Collection, Reuse and Treatment

For 18 years, Electrão has been the most important waste management entity for electrical equipment, with the largest market share and the one producers and citizens trust the most.

Electrão seeks viable solutions that facilitate the correct disposal and recycling of the waste it manages in order to meet the sector's challenging targets while striving to innovate in waste management.  

In addition to the environmental component, which is the basis of Electrão's actions, the focus in 2023 was also on the social component, with campaigns such as "Quartel Electrão", "Todos pelo IPO" or "Movimento Faz pelo Planeta".

The collection of equipment at Electrão Network sites is organized into 3 types

Considering this distribution, we collected, on average, the equivalent to

Large equipment

15 585ton

1 507

g/inhabitant

washing machines/100 inhabitants

Small equipment

11 747ton

1 136

g/inhabitant

hair dryers/100 inhabitants

Lamps

361ton

g/inhabitant

units/100 inhabitants

Origin of collections

Electrão has increased its collection network, as well as the quantities collected, but there are also other sources for the results achieved.

Electrão network collection rates

The quantities collected by Electrão come from the Electrão network (its own collection network) and from the Waste Management Operators that work directly with companies and other entities. 20 455 tons of used electrical equipment were collected through the network, which represents 77% of the total amount collected. The overall target of collecting waste through Electrão's own means, which was 50%, was thus met and exceeded. Of the 6 categories of electrical equipment, Electrão met the collection target for 5.

77%

Own network collection rate

Return Rate for 2023 Collection Target

In addition to the collection rate of the Electrão network, the Electrão network's collection results, when compared with the quantities placed on the market by members, allow us to assess the return achieved by the management system.

(CALCULATION BASED ON COLLECTION IN 2023/AVERAGE PLACEMENT ON THE MARKET (POM) FROM 2020 TO 2022)

20%

Overall return rate

140 245 ton

EQUIPMENT PLACED ON THE MARKET

ton

27 693 tons

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT COLLECTED

tons

Evolution of collection over the years

TREATMENT AND RECYCLING

All the tons of electrical waste collected were sent to units that ensure the correct treatment and recycling through depollution operations - removal of hazardous components, dismantling - recovery of materials for recycling and other operations that also enhance the recycling and recovery of materials.

76%

Recycling rate

83%

Recovery rate (recycling + energy recovery)

Recycling and Recovery Rates

BY CATEGORY OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

81%

91%

Category 1

TEMPERATURE EXCHANGE EQUIPMENT

73%

78%

Category 2

SCREENS AND MONITORS

64%

71%

Category 3

LAMPS

82%

88%

Category 4

LARGE EQUIPMENT

72%

82%

Category 5

SMALL EQUIPMENT

85%

87%

Category 6

IT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT

Results of treatment and recyling

Removal of hazardous substances and recycling of materials

The process of treating electrical equipment begins with depollution, i.e. carrying out operations to remove the hazardous substances found in the equipment. These operations are executed in a way that ensures that all the substances/fractions that must be removed are removed while complying with all safety rules to minimize the impact on the environment. A total of 1,500 tons of hazardous substances were removed from the electrical equipment treated.

Depollution rate

4 895tons

Mandatory Fractions Removed

18 7%

OF THE EQUIPMENT TREATED

Mandatory Removal Fractions

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES AND CRITICAL FRACTIONS

Recycled materials

Once the mandatory removal fractions of the 6 categories of electrical equipment have been removed, they undergo a sequence of operations that allow the materials to be recovered and recycled or reclaimed.

The quantities of materials recovered from the 27 693 tons are: