Values

Code of Conduct

The spread of globalisation and the growing interconnectedness of the world has opened up a host of international markets that were previously unheard of. Unfortunately, the people working in the low-wage countries and raw material extraction areas that are sought after by the industrialised countries are not always treated fairly. Through media networking, however, this no longer remains hidden from all actors.

We resolutely oppose these abuses in order to uphold human rights and thus set an example for our employees and our customers at home and abroad.

Our corporate culture is characterised by open, free and equal treatment of all employees, business partners and other persons. You can view our complete Code of Conduct here:

Sustainability

Environment, climate and resources

In times when natural resources and thus vital raw materials are becoming scarcer, it is important to find an alternative that is in no way inferior to them in terms of quality.

Waste electrical equipment contains a significant amount and variety of these raw materials. It is of great importance to return the available (secondary) raw materials to the economic cycle.

Secondary raw material extraction therefore not only helps to secure raw material deposits for future generations, but is actively involved in the protection of primary raw material extraction.

With our work today, we are laying the foundation for the world of future generations and contributing to a conscious and careful use of natural resources.

The Future Depends on Recycling

Our location on the edge of the Harz National Park is a constant reminder of the importance of environmental protection.

recovery of raw materials

We use processing technologies to recover raw materials and recycle components from end-of-life electronic devices.

In the preliminary stages, we offer manufacturers advice on the development of new products with regard to environmental compatibility and recycling-friendly design in order to achieve optimum recyclability during disposal.

Through processing, we recover secondary raw materials that can then be reused as raw materials. You can find out more about our approach in the Distribution section.

In addition, you can take a look at the Values section to know how we actively support the topics of climate protection and sustainability.

Climate protection

We at Electrocycling understand that climate protection is one of the most important global issues of our time, and are keen to make our contribution to that end.

We do this by returning the metals and plastics we recover through recycling to the economic cycle so that they can be used for the production of new products.

metals and plastics

Furthermore, Electrocycling maintains an energy management system in accordance with DIN EN ISO 50001 in order to be able to internally identify potential savings in energy consumption in any form and to react accordingly. We also aim to use energy more efficiently.

As far as possible, we try to save energy and use it sensibly. In this context, we have already been able to achieve some successes internally.

energy management system in accordance with ISO DIN 50001

We continuously optimize our processing plants in terms of their energy consumption.

Among other things, the two outdated fans on the mechanical treatment filter were replaced in 2023. As part of this, the pressure regulator was converted from a swirl flap control to a frequency converter control. In addition, the system was equipped with a demand control system, which now makes it possible to operate the system in a load-controlled manner.

According to our operational data, these measures have resulted in annual electricity savings of more than 150,000 kWh since 2023 compared to the plant's previous operations.

Here is how it works

In the early 1990s, Electrocycling developed techniques and strategies to recycle waste electrical equipment with a minimum of manual labour and as much mechanisation as possible.

This process has been constantly optimised and adapted to changing WEEE. Electrocycling has now recycled over one million tonnes of WEEE at its plant.

It is necessary to be familiar with the material content and properties, as well as with the pollutants and impurities in the end-of-life appliances in order to make the right decisions in each processing step and to recover the raw materials used in the product, such as metals, plastics and glass, sorted by type.

Here is the process in detail:

Acceptance/sorting

WEEE that reaches us from municipal collection points, commercial customers, waste management companies or from manufacturer or dealer take-backs is first sorted into:

  • Equipment for reuse
  • Equipment containing harmful or contaminating substances for disassembly
  • Equipment for mechanical processing 
Acceptance/sorting
Reuse

Reuse

Functional appliances or parts that can be used as spare parts are tested, cleaned and packaged for further use.  

Disassembly

Disassembly

Disassembly is used to separate spare parts and harmful and interfering substances, such as batteries, capacitors, components containing mercury, liquids, etc., in order to prepare the unit components for subsequent mechanical reprocessing. 

The disassembly s done manually, with the help of adapted tools and appropriate devices for certain devices and pollutants. The separated parts and pollutants are forwarded to suitable processing plants. 

Mechanical processing

Mechanical processing

Equipment and assemblies that are free of pollutants are processed further in mechanical processing. A multi-stage shredding process separates the compounds and materials present. After each separation process, free materials such as iron, aluminium, copper or plastics are separated. Composite materials are further comminuted in the next stage. The respective disassembly after the individual comminution stages is carried out by physical processes adapted to the material composition and grain size, such as classification, magnetic and eddy current separation or density separation. The process technology used exploits the material properties and grain sizes to produce marketable secondary raw materials. This involves 

  • Iron
  • Aluminium
  • Stainless steel
  • Copper concentrates
  • Zinc
  • etc.

These are used directly in the corresponding metal smelters to manufacture new products.

Furthermore, various plastics are sorted out and fed to plastics processors.

Residual materials and dusts containing ceramics, rubber, composite materials, thermosets, etc. that remain after the treatment process are sent for energy recovery. 

Material flow management

Material flow management

Just as important as the quality of the recycling processes is the quality of the collection and electronic processing of the process data. Electrocycling has a closed-loop system that ensures the collection of all relevant data, from collection to initial treatment to recovery rates, and enables their evaluation according to different requirements.

Our specially adapted software as well as the extensive data collection ensure a customer- and material-specific balancing of all material flows.

The administration of the collection containers and the coordination of the transport orders is carried out centrally by Electrocycling.

Many years of experience from projects with up to 2,500 collection points confirm the efficiency of our system. The tracking of product flows, the balancing and the preparation of data for the client are guaranteed by the system.

Three-stage shredding – subsequent sorting

Innovation

Electrocycling ranks as one of the most innovative companies in the field of WEEE processing in Europe.

The process technologies used are continuously reviewed and optimised. At the same time, Electrocycling is constantly monitoring innovations in the field of electrical appliance development in order to be able to react to changes in appliance design at an early stage and to be able to provide the best recycling solutions for tomorrow's technology with foresight.

Electrocycling is continuously involved in working groups and associations to shape technical and legal requirements for the recycling of electrical appliances.

Electrocycling is also involved in various R&D (research and development) projects together with manufacturers, universities and research institutes.

process technologies
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