About us

Coolrec

From rust to shine
Every year across Europe, people throw away hundreds of millions of kilos of household appliances like refrigerators, TVs, computers, coffee makers and washing machines. For these, landfill dumping and incineration is harmful to the environment, so the appliances are collected and processed separately. Coolrec, a 100% subsidiary of Van Gansewinkel Groep, is a specialist in this area. Coolrec processes used white and brown goods into raw materials for new appliances. In 2009 we delivered enough steel for about 46,000 new cars.

Last year Coolrec processed 0.9 million refrigerators and nearly 1 million televisions. The old, discarded, appliances created new raw materials such as iron, plastic, aluminium and copper. White and brown goods contain good quality elements, highly suitable for reuse as raw material and, as a result, natural substances can remain in the ecosystem.

Coolrec sells the raw materials to companies throughout Europe. Through intermediaries, raw materials like plastic, copper, aluminium and iron end up at steel factories, copper and aluminium furnaces and car factories. And so the metal in a refrigerator becomes a car.

By recycling around 0.9 million refrigerators, Coolrec prevents 150,000 kg of harmful CFCs ending up in the environment each year. That is about the same emission level as 600,000 tonnes of CO_2.