Recovery

Recovery important for the climate
Climate change is the most talked about environmental threat of our time. Recovering WEEE makes a particularly effective contribution to countering climate change. The more WEEE recovered, the greater the benefits for the climate.
Recovering WEEE reduces global emissions of carbon dioxide and thus we can all help to reduce the climate threats we face. Metals and fractions from WEEE are sent around the world for melting down and to be used in new products. The transport distances are enormous

Nonetheless the climate accounts are positive. Norway is a good example. Elretur’s transporters criss-cross the entire country, every day of the week all year long, collecting old fridges, broken cookers and waffle irons that no longer work and smelly vacuum cleaners. The transporters make collections from municipal collection stations and from distributors of electric and electronic equipment. Elretur’s total contribution to reducing emissions of climate gases, the recovery of scrap metals from WEEE and the treatment of CFC gases from fridges, is equivalent to saving 700,000 metric tons of CO2 this year. The transport of collected products from Kirkenes in the north to Lindesnes in the south is equivalent to 1% of the CO2 Elretur has saved the world through its activities. The reasons for this include the fact that a great deal less energy is required to melt down scrap metal compared with extracting new raw materials from mining.
The climate challenges we face are global in nature. Increasing the recovery of WEEE is therefore an important climate measure. Remember to hand everything that runs on electricity and batteries back to distributors or to a municipal recycling station.