2023.05.24
New sustainability report from El-kretsen
In April, El-Kretsen released its sustainability report for 2022. In addition to the fact that nearly 155,000 tons of material have been collected and processed, the report shows several important measures taken during the year to promote El-Kretsen's sustainability work.
El-kretsen, the nationally approved collection system for electrical waste and batteries, has recently released its sustainability report for the 2022 financial year. An important part of El-Kretsen's work is to manage large flows of electrical waste and batteries. The sustainability report describes how the processes for collecting and handling these materials are carried out, as well as the quantities that are handled. The report also addresses the risks, opportunities and significant sustainability aspects that El-Kretsen's management has identified.
Fredrik Benson, acting CEO of El-Kretsen, is optimistic about 2023. He describes 2022 as a global low-water mark with challenges such as climate reports, war, pandemic, inflation and interest rates. At the same time, he emphasizes the opportunity to turn the page and use our abilities to create a better future.
El-Kretsen's role in this is to promote circularity, which means that as much material as possible should be kept in the cycle and reused in high quality. The results for 2022 show that El-Kretsen has collected and processed almost 155,000 tons of material, including iron, steel, aluminum, copper, plastics, other metals and glass. These materials are returned to the manufacture of new products and help reduce the need for new raw materials.
The report emphasizes, however, that not everything needs to be recycled. Some products have not reached the end of their useful life and can continue to be used longer than it takes to manufacture a new product. What happens on the second-hand market is beyond El-Kretsen's control, such as the sale of mobile phones, X-ray machines,
industrial tools and other products through various channels such as Blocket and flea markets. El-Kretsen has long-term agreements with Swedish municipalities to manage the collection of electrical waste and batteries, and they have now also included incentives for recycling in the agreements. This means that municipalities can actively help steer working products away from the recycling process and towards a new market for recycling, which extends the life of the products and creates value. 
El-kretsen is a joint service developed by electronics manufacturers through their industry associations to fulfill producer responsibility and contribute to a smoother recycling process. Applia was one of the initiators of El-kretsen and is today represented on the company's board of directors, among other things. All member companies in Applia are affiliated with El-kretsen.
Read more about El-kretsen's sustainability work in Sustainability report here.
