The Dutch too often throw away electrical waste incorrectly and that is dangerous | Domestic

Many people throw products such as lamps, vapes and electric toys in the wheelie bin, while electrical waste must be collected separately.

In 2023, we collected only 100 grams of electrical waste per person more than the year before, the OPEN Foundation reported on Tuesday. This increased the weight to 5.6 kilos. The OPEN Foundation is responsible on behalf of manufacturers for the collection and recycling of used electrical appliances.

The three best-performing municipalities collected an average of 11.5 kilos of electrical waste per inhabitant. The three municipalities at the bottom of the list collected only 1.46 kilos of electrical waste per inhabitant.

Last year we collected a total of around 90 million kilos of so-called e-waste. This will prevent the emission of approximately 300 million kilos of carbon dioxide, says OPEN Foundation chairman Steven van Eijck.

But the chairman emphasizes “that more needs to be done to achieve concrete improvements”. For example, the opening hours of recycling centers should be better tailored to the needs of citizens.

Municipalities must then communicate this information clearly to residents, so that they know where and when they can hand in their e-waste. Van Eijck: “We have been pushing for this for a long time, but so far with insufficient results.”