Electrical equipments
Electrical appliances (waste electrical and electronic equipment, WEEE)
All small and large electrical appliances belong here. The metal, plastic and glass of waste electrical equipment can be recycled. Note. Many electrical appliances contain hazardous waste. They are classified as hazardous waste.
Lajitteluohje
Tämä lajitteluohjesivu on eri kielellä kuin valitsemasi kieli. Voit palata karttanäkymään ja valita kierrätettävän materiaalin omalla kiellelläsi.
Always observe local and collection point specific instructions! The following are some general guidelines based on prevailing practices
Yes
- large appliances (refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dish washers, electrical stovetops, microwave ovens, electrical heaters etc.)
- small appliances (vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, electric irons, toasters, coffee makers, electric shavers, hair dryers, electric toothbrushes etc.)
- ICT equipment (computers, printers, displays, keyboards, mice, calculators, phones etc.)
- consumer electronics (radios, TVs, video cameras, digital cameras, VCRs, speakers, DVD players etc.)
- lighting equipment (lamps, fluorescent tubes, energy-saving light bulbs, torches, NO incandescent or halogen bulbs)
- power tools (drills, saws, electrical lawnmowers etc.)
- toys, leisure and sporting equipment (electrical trains, car racing sets, gaming consoles etc.)
- health care equipment (electronical blood pressure gauges and thermometers etc.)
- surveillance and alarm equipment (fire alarms, thermostats etc.)
No
- batteries and accumulators -> collected at the stores, kiosks and gas stations that sell them
- incandescent and halogen light bulbs -> into mixed waste
Remember
Light bulbs and fluorescent tubes are collected separately at stores or collection points, so remove them from lamps. Fluorescent tube starters are part of the lamp. Remove dust bags from vacuum cleaners.
Ink cartridges do not need to be removed from printers.
In principle, only whole devices are accepted.
Glass pots from coffee makers and glass plates from microwave ovens are mixed waste.
Bring all devices without their packaging.
Collecting and transportation
WEEE collection points always have staff who can provide further information about collection.
In addition to regional collection points, WEEE is collected at retail stores that sell electrical appliances (further information) and in some areas by touring collection vehicles.
The batteries are transported from the collection point to treatment plants.
Handling
During pre-treatment, all hazardous materials, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium are removed. These are sent to treatment plants.
During treatment, different types of metal, plastic and glass are separated from waste electrical and electronic equipment. The treatment is both manual and mechanical. The sorted materials are crushed, mechanically separated and supplied for further use.
Iron, aluminium, magnesium, copper, zinc and stainless steel, among others, can be separated from metals with an industrial process. Separating precious metals happens with a melting process. Usually, metals are separated from circuit boards chemically.
Recycling and recovery
Out of the components that waste electrical and electronic equipment contain, different metals are the easiest to recycle. Aluminium from computer waste is used, for example, for interference protection in new mobile phones. Due to the characteristics of metal it can be returned to its original use.
Plastic components are utilised either as energy or as material. Recycled plastic can also be used for manufacturing recycled components such car parts and rubbish bags.
The separated metal, plastic and glass are mainly used domestically.
Responsible organizers
In Finland, the producers and importers of electrical and electronic equipments are responsible for the collection and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipments.
More information SER-kierrätys.