be the system change and talking to the right people. But just going back to your earlier point, you will get so many opinions. That's what Cambridge is known for. So as long as you know what and you clearly do, you know what you want to achieve, I think it's just staying focused on that. But it is.

24:08FayeIt's interesting James's comment earlier on about which market could you go to be open minded because one of those investors could come in and say actually just do it this way because I could see the B2B route, the example you've just given working equally well. Do you mind which way it goes? Do you just want to build something that starts to change the conversation or do you want to build something that you're going to be involved in longer term?

24:35SoniaThere's two ways I could answer this. I would want to be involved in retab becoming a massive household name in not just electronic waste, but all types of waste, changing the perception of waste where it actually just becomes a material and you could resell materials to people who might use them. The one that doesn't involve my ego is more as long as it helps, as long as it does create a system, other companies can do well with it and it would help their operations and their communities. I don't think that's necessarily mutually exclusive visions. Before I got into sustainability, I was considering my options and I told myself, okay, what if I already I was set for life, what would I do then? And I came up with this.

25:25SoniaSo if were to sell the company or I wasn't involved anymore and I wasn't happy with the way things were going, I'd probably just start over again.

25:34FayeYeah, great answer. I think. So you've got your MBA is almost finished and then you're going to be full time on this. So I guess your call to action is for people to reach out to you with helpful advice.

25:45SoniaWe will definitely take advice from investors. We're looking at angels, also VCs who accept pre seed but also who understand the circular economy and understand that this is the new space and also who don't think we're a charity because a lot of people think we're a charity, which I don't think is helpful. The angels that are helping us, we're bound together with this mission that a sustainable company doesn't mean it's not profitable and that really is a challenge. The challenge that we're aiming to solve, it has to be climate friendly but also it's a very good business. Model and a very good business long term. We're totally up for that challenge. I'm sensing a trend coming in from Europe and the climate tech space here as well. It has to make money.

26:35FayeThat's great. Thank you very much. We wish you all the best and we'll be watching. And just give us updates as you go along. Yeah.

26:42SoniaThank you. I appreciate it.

26:48VoiceoverToday's show was produced by Joe Donaghy of Cambridge TV and supported by our media partner, Business Weekly. The Cambridge Tech Podcast is available on all major podcast platforms and on cambridgetechpodcast.com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please give it a five star review. It'll really help others discover the show.

Transcribed by https://fireflies.ai/

Now you can get directly involved with the show. Leave us up to 60 seconds of audio by visiting CambridgeTechPodcast.com on your computer or phone and click Call the Show from the menu. Send us your news items, events to promote, Leave us feedback or suggest a guest.

To listen and subscribe, search for ‘Cambridge Tech Podcast’ on your favourite podcasting platform or visit cambridgetechpodcast.com.