Electric oil radiators are small portable heaters that allow rapid heating as needed and without much work. They are called oil radiators as the heat-carrying agent is oil, which is more appropriate in this case than water.

The inconvenience of these appliances is that a large part of the energy is lost during the transformation of electricity into heat. Modern appliances make a more efficient use of electricity but this efficiency is still low in comparison to central heating systems. Thus, for financial reasons such appliances should only be used occasionally and if necessary.

Oil radiators are rarely necessary in modern houses. Even in older buildings, thermal protection and heating are changed during renovation works and this type of additional radiators is only seldom used.

Used oil radiators should in no case be disposed off as used metal even if they are, for a large part, made out of metal. Oil was contaminated by PCB – polychlorinated biphenyl –that is extremely toxic. The European Community has only forbidden the commercialization of PCB in 1986. Given that radiators with PCB are not marked with a sign showing the oil composition, never dismount these appliances yourself and try to extract the oil.

Where to dispose of  oil radiators in an appropriate way ?

The SDK, as a partner of Ecotrel, which organizes the collection of electric and electronic waste, collects the oil radiators at the collection sites (be they mobile or in Resources Centers). The collected appliances are than dismounted by qualified staff and according to state of the art techniques with the reliability required by the SuperDrecksKëscht® center in Colmar-Berg.

Electric parts are dismounted and recycled. An oil sample is taken from every radiator and analyzed in the lab in order to assess the PCB contamination. If no PCB is found in the sample and the quality criteria are met, the oil is collected in tanks and treated in a refinery. The metal case is recycled together with other metals.

If the sample contains PCB, the contaminated oil is collected separately and the radiator is washed several times with special liquids. The metal frame is recycled together with other metals. The contaminated washing liquid and the oil are treated in a special installation (high temperature incinerator).

Cables contain rare, valuable raw materials that can be processed into new products.

With every new smartphone, tablet or notebook – in fact with every electrical device – a new cable is supplied. Most of them comply with a standard and also fit other devices in your own household.

Correct dispose of used cables

Cables contain valuable raw materials: For example, copper can be found in many older models. This is because it is particularly conductive and hardly corrodes. Nowadays, aluminium is often used because it is lighter and cheaper to buy.

Electric storage heaters have long been a cheap and practical alternative to oil and gas central heating systems. In the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, many electric storage heaters were installed.

Since the efficiency of electrically generated heat is relatively low at 30-40 %, the devices are no longer acceptable today for climate protection and cost reasons.

Dispose of electrical storage devices correctly

Older night storage heaters may contain asbestos, storage stones with high chromate contents and components containing PCBs. When dismantling them, you endanger your health and the living spaces can become so contaminated that renovation becomes necessary.

You can find out from the SDK whether your electrical storage device contains asbestos. The information on the type plate of the appliance (manufacturer/brand, type series, appliance type) is necessary for information.

If the database cannot provide any information about your electric storage heater, you can commission an expert to carry out a valuation with a possible material sample. If it turns out that your device contains asbestos, he or she can also advise you on how to proceed.

Due to preventive health protection, it is recommended to have this work carried out by a specialist company. This work is carried out with the necessary protective measures. However, professional disassembly is also advisable and necessary for other devices.

Refrigeration appliances consist of a variety of different materials, usually they are a mixture of more or less complex material composites, which may contain the relatively unproblematic substances metals, glass and recyclable plastics, but also pollutants such as PCBs, mercury, CFCs.

If it is no longer possible to avoid waste by repairing or reusing the appliances, Ecotrel asbl (www.ecotrel.lu) and its representative SDK ensure that the refrigeration appliances are properly recycled (dismantled). The focus here is on the removal of pollutants and the recovery of new raw materials.

The end-of-life refrigerators from Luxembourg that are processed via Ecotrel/ SuperDrecksKëscht® are recycled at SEG Umweltservice GmbH, based in neighbouring Mettlach/Saar. At SEG Umweltservice GmbH, a raw material utilisation of almost 90% has been determined according to resources potential certification. This includes the newly recovered PS regranulate, various metals such as iron, alumininum and copper, as well as the oil binder OekoPur, which is recovered from the PUR insulation. About 7% of the output products are sent for thermal recycling or marketed as substitute fuel. Only 3% of the output has to be landfilled or thermally destroyed.

The handling of refrigeration units in Luxembourg is certified according to RAL GZ 728 Demanufacturing of refrigerators.

Consumers have various options for disposing of large electrical appliances. As a rule, specialist retailers offer the return service as a service to the customer, otherwise it is also possible at all resource centers. All information can be found on the current website www.e-collect.lu.

When selecting household appliances according to ecological and economic criteria, the consumer can use the Internet site www.oekotopten.lu.

Resources potential

Gebrauchsanweisung für den klimasicheren Umgang mit Kühlgeräten (german)