GreenWEEE, part of GreenGroup and the market leader in recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Romania, recently inaugurated its third WEEE recycling plant in Buzău. The facility also includes a recycling line for electric motors, a national first.
The new plant, located on the Frasinu industrial platform in Buzău, is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment following an investment of EUR 15 million.
With the expansion of processing lines, the company’s total recycling capacity has increased to 140,000 tons per year.
Since 2009, GreenWEEE has recycled 400,000 tons of WEEE through its three plants – two in Buzău and one in Câmpia Turzii – recovering over 98% of materials, which are then reintegrated into the economy as secondary raw materials, according to the company press release.
Simultaneously with the inauguration, the company announced the completion of a EUR 2 million investment in recycling electric motors. This will allow it to maximize the recovery of materials such as iron, aluminum, copper, plastic, and glass and to reintroduce these valuable resources into production cycles.
GreenWEEE has the capacity to recycle up to 1,000,000 refrigerators annually, with a special focus on recovering hazardous substances. The modern facilities in the plant are designed to extract freon efficiently and safely, as two-thirds of the freon in a refrigerator is found in the polyurethane foam, and one-third in the cooling system. By recycling just one refrigerator, GreenWEEE saves the equivalent CO2 emissions of a car circling the Earth twice.
“The importance of recycling cannot be underestimated, as it brings multiple benefits to various industries by providing resources in the form of secondary raw materials. In 15 years of activity, hundreds of thousands of tons of metals, plastics, and glass resulting from recycling have become products we use in our daily lives. This essentially means that we are a pillar of the circular economy, actively contributing to waste reduction and the efficient use of resources,” said Marius Costache, CEO of GreenWEEE.
The factory inauguration was also attended by state representatives.
“The new climate reality comes with many challenges for consumers and the business environment at the same time. There is initiative from the industry, and that is very important because if we have only public policies and legislation but no industry, no operators to collect, sort, and process waste, we cannot implement environmental and climate policies,” said Alexandra Maria Bocșe, State Counselor in the Department of Climate and Sustainability within the Presidential Administration.
Since the inauguration of its first plant in 2009 in Buzău, GreenWEEE has continuously expanded its operations. In 2017, the company opened a new plant in Câmpia Turzii, specifically for recycling refrigeration appliances and cathode ray tubes. The year 2020 marked the launch of the first flat-screen recycling line, LCDs, and plasmas in Southeast Europe.
(Photo source: the company)
