EnvironCom are a pioneering company in the recycling of WEEE, waste electrical an electronic equipment, have a philosophy; to do the right thing with WEEE without it costing the earth. They have now announced that they are achieving a success rate of 98% for recycling fridges, thanks to their innovative programme for recycling PUR foam, the standard insulation that is found on the inside of fridges.
This material, traditionally, has always been either incinerated or put onto the landfill, but in a first for the industry, EnvironCom have identified a unique use for it, this enabling the company to effectively divert over 2200 tonnes Of PUR foam from the landfill, the result being that they have achieved the highest rate for recycling fridges in the UK. EnvironCom have also installed equipment that enables them to prepare the PUR foam ready for manufacturing.
EnvironCom are now sharing this practice with others in the industry, including their competitors, in a move that clearly shows that their philosophy of ‘doing the right thing’ extends far beyond their boardroom.
Sean Feeney is the CEO of EnvironCom and he explained that many of the 500,000 fridges that they receive every year from local authorities and retail partners are still in excellent condition and can be reused, so their team of expert engineers can often easily give them a new lease of life.
He added, however, that a percentage of them could not be reused, and the company has been looking at ways that they could strip them of their raw materials, which both obtains the maximum value for them as well as greatly reducing the amount that was sent to the landfill.
Mr Feeney went onto say that the result of their research was that they had been able to identify a use for the material in manufacturing, and put an end to the previous process where the PUR foam not only has little value but was also a major problem for the environment.
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