2022.03.02

48 years is no age for a waffle iron

Haven't most of us seen someone from the older generation pull out an antique waffle iron around waffle day to offer freshly baked waffles with coffee? It's not uncommon for very old waffle irons to still be in use in Swedish kitchens. 48 years is no age for a waffle iron! Here comes APPLiAnytt with proof.

 

Full-scale analysis in Arboga

APPLiAnytt, with the help of El-Kretsen, has now found out how old waffle irons are before they are sent for recycling? El-Kretsen, in which APPLiA is a partner, performs age analyses on all groups of collected white goods and household appliances from the recycling stations at the analysis centre they have built in Arboga. But the analyses are not only aimed at determining the lifespan of the collected objects but are more comprehensive than that. The material content of the recycled products is also analysed and how best to take care of it in the continued process of recycling as much material as possible for use in future products.

Analysis: Waffle irons are long-lasting!

Age determination provides insight into the lifespan of many different product groups. The longest-lived product category in terms of median age is MANGLAR, where the oldest have passed their 42nd birthday, and the median age for the entire group of mangles is a full 36 years, according to El-Kretsen.

The next product category is WAFFLE IRON, where the full age range of the submitted products is between 4 and 48 years, according to Arboga! This means that the older waffle irons collected would have been produced in the early 1970s. At the time, of course, they had no idea that these products would end up in an effective recycling system and ultimately contribute to the material for new waffle irons almost 50 years later.

The median age of the collected waffle irons turned out to be 20 years – i.e., an equal number of waffle irons of those analyzed turned out to end up on either side of the 20 years in the age analysis.

El-Kretsen knows even more…

For those of you who want to know more – El-kretsen has extensive knowledge of the recycling process in Sweden and internationally – you have the chance to learn more at the conference #TillsammansFörKretsloppet on June 2-3 at Djurönäset in Stockholm. Link to registration is here: togetherforkretsloppet.se

During the conference you will be able to listen to many knowledgeable speakers such as Fredrik Benson, Vice President and Head of R&D at El-Kretsen, who will talk about the knowledge available about our collection systems and about the products and materials that are collected, disassembled and recycled? Plastics, components, chemical substances, valuable metals. And how do we know that the handling is the best from an environmental perspective from a life cycle perspective? The discussion and questions about the collection system of the future will be interesting for suppliers of both products and materials. Register today!

Kent Oderud, Chairman of APPLiA