The ABB UK inverter drive recycling scheme achieved a record total for 2012, with 31 tonnes of drives being recycled during the year. Over 96 percent by weight of these drives were recycled, with much of the copper, aluminium, circuit boards, steel and cables being recovered for further use.

Drives are recycled by a certified waste management company, and both ABB drives and those produced by other manufacturers are processed together. The recycling site has a full waste management permit and is registered as an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF) under the WEEE directive.

Certificate for ISO14001

Although not required to by the WEEE Directive, ABB offers the recycling scheme as a service to its customers.  Once the drive has been removed for recycling, ABB issues a certificate that can be used for environmental audits by end users complying with ISO 14001.

ABB has have been running the recycling scheme for several years and no-one else is running a similar scheme on this level.  The WEEE Directive is currently being re-evaluated, opening the possibility that many more electrical products, including drives, could come under its scope. If drives do come under the WEEE Directive, drive uses can be assured that we have the capacity to recycle all their waste drives.

Replacing older inverter drives

Replacing an older drive with a new model can help users make an immediate impact on their carbon footprint. Depending on size, operating a drive for just half a day could cut enough carbon emissions to fully compensate for the carbon impact of manufacturing and disposal of the drive itself. An ABB UK industrial drive can typically provide a total lifetime savings of around 7,500 MWh or 3,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

See our range of ABB inverter drives here