recycling of old household appliances

When they talk aboutrecycling of old household appliances, many people imagine simply taking the refrigerator to a landfill. But in reality, this is a whole chain - from dismantling at the client’s home to cutting into fractions and sending the raw materials back to production. It is often overlooked that the biggest problem is not the process itself, but the logistics and economics of the issue: sometimes the cost of transporting a heavy unit to a specialized center “eats up”? all the benefits from processing. Or, for example, old Soviet refrigerators, which may still contain R-12 freon - its disposal requires a special protocol, and not just “released into the atmosphere”. This is rarely written about in general articles.

Where does this stream of junk even come from?

The bulk of this, of course, comes from the population when replacing equipment. But there are also less obvious sources: for example, hotels that are renovating their rooms, or the same educational institutions that are writing off canteen equipment. Here it is important not just to pick it up, but to evaluate the condition. Sometimes it’s easier and more profitable not to carryrecyclingimmediately, and disassemble on site if conditions exist. For example, separating the compressor from the refrigerator body already reduces transport costs by half. But this requires people and tools on site.

We had a case with a batch of old washing machines from a hostel. It would seem like iron and plastic. But during disassembly, it turned out that half of the cars still had concrete counterweights - they were simply thrown away during dismantling by the previous “specialists”. We had to organize separate removal of heavy waste, which was not included in the estimate. These are the nuances that determine the real cost of the work.

Or take microwaves. They have a transformer with copper winding - a valuable secondary raw material. But to remove it, you need to carefully disassemble the housing without damaging the assembly itself. If you chase speed and simply crush everything, copper will mix with other metals, and its final value drops significantly. Therefore, we always weigh: sometimes manual disassembly is economically justified, sometimes not. Depends on the party.

Technological chains: what happens after export?

Let’s say the equipment hits the site. Ideal scheme: sorting → removal of hazardous components (refrigerants, oils, capacitors) → crushing → separation. But in reality, separation equipment is expensive, and not every center has it. Often they limit themselves to rough separation - the magnet pulls the steel, the rest goes into the general mass. Aluminum, copper, plastics of various types - all this is mixed, and the value of such a fraction is low.

We tried to cooperate with small collection points, but we were faced with the fact that they often work “in the gray”: hazardous waste is not properly neutralized, but is simply stored or, worse, ends up in solid waste landfills. Therefore, now we try to work only with licensed enterprises that have all the permits. It's more expensive, but quieter.

It was an interesting experience with the partnership fromLONGI Corporation(website -https://www.ljmagnet.ru). They produce mining equipment, including magnetic separators. We tested their installation for extracting ferrous metals from a crushed stream. I won’t say that this is a panacea - complex household appliances with many alloys require finer tuning, but for initial rough separation their solutions have proven to be very reliable. The company, by the way, has been on the market since 1993, and this is felt in the quality of its engineering.

Dangerous components: what customers are silent about

The worst thing is when they bring equipment without a preliminary survey. Old TVs and monitors contain picture tubes containing lead and barium. Refrigerators contain not only freon, but also compressor oil. Air conditioners contain the same freon, but of different brands. Each type requires a different method of neutralization or disposal. And if this is not done, fines from Rosprirodnadzor can be colossal.

I remember they received a shipment of office phones and faxes. It would seem like a harmless piece of electronic scrap. But inside there were nickel-cadmium batteries that were already leaking. It was necessary to urgently organize their isolation and transfer to a specialized organization. We now have a strict rule: any device with a battery compartment is opened and inspected before being sent to a general container.

Or another example: old electric stoves with cast iron burners. Cast iron is not a hazardous waste, but if it is sent along with lightweight plastic for crushing, it will simply break the crusher's hammers. Therefore, preliminary disassembly and sorting by type of material is not a whim, but a necessity to preserve the processor’s equipment. Explaining this to a client who just wants to “take out the junk” can be difficult.

Economics and legislation: where it goes thin, it breaks

Nowadays many people are trying to studyrecycling of household appliances, because demand is visible. But few people take into account that a license to operate waste management activities of I-IV hazard classes is long and expensive. We need specially equipped sites, trained personnel, and agreements with landfills. Without this, any activity is semi-legal.

Then there is the issue of extended producer responsibility (EPR). In theory, it should encourage recycling. But in practice the mechanism works with a creak. Often, manufacturing companies simply pay an environmental fee, but they are not the ones who do the actual disposal. As a result, the flow of old equipment goes past official channels, ending up with the “gray” ones. receivers. This affects both the environment and the secondary raw materials market.

For example, to legalize our streams, we entered into an agreement with a major player who has all the necessary licenses. We act as the collection and primary processing agent, and they act as the final disposer. This allows you to work transparently. But the margin, of course, is getting smaller. But there are no risks.

Looking to the future: technology and raw materials

There is a lot of talk now about the circular economy. In the context of our work, this means not just crushing and sorting, but returning materials to the cycle as much as possible. For example, ABS plastic from equipment bodies is a good recycled material if it is separated from other types. But this requires modern sorting lines with optical sensors, which are still rare in our country.

Experience of large industrial enterprises such asLONGI, could be useful. In their activities - the development and production of mining equipment - accurate selection and processing of materials is important. Their approach to quality control and logistics of raw materials (let me remind you that the plant in Fushun produces about 4,000 units of equipment per year) is a level to which it is worth striving for in processing. After all, in essence, we do something similar: we extract valuable components from complex “ore?” - old technology.

I see the development of deep processing locally and the creation of regional hubs as promising. In order not to drive trucks with pressed refrigerator cases across the country, but to be able to completely disassemble them and prepare the raw materials for shipment to metallurgical or plastic factories. This requires investment, but pays off by reducing logistics costs and increasing the purity of fractions.

As a result,recycling of old household appliances— this is not a one-time service “take it out and forget it?”. This is a complex engineering and logistics task where it is necessary to take into account chemistry, economics, and legislation. And the main skill here is not the ability to disassemble with a screwdriver, but the ability to build a sustainable and legal chain of movement of material from the client’s door to the new product. Mistakes in this business are expensive, and success is almost invisible from the outside - but it is precisely this that makes this work meaningful.