Small electronic device producer SEB (Ecully / France; www.groupeseb.com) has set up a circular model for the recycling of plastics sourced from E&E waste, as part of a cooperative effort with French WEEE guarantor Eco Systèmes (Courbevoie; www.eco-systemes.fr) and waste removal and treatment specialist Veolia (Paris / France; www.veolia.com). The project’s goal is to use recyclate in the production of component parts. A pilot application – following three years of R&D – is the water tank of a steam iron, made of rPP.

Eco Systèmes collected about 425,000 t of old electronic devices in 2015 (2014: 370,000 t), which it then sent for recycling. Depending on the fraction, the plastics share of these ranges from 8% for large electric devices (not counting refrigerators) to 29% for fridges and freezers. Small electronic devices also consist of about 26% plastics. However, Eco Systèmes does not provide any details on the spread of these appliances within the total. The company did say that about 66,000 t of plastics was processed into new parts, mostly for the automotive industry, in 2014.

Veolia separates and processes about 45,000 t/y of old E&E devices at its plant in Angers / France. The resulting recyclate is then delivered to SEB’s injection moulding plant in Saint Jean de Bournay, where the rPP steam iron tanks are manufactured.

SEB plans to significantly raise the share of recyclate used in its products in the coming years. The company is currently developing espresso machines with rABS components, and its Vietnamese subsidiary has started offering ventilators made of rPP.

Preliminary figures for 2015 show a marked sales increase of 12.1% to EUR 4.77 bn. Some 8% of this rise is attributed to organic growth, while the remainder is the result of currency effects. In regional terms, Asia remains the largest market, with business in this part of the world rising by almost 21% year-on-year. Another important market, North America, saw growth of 28% in 2015. The gains in western Europe came to 14%, with the previously rather weak domestic market in France increasing by a respectable 5.6%. Business in the emerging economies – led by Russia and Brazil – however, was significantly down.