ABB’s drive recycling scheme achieves record total
12 May 2013
The ABB drive recycling scheme has achieved a record total for 2012, with 31 tonnes of drives being recycled during the year.
Over 96 percent by weight of these drives were recycled, with much of the copper, aluminium, circuit boards, steel and cables being recovered for further use.
Drives are collected and recycled by certified waste management company S2S. Both ABB drives and those produced by other manufacturers are collected through bins sited at the premises of ABB Drives Alliance members.
Larger drives or large quantities of smaller drives can be collected direct from the end user’s premises. The S2S site has a full waste management permit and is registered as an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF) under the WEEE directive.
Although not required to by the WEEE Directive, ABB offers the recycling scheme as a service to its customers.
The WEEE Directive is currently being re-evaluated, opening the possibility that many more electrical products, including drives, could come under its scope.
Once the drive has been removed for recycling, ABB issues a certificate that can be used for environmental audits by end users complying with ISO 14001.
Replacing an older drive with a new model can help users make an immediate impact on their carbon footprint. Depending on size, operating a drive for just half a day could cut enough carbon emissions to fully compensate for the carbon impact of manufacturing and disposal of the drive itself.
An ABB industrial drive can typically provide a total lifetime savings of around 7,500 MWh or 3,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
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