TechRec Ireland Ltd

TechRec Ireland Ltd is the first automated WEEE Recycling Plant in Ireland handling all ten categories of waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment

TechRec Ireland Ltd is a subsidiary of One51 Ltd (Formerly IAWS Co-op Ltd and the majority shareholder). The other shareholders are Gerry Killen and Brendan Palmer - in Ireland - and Immark AG of Switzerland (Click Here).

One51 Ltd. - formerly IAWS (The Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society Ltd) - was established in 1897. It has over 50 shareholders operating from nearly 600 branches across Ireland. The Company has recently decided to refocus itself as a diversified group, concentrating on high growth areas in waste, sustainable energy and support services. The last financial statements for the Society show profits of €65.8m and net assets totalling €308m.

Immark AG is the dominant service provider of WEEE recycling facilities in Switzerland - using leading edge technology - and also operates a number of large WEEE processing facilities in other European Countries. It provides TechRec with the latest technical expertise required to operate a 'state-of-the-art' WEEE materials recovery facility. Current clients of Immark AG include some of the largest names in EEE in Europe, including - Cannon, Panasonic, Sony, Siemens, IBM, etc. Immark AG is a subsidiary of DI Metall Holding AG, which is owned by the Dietiker Group, the largest non ferrous metal trader in Europe.

TechRec's use of modern sophisticated technology will ensure that Irish Producers and Distributors - as well as all B2B users - will have a cost effective and fully compliant WEEE processing facility on their doorstep, eliminating the possibility that their Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment is mishandled or shipped to a non compliant overseas operator.

TechRec can also help and advise on all aspects of the WEEE Directive - including setting up 'Self Compliance' schemes for Business to Business (B2B) Clients.

TechRec handles all types of Electronic Equipment - Office, Commercial, Domestic - listed in The EU Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive (Click Here to see).

1. Large household appliances

• Large cooling appliances
• Refrigerators
• Freezers
• Other large appliances used for refrigeration, conservation and storage of food
• Washing machines
• Clothes dryers
• Dish washing machines
• Cookers
• Electric Stoves
• Electric hot plates
• Microwaves
• Other large appliances used for cooking and other processing of food
• Electric heating appliances
• Electric radiators
• Other large appliances for heating rooms, beds, seating furniture
• Electric fans
• Air conditioner appliances
• Other fanning, exhaust ventilation and conditioning equipment.

2. Small Household Appliances

• Vacuum cleaners
• Carpet sweepers
• Other appliances for cleaning
• Appliances used for sewing, knitting, weaving and other processing for textiles
• Irons and other appliances for ironing, mangling and other care of clothing
• Toasters
• Fryers
• Grinders, coffee machines and equipment for opening or sealing containers or packages
• Electric knives
• Appliances for hair-cutting, hair drying, tooth brushing, shaving, massage and other body care appliances
• Clocks, watches and equipment for the purpose of measuring, indicating or registering time
• Scales.

3. IT and Telecommunications Equipment

Centralised data processing

• Mainframes
• Minicomputers
• Printer units

Personal computing

• Personal computers (CPU, mouse, screen and keyboard included)
• Laptop computers (CPU, mouse, screen and keyboard included)
• Notebook computers
• Notepad computers
• Printers
• Copying Equipment
• Electrical and electronic typewriters
• Pocket and desk calculators
• Other products and equipment for the collection, storage, processing, presentation or communication of information by electronic means

User terminals and systems

• Facsimile
• Telex
• Telephones
• Pay telephones
• Cordless telephones
• Cellular telephones
• Answering systems - and
• Other products or equipment of transmitting sound, images or other information by telecommunications.

4. Consumer Equipment

• Radio sets
• Television sets
• Videocameras
• Video recorders
• Hi-fi recorders
• Audio amplifiers
• Other products or equipment for the purpose of recording or reproducing sound or images, including signals or other technologies for the distribution of sound and image than by telecommunications.

5. Lighting Equipment

• Luminaries for fluorescent lamps - with the exception of luminaries in households
• Straight fluorescent lamps
• Compact fluorescent lamps
• High intensity discharge lamps, including pressure sodium lamps and metal halide lamps
• Low pressure sodium lamps
• Other lighting or equipment for the purpose of spreading or controlling light with the exception of filament bulbs.

6. Electrical and Electronic Tools (with the exception of large-scale industrial tools)

• Drills
• Saws
• Sewing machines
• Equipment for turning, milling, sanding, grinding, sawing, cutting, shearing, drilling, making holes, punching, folding, bending or similar processing of wood, metal and other materials
• Tools for riveting, nailing or screwing or removing rivets, nails, screws or similar uses
• Tools for welding, soldering or similar use
• Equipment for spraying, spreading, dispersing or other treatment of liquid or gaseous substances by other means
• Tools for mowing or other gardening activities.

7. Toys, Leisure and Sports Equipment

• Electric trains or car racing sets
• Hand-held video game consoles
• Video games
• Computers for biking, diving, running, rowing, etc.
• Sports equipment with electric or electronic components
• Coin slot machines.

8. Medical Devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products)

• Radiotherapy equipment
• Cardiology
• Dialysis
• Pulmonary ventilators
• Nuclear medicine
• Laboratory equipment for in-vitro diagnosis
• Analysers
• Freezers
• Fertilization tests
• Other appliances for detecting, preventing, monitoring, treating, alleviating illness, injury or disability.

9. Monitoring and Control Instruments

• Smoke detector
• Heating regulators
• Thermostats
• Measuring, weighing or adjusting appliances for household or as laboratory equipment
• Other monitoring and control instruments used in industrial installations (e.g. in control panels).

10. Automatic dispensers

• Automatic dispensers for hot drinks
• Automatic dispensers for hot or cold bottles or cans
• Automatic dispensers for solid products
• Automatic dispensers for money
• All appliances which deliver automatically all kind of products.

Equipment arrives at TechRec and everything is weighed and accepted into the company's 'We3' IT tracking system. Processing begins immediately with preliminary separation into different products - sorted into equipment for mechanical or manual processing. Manual processing is mainly for removal of harmful substances, but also for removal of items such as washing machine blocks, wiring or recoverable parts from equipment that can be reused as spares.

Cathode ray tubes are removed from monitors and TVs and sent to TechRec's Swiss partners for further processing into reusable glass. Currently, refrigeration equipment is shipped under TFS to the UK partners who operate a state-of-the-art facility - recovering 100% of CFCs and other gases from their process. TechRec will install a similar recovery process in 2007.

Product is then fed by conveyer to the 'QZ Machine' which is the heart of the process. This is a special process which has been developed using chains and a Cyclone chamber to break up the equipment rather than shredding it.

Using this process ensures that the end products are not contaminated with hazardous substances released from batteries, etc. - as these elements survive the process intact. The concept behind this technology is that component parts break off at the weakest point. For example, batteries and capacitors lose adhesion at their clamping or solder points and, after separation, exit the QZ machine on a conveyor belt, where they are manually collected and sent to specialist recyclers for processing.

Once the material leaves the QZ machine, it travels along conveyor belts through several separation steps which include magnetic separators, sieves, cyclones separators and manual sorting. The material first passes over a fork-sieve that separates the material based on size - i.e. less then 100 mm and greater then 100 mm fractions. The larger fractions are removed using magnetic separation with non ferrous fractions reintroduced at the beginning of the second stage for re-processing. The smaller fraction material proceeds through magnetic separators, sieves and cyclone separation steps that include manual separation to ensure removal of any remaining hazardous substances.

The residual material is then processed further through a hammer mill that produces a pellet sized fraction. The material then moves to metal-plastic separation. The plastic granulate is sent to a specialist recycler for further processing into reusable raw materials. Metal fractions are then further separated into Aluminium and a mix of other precious metals. This mix is then sent to a refinery for separation into its constituent precious metals - mainly Copper with some Silver and Gold also produced.

The whole process can be described as 'Surface Mining' - producing Iron and Steel, Aluminium, Copper, Brass, Zinc, Gold, Silver and Platinum.

TechRec's processing plant is capable of recycling up to 30,000 tonnes of WEEE annually and recovering 28,500 (95%) tonnes of reusable raw materials. The facility is located in Park West, Dublin 12, Ireland - Click Here for contact details.