Page 6 from: Recycling International September issue | 2021

6

Cleaning up on
Sardinian scrap

? ?

A U T H O R Martijn Reintjes

These discarded washing machines are stockpiled in a ware-
house near Cagliari on the Italian island of Sardinia, waiting to
be dismantled and shredded. West Recycling is the biggest
e-scrap and metal recycling operation on Sardinia which has a
population of 1.7 million.
Cars, white goods and a wide range of electronics are sourced
from all over the island. After processing, non-ferrous scrap is
shipped to end users, mostly on the mainland. Steel scrap –
some 100 containers per year – is sent to Turkey, the world’s big-
gest steel scrap consumer, on the monthly direct cargo route
between Cagliari and Turkey.
Read the story of West Recycling and its owner Federica Foterni
in the Italy country report on pages 16-27 of this issue.

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