Do you have far too many electrical and electronic appliances? Then you have multiple ways to discard them properly, so that they’re sure to be optimally recycled. Because ultimately all of these things, thanks to Recupel, end up in the right place.
First and foremost: sort correctly
All appliances are sorted into six different fractions, type by type:
- refrigerators and freezers
These can contain harmful gases/oils (such as CFCs) - other large household appliances
Washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, stoves... - TV screens and computer monitors
All appliances with an ´old-fashioned´ CRT - other appliances
Mobile phone, clothes iron, video, lighting equipment, flat screens... - gas-discharge lamps
Fluorescent tube lamps and compact fluorescent lamps - smoke alarms
Recycle and recover
For the first phase in processing discarded e-appliances (manual dismantling) we call, where possible, on workers from the social economy. Under safe conditions they remove the parts with harmful substances, such as asbestos, mercury, batteries... This is what we call ´depolluting´. These parts are then processed by specialised companies.
The remaining materials can be recovered for re-use: the industry makes new products with the recovered materials (ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, plastic, glass and rare raw materials).
E-waste: cooperation with Africa
Recupel and WorldLoop joined forces in 2012. WorldLoop is a Belgian NGO that helps with the recycling of electronic waste (also called e-waste) in Africa.
It began in Kenya, but now we are already active in Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d´Ivoire. In the meantime there’s even a project running in South America, and the cooperation has been recognised with a prestigious award.
Want to know more about the importance of electro-recycling?
