Electronic and electrical equipment

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 electronic and electrical equipment into raw materials for new appliances. In 2010 we delivered enough steel for about 46,000 new cars.

Last year Coolrec processed 1 million refrigerators, 0.7 million televisions and 30,000 kg of small domestic appliances. The old, discarded, appliances created new raw materials such as iron, plastic, aluminium and copper. Electronic and electrical equipment contains 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.

Through the processing of refrigeration equipment Coolrec prevents harmful CFCs entering the environment. Approximately the equivalent of one million kilotonnes of CO2 emissions are taken out of circulation every year.