‘Without all that, there’d be fire!’
Why are dismantling facilities in recycling systems so important in both the primary and secondary labour markets? And what are the everyday challenges they face, particularly in dealing with lithium batteries?
Dismantling facilities (DFs) play a decisive role in the environmentally friendly disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Once old or defective WEEE has been collected, it is taken to DFs where both recyclable and hazardous substances are manually separated. For example, capacitors, lighting equipment, oil and batteries are removed from WEEE for subsequent environmentally friendly processing in recycling plants. Particularly valuable parts such as certain printed circuit boards, metals or plastics are removed and then recycled directly. So the DFs play a very important role in the recycling system. At the same time, they face major challenges – in particular in finding and training employees, and, above all else, keeping them safe. So we visited two different dismantling facilities, ELREC AG and gadPLUS AG, and asked them how they were dealing with these challenges.
ELREC: a primary labour market DF
ELREC AG is located on a large site in the Rhine Valley near Chur, surrounded by the Grisons mountains. This is where WEEE from private individuals is collected, both from its own and municipal collection points. Commercial companies also dispose of WEEE at ELREC AG. The old and/or defective equipment is transported in pallets and frames by forklift truck from the collection point, over the large square, and to the DF. Here, David Moreno rebuilt and restructured the DF around two years ago. Together with one other permanent employee and four temporary employees, he dismantles SENS and Swico materials in a hall. In the middle of the hall, the WEEE from the pallets is laid out on a large table, sorted and then disassembled (Photo 1).
The company employs temporary staff. ‘This structure allows us to deliver the best possible performance with minimal support,’ said David Moreno. The employees are placed by an external company. ‘Some of the employees are very well trained,’ he added. They come from the primary labour market, including students or seasonal workers who are looking for a temporary job, or the unemployed re-entering the workforce. Orientation is quick and they require relatively little support. David Moreno inducts them on an individual basis, after which they usually work independently. All employees are employed on a full-time basis, so they are soon familiar with all processes and able to process larger quantities per day.
Employees usually stay with the company for between six and 18 months. ‘After that, they often lose their motivation somewhat,’ commented Mr Moreno, before going on to add that the work can be monotonous and a little dull for employees in the long run. But an arrangement with a temping agency means that they can hire new people again on flexible terms. In addition, the in-house DF means material can be dismantled immediately on site upon delivery rather than being transported back and forth between the collection point and the DF.
For David Moreno, the greatest challenge in his work is dealing with devices containing lithium batteries (LiBs), which are widespread nowadays. At the same time, devices are becoming smaller and more complex, which makes dismantling more difficult. Improper handling or damage can cause LiBs to catch fire or explode, which poses a significant risk to employees. ‘If the batteries are glued or welded into the device, there is a tremendous risk that we will damage them when we remove them.’ Some forms of WEEE are simply too small or too complex for the batteries to be removed on site without unreasonable effort. So ELREC AG only removes batteries when it can do so with simple work steps (see Photo 2). All other devices with LiBs are forwarded to DFs that have specially trained staff and the appropriate equipment.
In the secondary labour market, you can get into the details
Biel-based gadPLUS AG is a specialist dismantling facility that also dismantles complex WEEE. The entrepreneurial social enterprise was founded 11 years ago and employs people from the secondary labour market, including the long-term unemployed and registered refugees. The number of employees varies depending on conditions in the labour market. There are approximately 60 part-time employees, 40% of whom find another job in the primary labour market with the help of the support team – the highest reintegration rate in Switzerland.
The dismantling of WEEE is one of the various forms of low-threshold work offered by gadPLUS. This helps workers structure their day with meaningful activities and promotes a positive atmosphere within the team. WEEE is particularly popular because the devices are familiar from everyday life. For the support team, there are several advantages to dismantling WEEE: there are always sufficient quantities to keep the team working at capacity, the effort involved in training is manageable, and both gross and fine motor skills are required. The routine and repetitive activities are also valued.
‘They really appreciate the dismantling work,’ remarked Managing Director Iso Etoski, ‘as you don’t have to think too much, but you can shoulder responsibility at the same time. And everyone knows how important their work is for the entire industry.’ According to Thaddäus Steinmann, Head of Electronic Waste at Altola AG, a recycler that gadPLUS is affiliated with, this is paying off: ‘Some employees stay for longer than they do in other participant models, which has a positive impact on the quality of work.’ Indeed, the various dismantling steps are highly relevant for recycling. Here, that includes removing backlights containing mercury from screens, and capacitors containing pollutants and batteries from various small appliances.
For gadPLUS, too, batteries are one of the biggest challenges. Working out which devices contain LiBs, removing LiBs from small forms of WEEE such as toothbrushes, razors, etc., requires precise training and a lot of awareness-raising work. This is not easy when many employees cannot understand or read the national language in use at the facility.
‘We have employees who have never seen a cordless drill before,’ explained Rolf Kunz, the WEEE Manager at gadPLUS. At the same time, each device is highly labour-intensive and requires special tools. So for training, Rolf Kunz draws extensively on pictures and specific examples, from the training kit, for instance (see Photo 3). For the support team, one thing is clear: fire is the greatest danger. So training also includes all the steps required in dealing with LiBs, depending on the incident. ‘Smoke in particular is extremely dangerous in the event of a fire,’ added Thaddäus Steinmann. Special equipment must be on hand in the right place for handling burning LiBs: that includes fireproof gloves (Photo 4), as well as quarantine containers and dedicated barrels of vermiculite for storage. Button cells (often lithium batteries) are stuck to adhesive tape to protect the poles. ‘Without all that, there’d be fire! However, this would simply be impossible in the primary labour market,’ concluded Thaddäus Steinmann.
Communicating the risks together
ELREC and gadPLUS are both very glad that they have avoided such incidents to date. But danger lurks everywhere. Protective measures reduce the probability of fire, but there is always a residual risk. It is also clear that WEEE containing LiBs will become much more common in the future, with LiBs to be found in unexpected objects, even in diver’s goggles and children’s books. The support teams and employees have to be vigilant and careful in their work at all times. Rolf Kunz described the situation: ‘When it comes to safety, I feel like I’m treading on eggshells. It’s a lot of personal pressure. Even in the evening, I’m still thinking about it. Not all employees take LiBs equally seriously. The ones who have witnessed a fire, they get it. Others are a little more relaxed or less motivated. So you never know how, where and what might happen.’ So the support teams at the DF would like to see uniform awareness-raising at all levels. It all starts with collecting items from private households or collection points, and the SENS and Swico take-back systems play a very important role here.
Lithium batteries: a burning issue
In recent years, the systems, recyclers and dismantling facilities have worked together to raise awareness of the fire hazard that lithium batteries pose. The measures taken to manage this risk are discussed during each SENS/Swico audit. The auditors are aware that the dismantling facilities take this issue seriously. The measures introduced specifically for batteries include training employees in dismantling devices with lithium batteries at special workstations; small drums of water, vermiculite or sand alongside dismantling workstations for quarantining damaged or ‘dangerous’ lithium batteries; and using vermiculite in dedicated steel drums, in small boxes for interim storage and for transporting lithium batteries.
