When Electronics Vanish: Designing for a Zero-Waste 6G Ecosystem
Fast-paced technological development is overturning long-held assumptions about what electronics are and where they belong. As we move toward 6G and the hyper-connected environment of the Internet of Everything, the ways users interact with technology are changing too. Emerging interfaces, including touchless systems, embedded surfaces and brain–computer links, are driving demand for electronics that are no longer confined to screens and enclosures but are instead woven into materials, clothing and the built environment itself.
At the same time, compact, powerful and mass-produced silicon-based electronics face growing limitations in flexibility, integration, and environmental sustainability. The challenge now lies in prioritising sustainable, adaptable, and seamlessly integrated solutions over speed and miniaturisation.
Green structural electronics open a new path: crafting systems from biodegradable materials and low-energy processes that become part of their environment, and then vanish when their purpose is fulfilled.
From wood-derived nanocellulose to printable carbon composites
Electronics are evolving beyond rigid boxes. From wood-derived nanocellulose to printable carbon composites, researchers are developing substrates, conductors, and insulators that don’t rely on rare metals or toxic chemistries. These materials are flexible; they are lightweight and processable at room temperature, and ideal for scalable and easily accessible methods like 3D and inkjet printing.
Structural electronics technologies extend far beyond wearables. They enable communication and sensing systems to merge into surfaces, walls, everyday materials and even biological tissue. In the 6G era, connectivity becomes a property of our surroundings rather than merely something we carry.
Smart dust and zero-waste connectivity
Smart dust refers to networks of millimetre-scale wireless sensors that monitor temperature, motion, air quality or structural health. These microdevices must be safe, energy-efficient and easy to dispose of. Instead of using traditional silicon and heavy metals, they can be built from biodegradable substrates and non-toxic functional materials. Printed supercapacitors made from carbon-based inks can power them, and once their task is complete, they leave little or no environmental footprint. This represents a model of temporary, zero-waste connectivity aligned with the goals of 6G-scale deployments.
Digital manufacturing for circular electronics
Digital manufacturing reshapes how we design and produce electronics. Instead of mass-producing rigid devices, engineers can now download a sensor as a design file, print it onto recyclable or compostable films, and safely dispose of it after use.
This shift transforms traditional supply chains, reduces excess inventory, and cuts emissions from transport and fabrication. However, the process will depend on materials that support low-temperature, additive manufacturing and allow safe end-of-life handling.
By enabling electronics to be produced locally, used purposefully and recycled responsibly, digital manufacturing moves us closer to 6G’s vision of flexible, distributed and sustainable systems.
Designing for 6G
6G will deliver faster data rates and new frequency bands, but performance alone is not enough. Devices must also be:
- Safe for people and ecosystems
- Designed for a limited lifespan and non-toxic disposal
- Manufacturable without high temperature or harsh chemicals
- Lightweight and adaptable to different surfaces
- Compatible with circular economy principles
Cellulose-based substrates can be tuned for radio frequency functionality. Conductive polymers and carbon composites offer additional material alternatives, many derived from renewable Nordic and European biomass.
Challenges remain. The electrical conductivity of green materials still lags behind that of metals. Their stability, particularly outdoors or over long periods, must also improve. Standards for distributing and verifying digital device blueprints are still evolving. Yet prototypes exist, demonstrators function, and the technical path forward is increasingly clear.
Embedding intelligence and respecting nature
The traditional electronics model—rigid, resource-intensive, and disposable—is no longer viable. The future demands systems that are adaptable, context-sensitive, and designed for sustainability from the outset.
Green structural electronics are more than a means to reduce environmental impact. They are a foundation for new forms of interaction and intelligence: devices that emerge, operate and quietly vanish when their role is complete.
Electronics are moving beyond screens and enclosures. They are embedding into materials, environments and everyday life. To fulfil this new role, we must engineer them to be as respectful to the environment as they are effective in function. This is not a compromise; it is evolution.
About the authors
Sami Myllymäki
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Research Director
Jari Juuti
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Project Researcher