Recycle it all, no matter how small!

Together with over 170 partners worldwide, SENS eRecycling is demonstrating on International E-Waste Day all the things that can be found in an electrical appliance and is calling on the Swiss population not to simply hoard all electrical appliances, no matter how small, that have reached the end of their service life in the cellar or throw them in the trash, but to dispose of them properly as soon as possible. Only in this way can valuable resources such as copper, plastics or aluminium be promptly returned to the cycle and reused for new products.

Basically, it is a positive development: electronic devices are becoming smaller and smaller, so that fewer and fewer resources are needed to produce a single device. But since the amount of small electronic devices is increasing at a rapid pace worldwide and many of the small electronic devices are not recognised as such and therefore end up in the waste instead of being recycled, the waste of resources is still immense. According to UN estimates, 24.5 million tonnes of small electrical waste will be generated worldwide in 2022 alone. In Switzerland, this amounts to an average of 15 kg of e-waste per capita per year.

Add to this the fact that countless small electrical and electronic devices are stored worldwide in screeds, garages or basements instead of being returned to the cycle as quickly as possible. "This means we are missing out on valuable resources that could be used to make new electronic devices or wind turbines, batteries for electric cars or solar cells. All devices that are crucial for the green, digital transition to a low-carbon society," as the WEEE Forum writes, which launched International E-Waste Day in 2018 and which SENS eRecycling has also been advocating every year since.

Let go of devices and recycle instead of wasting recyclable materials

This year, SENS eRecycling is calling on all Swiss citizens to take their unused electrical and electronic devices out of their drawers and cupboards, sort them out and "let them go": in other words, pass on, sell or give away devices that are still in good working order, repair broken ones or dispose of them at one of the more than 700 collection points in Switzerland so that toxic substances can be safely removed and valuable raw materials recovered and reused for the production of new products. Because even if the electronic devices are still so small: there is clearly more in each one than you think.

International E-Waste Day

The International E-Waste Day (#ewasteday) was launched in 2018 by the WEEE Forum to draw attention to the enormous waste of resources that exists in connection with the high consumption and insufficient collection rate of old electrical and electronic equipment worldwide. SENS eRecycling is a co-founder of the WEEE Forum, the global competence centre for e-waste, and has been involved in International E-Waste Day since 2018. Together with Swiss Recycling and Swico, SENS eRecycling is also offering a special webinar on the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment on 14.10.2022.