The new offering was widely used and well received. With 7,500 bags returned, 1,500 repeat orders placed and more than 9 tonnes of materials collected, the results exceeded the set targets by a large margin.
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A sensation 9 tonnes of electronic waste was collected with the electronic waste recycling bags
For approximately three months, defective irons and discarded hairdryers were able to be disposed of directly from the comfort of your own home. All you had to do was place faulty or unwanted appliances in your parcel box, where they were collected by the Swiss Post and handed over to SENS eRecycling for recycling. A large number of people made use of this new offering. More than 7,500 electronic waste recycling bags were collected and thus more than 9 tonnes of electronic waste were recycled in an environmentally friendly manner.
In Zurich and Bern, there was a real outbreak of collecting fever. Cellars were cleared out, boxes emptied and drawers turned upside down. This resulted in 9,189.3 kilograms of defective or no longer wanted electrical and electronic appliances were sent back in the electronic waste recycling bags. This is a sensational achievement and a huge success for the new offering from SENS eRecycling. The success of this campaign was not corroborated by just the excellent figures, but also by the great deal of positive feedback received from the population.
In order to gain a deeper insight into the recycling habits of the Swiss population, the filled recycling bags were analysed in closer detail in our hub in Olten. A lot of interesting things came to light in these analyses. For example, the average electronic waste recycling bag weighed 1.29 kilograms and typically contained electric toothbrushes, razors, irons and mixers. A fact that proved particularly pleasing was that the amount of incorrectly disposed of waste was very low, standing at slightly over one per cent.
The collection campaign will be further expanded in 2021 and will once again kick off on International E-Waste Day. Pre-orders can now be placed here.
Conclusion
"The result – the processing and clean removal of undamaged batteries is now 25-times faster."
Battery extractor
A proprietary development of Immark Ltd Schattdorf allows for the efficient extraction of batteries
Previously, the only way to remove batteries from small electrical appliances was manually by using a hammer and other tools. In appliances in which batteries are firmly built into the appliance, for example electric toothbrushes, this is a time-consuming work step. Our recycling partner, Immark Ltd Schattdorf, is now setting new benchmarks with the only machine of its kind in Europe.
In order to make the process of removing batteries from small electrical appliances more efficient, Immark Ltd Schattdorf worked together with a company to develop a machine that is the only one of its kind in Europe and which simulates the process of manually breaking the appliance, thus allowing for the automated removal of various types of battery and fractions. After being developed and tested for two years, the system has been in operation since June 2020 and has successfully processed the first tonnes of small electrical appliances with built-in batteries. The result – the processing and clean removal of undamaged batteries is now 25-times faster.
The different types of batteries are currently separated from the broken-down materials by hand. However, Immark Ltd Schattdorf is already testing an automated sorting process to make this operation even more efficient. With the development of the battery extractor, Immark Ltd Schattdorf is making additional capacity available, can process batteries faster and is also making work safer for its employees.
Conclusion
The battery extractor allows Immark Ltd Schattdorf to remove batteries from small appliances more efficiently.