E-Scrap Recycling in Greece Collapsed 80%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The electronics recycling sector in Greece was hit badly by coronavirus impacts. The e-scrap collection in the country recorded massive decline, falling by almost 70-80% during the past six weeks, said Thomas Papageorgiou, compliance director at Athens-based electronics recycling firm Anamet.

Speaking at the online panel discussion on global scrap trade organized by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), he noted that the country’s average normal collection of electronic scrap ranges between 45,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes per year. The country has lost almost two months of collections during the lockdown period. As a result, the annual collection is likely to fall below 40,000 tonnes in 2021.

The system was severely impacted by shutdown of retail shops and complete halt in collection by small scrap traders. The lower income during this period has resulted in reduced purchases of large and costly consumer goods like refrigerators and air conditioners, which in turn resulted in less amount of scrap generation.

Obviously, there was an increased demand for lightweight IT equipment as work from home mode gained popularity. However, this is unlikely to contribute much in terms of scrap tonnages, Papageorgiou added.

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