15 tonnes of e-waste have been collected in proximity islands

The 33 EcoIslands are an intelligent dumpster which is completely automated, and which makes it possible to collect small-sized WEEE, through two different slots. In this way 7 tons of metals and 4 of plastic have been recycled.

The proximity collection of e-waste continues to give great results: nearly 15 tons of WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) had been deposited in the EcoIslands of Ecolight last year.

Also, during 2020 the national consortium for the management of WEEE, batteries and accumulators, continued to support the project for the increase of out of order small household appliances and light bulbs.

 

The 33 EcoIslands, which are placed just next to big commercial facilities and in sites with a high attendance, have allowed to gather more than 13 tons of blenders, tablets and mobile phones, and more than a 1.5 tons of energy conservation light sources and of neon. They made it possible to start the recovery of 7 tons of metals and 4 of plastic.

 

Despite the lockdown and the remarkable difficulties in moving around imposed by the health emergency, attention to the environment has not gone down over twelve months. “We registered an average of almost two deliveries a day, each weighing around one and a half kilos. About every day a tablet with its charger, a hairdryer and a mixer, that do not work anymore, were collected,” Giancarlo Dezio, the general manager of Ecolight said. However, in relation to the previous years the volumes of the collection have almost split in a half. “The closures and the travel restrictions have inevitably reduced the turnout to the shopping malls,” the manager of Ecolight observed. “However, at the base remains the dual value of a project that brings the collection of electronic waste on a proximity plan: indeed on one hand there is the possibility that is given to consumers to have an alternative  point of contribution to the eco municipal centre for their small broken electrical appliance”; on the other hand, there is the service to Distribution: large shops by virtue of the principle of One against Zero, since 2016 are obliged by law to collect mobile phones, small electronic tools and light bulbs, up to 25 cm in size, free of charge.”

 

The EcoIsole (EcoIslands) are a fully automated intelligent trash can which permits the collection of small WEEE through two separate small doors. One small door is dedicated to the delivery of small household appliances and consumer electronics, waste identified in WEEE grouping W4; the second is for the collection of energy-saving light bulbs and fluorescent light sources (grouping W5). The access to EcoIsland is through the use of the regional service card, so that the waste delivered can be tracked. The 33 EcoIsole of Ecolight that were activated in 2020, were positioned in the main cities of Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Tuscany, Lazio and Marche, near large sales structures; eight EcoIsole were located in proximity of likewise Milan city halls.

Dezio concludes his intervention: “In order to increase the collection of e-waste and at least to draw closer to the European goals, there is still a long way to go: we need to increase the environmental sensitivity for a typology of waste which has high percentage of recycling. As a matter of fact, the small electrical appliances, which are also the most difficult to intercept, are recyclable for over 90% of their weight. Of course, not secondly, it is necessary to intervene on the illegal and not authorised channels of waste management which steal over one third of the waste to the WEEE recycling chain.”

Ecolight – Built in 2004, is one of the major collecting systems for the management of the WEEE, of Stacks and Accumulators. The union Ecolight collects almost 1,900 companies and works in a logic based on the restraint of the costs and respect for the environment. It was also the first collective system in Italy to receive the quality certifications ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. It is the reference point for the great organised distribution (Gdo) and deals with all kinds of WEEE.

www.ecolight.it

 

Translated by Elisa Cairone, Charlotte Ovalle, Micol Viviani

Reviewed by Prof. Robert Clarke

 

 

Pubblicato il 28 Marzo 2021
Leggi i commenti

Commenti

L'email è richiesta ma non verrà mostrata ai visitatori. Il contenuto di questo commento esprime il pensiero dell'autore e non rappresenta la linea editoriale di VareseNews.it, che rimane autonoma e indipendente. I messaggi inclusi nei commenti non sono testi giornalistici, ma post inviati dai singoli lettori che possono essere automaticamente pubblicati senza filtro preventivo. I commenti che includano uno o più link a siti esterni verranno rimossi in automatico dal sistema.

Segnala Errore

Vuoi leggere VareseNews senza pubblicità?
Diventa un nostro sostenitore!



Sostienici!


Oppure disabilita l'Adblock per continuare a leggere le nostre notizie.