COLLECTING
The first step in an efficient WEEE recycling process is separate collection by consumers, who are obliged to deliver their waste electrical and electronic equipment to local authority Collection Facilities. Otherwise, on purchase of a new appliance they may consign their equivalent old device to the retailer. The WEEE is then collected by the Compliance Schemes and sent for recycling; it is at this point that Ecodom puts its operating model in motion.
Collecting: results
The quantity of WEEE in Italy - 2008-2010
In 2010 Ecodom handled 89,045 tonnes of R1 and R2 (+17% compared to 2009), equivalent to 36% of all the WEEE processed by Italy's Compliance Schemes.
Quantities of WEEE in Italy – 2008-2010
|
WEEE handled |
Unit of Measurement |
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
|
Ecodom |
t |
89,045 |
75,954 |
30,573 |
|
Other Compliance Schemes |
t |
156,305 |
117,089 |
35,140 |
|
Total |
t |
245,350 |
193,043 |
65,713 |
Quantities of WEEE, R1 and R2 handled by Ecodom
In terms of Categories, the Consortium dealt with 70% (46,085 tonnes) of the total Category R1 WEEE and 72% (42,960 tonnes) of the total R2 appliances recycled in Italy.
Quantities of WEEE, R1 and R2, handled by Ecodom (GRI EN24)
|
Category |
Unit of Measurement |
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
|
R1 |
t |
46,085 |
43,178 |
20,008 |
|
R2 |
t |
42,960 |
32,776 |
10,565 |
|
Total |
t |
89,045 |
75,954 |
30,573 |
Quantities of WEEE, R1 and R2 handled by Ecodom – 2008-2010
RAW MATERIAL RECOVERY
The end result of the WEEE treatment process is the recovery of the raw materials of which the various appliances are made. It should be noted that “recycling” means the reuse of material, while the term “recovery” refers to the reuse of material plus energy recovery through incineration.
The technologies used by the facilities selected by Ecodom allow the recycling of more than 80% of the materials - iron, copper, aluminium and various plastics - with a level of purity which allows their reuse in production processes. This transforms every household appliance into a “mine” of raw materials: just one refrigerator may yield about 28 kg of iron, 6 kg of plastic and more than 3 kg of copper and aluminium.
Recovery: results
R1 and R2 recycling - 2008-2010
In 2010, 38,573 tonnes of recycled material were obtained from Category R1 WEEE and 38,878 tonnes from Category R2. The following are the quantities and percentages of recycling of the materials obtained from the treatment of R1 and R2 WEEE from 2008 to 2010.
R1 recycling – 2008-2010
|
|
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
|
R1 |
Recycling
as % of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantities
recycled
(t) |
Recycling
as % of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantities
recycled
(t) |
Recycling
as % of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantities
recycled
(t) |
|
Iron |
62.0% |
28,573 |
62.6% |
27,049 |
62.1% |
12,419 |
|
Plastics |
13.3% |
6,129 |
13.2% |
5,712 |
13.1% |
2,631 |
|
Aluminium |
3.5% |
1,613 |
4.0% |
1,719 |
3.9% |
773 |
|
Copper |
2.1% |
968 |
2.2% |
928 |
1.7% |
331 |
|
Polyurethane |
1.0% |
461 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Glass |
0.9% |
415 |
0.7% |
302 |
1.0% |
206 |
|
Wood |
0.5% |
230 |
0.4% |
163 |
0.2% |
43 |
|
Oils |
0.4% |
184 |
0.3% |
148 |
0.4% |
72 |
|
Other material |
- |
- |
0.1% |
22 |
0.3% |
61 |
|
Total |
83.7% |
38,573 |
83.5% |
36,043 |
82.7% |
16,536 |
R2 recycling – 2008-2010
|
|
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
|
R2 |
Recycling
as % of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantities
recycled
(t) |
Recycling
as % of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantities
recycled
(t) |
Recycling
as % of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantities
recycled
(t) |
|
Iron |
69.5% |
29,856 |
68.6% |
22,498 |
73.6% |
7,774 |
|
Concrete |
12.7% |
5,456 |
12.0% |
3,941 |
15.3% |
1,620 |
|
Plastic |
2.8% |
1,203 |
3.3% |
1,102 |
2.9% |
302 |
|
Aluminium |
2.4% |
1,031 |
2.4% |
783 |
0.5% |
55 |
|
Copper |
1.5% |
644 |
1.6% |
513 |
1.1% |
117 |
|
Glass |
1.2% |
516 |
1.2% |
385 |
0.5% |
50 |
|
Wood |
0.4% |
172 |
0.5% |
149 |
0.1% |
9 |
|
Total |
90.5% |
38,878 |
89.6% |
29,371 |
94% |
9,927 |
Energy and material recovery - 2010
Energy recovery (in other words, the incineration with energy recovery) has also given good results. In terms of R1 WEEE, it was possible to recover 1.7% of the total amount treated, or 784 tonnes; for R2, the proportion was 1.1%, equivalent to 473 tonnes. In particular, it should be noted that recovery of both R1 (85.4%) and R2 (91.6%) was well above the 80% threshold set as the legal target.
Energy and material recovery – 2010
|
|
R1 |
R2 |
R1 + R2 |
|
|
Quantity
(t) |
% of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantity
(t) |
% of
total
WEEE
treated |
Quantity
(t) |
% of
total
WEEE
treated |
|
Material recycled |
38,573 |
83.7% |
38,878 |
90.5% |
77,451 |
87.0% |
|
Energy recovery |
784 |
1.7% |
473 |
1.1% |
1,257 |
1.4% |
|
Total recovery |
39,357 |
85.4% |
39,351 |
91.6% |
78,708 |
88.4% |
R1 and R2 recovery - 2008-2010
To conclude, the table below shows the trend over time (2008-2010) of the quantities recovered, including the recovery of both material and energy.
R1 and R2 recovery - 2008–2010
|
R1 + R2 |
Unit of measurement |
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
|
Total recovered |
t |
78,708 |
66,263 |
26,506 |
|
Total WEEE treated |
t |
89,045 |
75,954 |
30,573
|
|
Total recycled as % of WEEE treated
|
%
|
88.4%
|
87.2%
|
86.7% |