In April 2022, Ecomaison was approved for the non-electric toys sector.
Since 2023 and the multiplication of collection points dedicated to toys, the flow of toys has increased, and with it an increase in dangerous undesirables in the toy recycling chain, which can cause fires.
Which toys are undesirable?
The Ecomaison pallet boxes contain mainly battery-powered, electric and electronic toys.
This is WEEE or D3E: waste electrical and electronic equipment at the end of its life. Not covered by the eco-organization, it is the leading cause of fire at sorting centers and partner recyclers.
These objects, when exposed to shock or heat, can become hot and catch fire.
Why are they synonymous with danger?
Even without batteries, the electronic components contained in some toys require special treatment, due to their toxicity and complexity.
A fire in a collection line can cause :
- Safety risks for collection operatives
- Irreparable loss of collected items, rendered unusable by fire or water.
- Immobilization of sorting infrastructures, resulting in recycling delays and major logistical losses
To avoid any risk, a precious help:
sorting instructions
At every stage, we can find these battery-operated toys and avoid serious incidents. That's whywe need to be extremely vigilant when it comes to sorting these toys separately, and handing them over to the electrical equipment recycling organization responsible for them.
- 20% of sorting errors are identified in the Ecomaison pallet boxes where toys are donated.
Everyone involved in the sorting chain can limit these errors at every stage!
Here are our recommendations:
Distributors
- You can obtain free WEEE toy terminals from the following organizations: Ecologic Ecosystem
- Visual sorting of collected toys
- Inform your customers of prohibited items with the sorting instructions memo, available in your member area.
- Find a summary of your toy take-back obligations : Read the article
Local authorities
- You can train and inform agents about prohibited items with the sorting instructions memo, available on your digital space.
- Inform users of prohibited items
Reuse associations
- You can obtain free WEEE toy terminals from the following organizations: Ecologic Ecosystem
- You can train and inform agents about prohibited items with the sorting instructions memo, available on your digital space.
- Train your teams to correctly identify electrical toys thanks to our support dedicated to SSE structures
Consult our guide to sorting instructions - Inform users of prohibited items
Operators
- You can make an initial visual sorting of the toys collected.
- Report the presence of unwanted toys on your Ecomaison digital space, when picking up pallet boxes.
Sorting is everyone's business for better recycling!
Thanks to everyone's vigilance and commitment, fires will be less frequent.