Latest Channel 4 News:
UK and Ireland optimistic over NI
Bono and soccer stars in Aids drive
NHS targets defended after failings
Boxer in line for BBC sports honour
Yacht race Britons detained in Iran

Appliances 'waiting to be recycled'

Updated on 01 December 2008

Source PA News

Ever wondered what happens to your old fridge or washing machine?

At a £10 million plant near Billingham, Teesside, thousands of the unwanted household appliances are piled up before being recycled.

This seven-acre household graveyard recycles 800,000 TVs and monitors per year and 400,000 refrigerators - collected from councils and businesses.

In total 100,000 tonnes is recycled at the Wincanton-run plant under the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE).

Since 2002 this EU law has meant dangerous gases, like CFCs and cathode ray tubes (CRTs), have to be extracted from fridges and TVs, respectively.

Fridges can no longer be exported to developing countries or buried underground - the fate that once befell most of the two-and-a-half million that Britons threw out every year.

A Wincanton spokeswoman said: "In 2002, Wincanton installed one of the first specialised fridge processing plants in the UK. The plant has the capacity to remove all hazardous gases from refrigeration units, including CFCs and HCFCs, whilst ensuring that the recovery levels of other materials are maximised.

"TVs and computer monitors contain cathode ray tubes (CRTs) which have hazardous properties within the glass and therefore require specialist treatment.

"The metals, circuit boards, wire and plastics that are removed can then be sent onward for recycling.

"The CRT tubes are sent to a specialist processor who separates out the components and cleans out the glass so it can be used in the manufacture of new CRTs."

These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.

Send this article by email


Watch the Latest Channel 4 News

Watch Channel 4 News when you want

Latest Science Technology & Environment news

More News blogs

View RSS feed

Copenhagen 2009

Copenhagen 2009

Build-up to the climate change summit in December.

Time to save the world

image

Expert advice on 10 climate changing ideas to save the planet.

Bursting Google's bubble?

Google (credit:Reuters)

Rupert Murdoch takes on Google in the global media war.

West end premiere

Call of Duty game (picture: Getty Images)

Controversial game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 goes on sale.

Swine flu vaccine

image

Wondering how you can get the swine flu vaccine? Find advice here.

Most watched

Most watched

Find out what's getting people clicking online this week.

How to tweet

How and why to follow the Channel 4 News family on Twitter.




Channel 4 © 2009. Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of external websites.