Thank you. Together we collected
170 kg of WEEE
On 16 May 2026, 20 households at Via Spontini dropped off 170 kilograms of electronic waste. 37.7% of the building took part — the highest rate across our three Milan pilots.
The impact in numbers
The pilot in images
Via Gaspare Spontini, 11 · 16 May 2026
Inside those 170 kg
What was collected and what will be recovered.
Composition by category
Via Spontini 11 · CDC WEEE groupings · weight in kg
- R4 – Small app./IT59.3%
- R1 – Cooling/Climate21.8%
- R3 – TVs/Monitors16.1%
- R5 – Light sources2.6%
- Batteries0.2%
Recoverable raw materials
Estimated average composition · WEEE Forum coefficients
- Iron/Steel30.2%
- Plastics25.3%
- Copper12.4%
- Other12.8%
- Aluminium10.3%
- Glass/Panels8.9%
- Precious metals0.2%
Estimate based on average composition per WEEE category. Not a substitute for certified laboratory analysis.
Estimated average composition per WEEE category · WEEE Forum coefficients · not a certified analysis
Chargers, headphones, small appliances, tools. 59% of total weight in 231 items.
The first R1 (Cooling/Climate) ever collected in RecoServ pilots. Dropped off at 18:50 — after official hours, once the resident found the right moment to come down with such a bulky appliance.
Gold, silver and palladium recoverable from PCBs. Small quantity, big value: a tonne of smartphones contains more gold than a tonne of gold ore.
What was in those drawers
59% of the weight was R4 — 231 small devices. A 37 kg fridge alone accounted for 22% of the total: the first R1 ever collected in a RecoServ pilot. Three TVs added another 27 kg of R3.
For the first time in a RecoServ pilot, a refrigerator was dropped off — category R1, Cooling/Climate. An appliance that alone weighs as much as 85 smartphones.
What residents say
Feedback from this pilot will be available shortly.
Feedback will be published once transcribed and reviewed.
avoided thanks to correct recycling
Source: WEEE Forum / EEE LCA coefficients
What the three pilots say together
| Metric | Pilot #1 Vanvitelli | Pilot #2 Plinio | Pilot #3 Spontini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 18 Apr 2026 | 9 May 2026 | 16 May 2026 |
| Unique participants | 10 | 7 | 20 |
| Participation rate | 18.5% | 22.6% | 37.7% ★ |
| Total kg | 179.22 kg | 94.35 kg | 170.52 kg |
| kg / household | 17.92 kg | 13.48 kg | 8.53 kg |
| kg / dwelling | 3.32 kg | 3.04 kg | 3.22 kg |
| CDC WEEE estimate | €57.46 | €28.72 | €46.18 |
| CO₂eq avoided | 589 kg | 280 kg | 479 kg |
| Dominant category | R3 (57.9%) | R4 (69.6%) | R4 (59.3%) |
| First-time R1 | — | — | ✓ (37 kg) |
| CUMULATIVE TOTAL · 37 unique · 444 kg · €132 · 1,348 kg CO₂eq | |||
Three Milan buildings. 37 households. 444 kilograms of electronic waste correctly sent to recycling in less than 30 days. Participation climbs at every pilot: 18.5% → 22.6% → 37.7%.
The trend is clear: more advance notice and more word-of-mouth translate directly into more participation. Spontini reached almost double Vanvitelli's rate.
The material does not stop here
Each drop-off was weighed by CDC WEEE category and logged into the system at the point of collection.
WEEE collected at the Via Spontini pilot was delivered to an authorised plant in Milan's municipal circuit.
Metals, plastics and components are separated and put back into the production cycle. Copper, aluminium, lithium: nothing is lost.
Found a word you don't know?
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Anything mains- or battery-powered when it stops being used. Smartphones, TVs, light bulbs, ovens, headphones, chargers. Italy produces more than 900,000 tonnes per year. Less than a third is collected properly.
Whoever makes and sells electronics in Italy pays a fee for each device placed on the market. These funds are redistributed to the municipalities that collect WEEE in a certified way. More WEEE intercepted = more funds returned.
The largest category: 134 of 138 items collected in our pilots. Smartphones, chargers, headphones, vacuum cleaners, printers, smart bulbs, small appliances. Anything below 50 cm. Hard to dispose of · easy to hoard.
The first collection event empties years of hoarding. An Italian household has on average 5–8 devices sitting at home for more than 2 years. From the second event onwards only the 'current flow' is collected: 1.5–3 kg per participant instead of 13–18 kg.
Producing recycled aluminium instead of virgin aluminium saves about 80% of the energy. Each kg of recycled copper avoids 4–5 kg of CO₂ compared with mining. WEEE is an urban mine: recovering it means not having to extract those materials elsewhere.
One tonne of smartphones contains ~300g of gold · a gold mine yields on average 1–5g per tonne of rock extracted. Smartphone circuit boards also contain silver, palladium and indium. This is why WEEE is called 'urban mining': it is richer than many mines.
European principle: whoever puts a product on the market is responsible for its end of life. Samsung, Apple, Philips and all the others pay fees to CDC WEEE for every device sold. These funds finance collection · including the RecoServ service.
Collected WEEE follows a tracked path: registered transporter → authorised plant (SISTRI/RENTRI) → material separation → foundry/refinery for metals → plastics plants. Every step is documented. Disposing of it any other way is illegal.
70% of Italians who don't recycle their WEEE cite logistic reasons: the civic amenity site is far, opening hours are inconvenient, it makes no sense to drive there for an old charger. Proximity removes that barrier. A collection point in the courtyard requires no extra effort.
See you soon.
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