National Wecycle Week 2026: How to Turn In Your Old Appliances

National Wecycle Week will take place from October 12 through 18, 2026. For one week, people throughout the Netherlands are encouraged to turn in their discarded appliances, light bulbs, and batteries instead of leaving them lying around. You can do that with us all year round, but this week is a great time to finally clear out that drawer full of old phones.

Whatever you turn in gets a second life—as a product, a component, or a raw material. And in most cases, you’ll even get money in return.

What is National Bicycle Week?

National Wecycle Week is a nationwide campaign organized by the OPEN Foundation, which coordinates the collection of electronic waste under the name Wecycle. Through campaigns on TV, online, and in other media, they raise awareness that week about discarded appliances, light bulbs, and batteries.

Municipalities, retailers, manufacturers, and recyclers are participating. So are we. As a certified metal recycler, we accept electronics year-round.

What will happen during National Wecycle Week 2026?

There are a few things planned for that week:

Nationwide collection campaign. At recycling centers, thrift stores, and nearly all petting zoos, you’ll receive a free Wecycle Ganzenbord board game when you turn in old appliances, light bulbs, or batteries. While supplies last.
International E-Waste Day on October 14. Across Europe, the focus that day will be on “fast-tech”: cheap, disposable electronics that you buy quickly and throw away just as quickly.
Collection campaign for businesses. On behalf of the entire electronics supply chain, Wecycle is calling on all businesses to drop off their electronic waste free of charge and in a circular manner at participating metal recyclers.
Awards and education. More than 4,500 elementary schools will receive a school newspaper about raw materials, and organizations that excel in recycling will receive a Wecycle Award.

What devices can you turn in?

Almost anything that has or had a plug or a battery. Electronics recycling is one of our specialties, so a single laptop is just as welcome as a pallet of server equipment.

Type of electronics	Examples	Good to Know
Computers and IT	PCs, laptops, servers, peripherals	Delivering complete units yields more than partially dismantled ones
Small Electronics	phones, tablets, routers, adapters	Small amounts are not a problem
Printed Circuit Boards and Components	motherboards, expansion cards, RAM	The value lies in the gold, silver, and palladium
Displays	monitors, old televisions	Normally, you pay a small processing fee for this. During Wecycle Week, you can get rid of it for 0,-
Installation and home appliances	furnaces, water heaters, cables	Price is usually available upon request

Can't find your device here? Check out our full product lineup here, or send a photo via WhatsApp and you'll know exactly where you stand in no time.

Here's how to turn in your old electronics

Just drive onto the premises. No appointment is necessary, and there’s no minimum weight requirement if you come by on your own. Be sure to bring a valid form of identification—it’s required by law—and your bank account number if you’d like to be paid by bank transfer.

Then it goes like this:

We'll weigh your items and give you a weighing slip.
You can choose whether to be paid in cash or by bank transfer.
We process the devices in accordance with our WEEELABEX certification.

You can visit either of our two locations for this:

Rotterdam, Keenstraat 28 – Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Wateringen, Maasdijkseweg 138 – Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

What you get paid depends on the weight and condition of your devices. Complete PCs and laptops fetch a higher price than units from which the circuit boards have already been removed. You receive payment immediately after weighing, so you don’t drive away with an outstanding bill. With screens and monitors, it works exactly the opposite way: you pay a small fee for processing, because it takes more work than the value you get in return. The current scrap prices are always listed on the website.

What happens to your devices after that?

Not everything you turn in goes straight into the shredder. Devices that still work and aren’t too old are first sent for reuse. That’s the cleanest option available, because a device that will last a few more years doesn’t need to be replaced with a new one.

The rest goes to a disassembly facility we work with. There, devices are taken apart by hand, piece by piece. Batteries and other environmentally harmful components are removed first. What remains are clean material streams: copper by itself, aluminum by itself, and circuit boards by themselves. These are sent to specialized recycling facilities, which turn them back into raw materials for new products.

Manual dismantling takes more time than mechanical processing, but it yields a higher percentage of raw materials. And some of the work is done by people who face barriers to the labor market.

Come visit us during Wecycle Week

You don’t have to wait until October, but it’s a good incentive. Take a quick look through that attic or closet full of cables, throw everything in the car, and drive over to Rotterdam or Wateringen. Within a few minutes, you’ll know what it’s worth, and you’ll have the money in your pocket or in your bank account. Not sure if something is usable? Send us a photo via WhatsApp first, and we’ll let you know up front what to expect.