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2009-04-01
Milepost in the recycling of plastic from electronic waste
Plastics in computers, TVs and other electronic waste have, for a long time, been a problem to recycle. However, with a new facility in Halmstad, Stena Technoworld separates plastics, with and without brominated flame retardants, from one another.
"The winners are the customers and the environment. Large quantities of plastic can now be utilized and returned to circulation", says Phär Oscár, Director of the Business Area WEEE, Stena Metall Group.
Many different plastics are used in electronics and, until now, there have not been any effective methods for separating these during the recycling process. Roughly 30 percent of all the plastics in electronic waste contain brominated flame retardants, which are added to TVs and other electronics to reduce their flammability. With an innovative technique, there is now a solution for handling a large proportion of the plastics found in electronic waste.
"With great effectiveness, we can not only extract even more metals and precious metals but also large quantities of pure plastic. All this can be recycled and returned to circulation for use as raw materials for new products for humanity. This is made possible by the new potential for separating plastics, with and without brominated flame retardants, from the waste", says Phär Oscár.
"The facility in Halmstad has been in full production for over a year and it is possible to install the technology in more facilities in Europe."
The new technique is used on the waste fraction from electronic waste that is grounded to pieces, after being carefully decontaminated of mercury, PCB capacitors, batteries, cathode ray tubes and other environmentally damaging substances and components.
"The technology is a milepost and forms part of Stena's long term vision for recycling all the material in electronic waste. Two kilos of raw oil are consumed in producing one kilo of plastic from new raw materials. Oil is a limited natural resource, so every extra kilo of plastic that can be recycled means the good management of a finite resource", says Phär Oscár.
The volumes that are recycled in Halmstad, at the current rate, are equivalent to a two-kilometer long caravan of tankers and trailers, fully loaded with raw oil, annually. That is how much oil would have been required to produce the equivalent volume of new plastic.
The Stena Metall Group's electronic recycling, since its start 15 years ago, has become Europe's leading recycler of electronics. In a European WEEE solution, the same concept for collection, transport and recycling is used in our own facilities in 10 European countries. Stena works with the leading producer organizations in Europe in order to handle large quantities of WEEE waste, both in an effective and environmentally sound fashion and in accordance with the European legislation.
For more information:
Stena Metall Group, Business area WEEE
Phär Oscár, Managing Director Stena Technoworld, Business Area WEEE
Tel. +46-10-445 91 01
Press contact:
Bjarne Darwall
Tel. +46-10-4452026
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