The potential for recovering metals from small household appliances

Countries who are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have high saturation of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) (Widmer et al., 2005). In 2011, >1,130,000 tonnes of EEE were put onto the market in the UK. A total of 40.7% of this tonnage was made up of large household appliances with cooling systems and small household appliances contributing to 15% and 12.1% of this total respectively (Environment Agency, 2012). Small household appliances (SHA) are items such as kettles and toasters and personal care appliances such as hair dryers. The increasing incorporation of technology into electronic products and their affordability means that they are replaced regularly, especially by people strongly influenced by fashion and advertising. Consequently there are increasing concerns about the sustainability of EEE manufacture, use and disposal both in terms of resource and energy use.