Processing

Unwanted Electrical Items ?

What happens to my Electrical Items?

Currently most residents take their electrical waste down to the local tip, or pay the local council upto £30.00 for them to collect the items.
However, we will collect electrical waste from homes for a modest donation (to cover disposal methods of some of the more hazardous items)

We have been working closely at a national level with the Furniture Reuse Network ( FRN ) and regionally with the Environment Agency, and are their officially promoted examples of good practice.
Our model has been used nationally as a blueprint for functional working under producer responsibility which has been included under the aegis of the FRN as part of the consultation papers on the WEEE Directive issued by government during 2003.

Flowchart of the Reuse Process - Click to enlarge

Reuse Process

Once the item has been confirmed as "received", the manufacturer, serial number and weight are recorded into the system. A barcode is generated and affixed permanently to the item to aid its tracking throughout the reuse process.

The main stages of the Processing are:

  • Assess
  • Reuse or Scrap
  • Add to Sales Stock

Whenever an item is moved to a physical location within the Network, it has a "Location Reference" assigned to it. Also stock movement records are recorded for every operation that is performed on the item.

Assess

Image descriptionThe item is visually inspected to assess its "reusability".
Overall physical condition and the age of item are the deciding factors in this assessment.

Reuse

Image descriptionIf its beyond economical repair (BER) then it is marked as "scrap" and moved from processing to de-manufacture. If it is salvagable, it is moved through to the specialised test bays where extensive functional testing is performed. If the item continues to pass these tests it is moved to the santisation and cleaning area.

Scrap

Image descriptionIf an item is to be scrapped, it is moved the de-manufacture area. Here, it will be dismantled to salvage any reusable parts such as motors, switches, doors. These items are then located into the stores area. The remainder of the item is then weighed to record the "weight recovered", broken down into its core materials and sent for recycling or sent 'whole' for recycling to an approved recycling centre.

Sanitisation

Image descriptionEach item is thoroughly steam cleaned and sanitised.
Special care is taken to keep the water and cleaning products away from electrically sensitive areas. But in the event that some water gets into the electrics - the PAT test is performed at the final stage to ensure that the appliance is electrically safe to operate. Then the item is passed to quality control where the electrical supervisor assesses the worksheets that have been completed by the repairing engineer and checks the work to ensure that all repairs have been carried out to our own very high standards.

Add to Sales Stock

Image descriptionWhen the item has been cleaned, it is passed to Quality Assessment where the final PAT test is performed and any ancilliaries, such as pipes, are attached to the item.
Then the item is given an RRP based on the market value and the amount of work required to return the item to a serviceable condition. It is then added to stock on our bespoke business systems database, here it becomes available for sale from any of the points of sale within the Network.