Refining of precious metals

Waste electrical and electronic equipment. Facts and figures.

Electronic devices and equipment – from washingmachines to vacuum cleaners, from smartphones to computers – are a symbol of modern life. To this day, it’s hard to imagine how we would live without them. However, waste has become a problem for the European Union, which is trying to reduce its ecological footprint.

Anyway, what is WEEE?

Waste electrical and electronic equipment or WEEE is a miscellaneous used and disposed of product. Large household appliances, e.g. washing machines and electric stoves, collected mainly. These devices account for more than half of the WEEE collected. These are followed by telecommunications equipment (computers, printers), consumer equipment and boards, and small household appliances (vacuum cleaners, toasters). All other categories, such as power tools and medical devices, together account for only 7.2 percent. WEEE collected.

 

Less than 40% is recycled in the EU. all WEEE waste; the rest remains unsorted. Recycling practices vary widely between Member States. In Croatia, 81.3% was recycled. of all waste electrical and electronic equipment, and in Malta 20.8%.

 

Why is it necessary to recycle waste electrical and electronic equipment?

Discarded electrical and electronic equipment contains potentially hazardous substances that pollute the environment and endanger people working in the field of WEEE recycling. To address this, the EU has passed legislation to prevent the use of certain chemicals, such as lead.

Many of the rare minerals needed for modern technology come from countries that do not respect human rights. To prevent the unknown from contributing to the promotion of armed conflict and human rights abuses, MEPs have adopted rules requiring importers of rare earth minerals from Europe to carry out inspections of their suppliers.