Producer responsibility

Electrolux has a system in place to stay ahead of the most forward-thinking legislation on recycling. We have instated compliance schemes for handling the take-back and recycling of discarded appliances in all countries applying the WEEE Directive where Electrolux is fully represented.

Meeting the requirements of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) is commonly referred to as producer responsibility. The directive is an EU-wide framework which stipulates that the treatment, recovery, and disposal of electrical products are to be financed by their producers.

The WEEE Directive has an impact on the way we do business in Europe – Electrolux currently produces, sells and distributes over 20 million new appliances across the continent annually.

In turn, we are responsible for financing and organising the handling of scrapped domestic appliances. The directive stipulates that 80% of the weight of the collected large appliances must be recovered – 75% must be recycled into new materials, while the remaining 5% may be converted into energy. For small domestic appliances, 70% of its weight must be recovered – 50% into new materials and 20% may be used as an energy source.

In order to achieve cost-efficient recycling, Electrolux manages its producer responsibility for all major markets in Europe through a jointly-owned company. The European Recycling Platform (ERP) was initiated by four leading manufacturers of electrical and electronic appliances – Electrolux, Braun, Hewlett Packard and Sony. All companies share a proactive approach to recycling and the objective to optimise recycling costs.

Between 2005 and the end of 2008, ERP has recycled more than half a million tonnes of WEEE. This is roughly equivalent to more than 10 million large household appliances. You will find a list of all ERP countries at the ERP website, the link can be found at the right hand side of this page.

In European countries where ERP is not present, Electrolux works through national compliance schemes initiated by industry associations.