Mayside Recycling deconstructs televisions for recycling components in the UK

July 7th, 2010 by Richard Lord

All televisions and computer monitors that consumers bring to the Longue Hougue civic amenity site run by Guernsey’s Public Services Department can now be fully recycled.

Two months ago Mayside Recycling Ltd. in St. Sampson began accepting televisions and computer monitors for recycling.

Mayside Recycling won’t accept any televisions or monitors from members of the public at their premises.  They should be brought to the Longue Hougue civic amenity site.

Guernsey Recycling Ltd. had been accepting televisions for recycling but with their shredder, the company was able to recover and recycle only about 40% of the components.  Mayside Recycling Ltd. can achieve 100% recycling of television components.

Paul Martel, who worked for Guernsey Recycling Ltd and now works for Mayside Recycling took a course in the UK on deconstructing televisions.  He and his wife deconstruct about 35 televisions everyday.  The components are bagged and wait for shipment to the UK where the different components undergo various processes to recover the raw materials.

Paul Martel takes a television apart to recycle its components

Televisions and computers are separated into various components including cathode tubes, circuit boards, copper coils, glass screens, aluminium frames, and hard plastic components.

Cathode tubes

Part of the deconstruction process requires Mr. Martel to remove the cathode tube from the back of the glass enclosure, which breaks the vacuum.

Circuit boards placed in a separated bag for shipment to the UK for processing

A bag of copper coils

Aluminium frames found inside many modern televisions are recovered for recycling

13 amp plugs are bagged for recycling to recover the brass

The hard plastic covers of modern televisions goes through Mayside Recycling’s baler which shreds the plastic into large pieces and compacts the pieces into a large bale that is held together with wire.

Baled plastic components of TVs and computers ready to be shipped to the UK

The fluorescent or phosphorescent television screen glass is several centimetres thick and much thicker than the side glass.  The screens and surrounding glass are stored in quarter tonne bags while the permits to ship them to the UK for recycling are approved.

Paul Martel of Mayside Recycling stands in front of about 70 bags of television screens and computer monitors waiting to be shipped to the UK for final recycling

Mr. Martel said that at the recycling centre in the UK, the television glass is ground into small pieces.  The pieces travel quickly on a conveyor where a laser beam identifies the glass so that the thicker screen glass and the thinner side-glass can be separated.

This year with the football World Cup and the switch over to digital broadcasting on 17 November 2010 more televisions are being replaced than in a normal year.  Mayside Recycling Ltd. has seized the opportunity to prevent so many televisions going to the Mont Cuet landfill. Currently Mayside Recycling Ltd prevents between 11 and 14 tonnes of televisions and computer monitors per month from entering the Mont Cuet landfill.

Commercial organisations can contact Mayside Recycling on 01481 247599 or email mayside.recycling@cwgsy.net for further advice about the recycling of Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).