Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment

A. Homung, W. Koch and H. Seifert, Haloclean and PYDRA - a dual staged pyrolysis plant for the recycling waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE). Metals and Energy Recovery, International Symposium, Skelleftea, Sweden, 25-26 June 2003. 

Restrictions for lead are included in the EU Directive on Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment [144] and EU Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive [145], the EU End-of-Life-Vehicle [146] Directive. 

There continue to be perception issues over some species of flame retardants, specifically relating to persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT). Most of these PBT issues are legislatively mandated in the European Union (EU), but these issues are beginning to show up at the state level in the United States and at the national level in Japan and a few other Pacific Rim nations. In addition to PBT issues, there is an increased requirement for recycling plastics used in commercial products, which is most prevalent in the area of information technology equipment (ITE). ITE sale and use in the EU is covered by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) protocol, which dictates that plastics used for ITE need to be either recycled or incinerated after use. Due to the perception issues behind halogenated flame retardants, some have been deselected for ITE applications in favor of nonhalogenated flame retardants. So with the emphasis... 

Keywords Hydrothermal degradation, waste electronic and electric equipment, process,... 

Companies must determine whether their products fall within the scope of the Directive s. WEEE covers waste electronics and electrical equipment falling into one of ten categories. RoHS covers the same product categories as WEEE, but medical devices and monitoring and control equipment currently are excluded from the scope of RoHS. 

Most of the impact is created by providing the materials contained in the product. This includes production of waste and consumption of energy in producing the raw materials. Typical high impact materials would include rare metals, natural extracts such as perfume ingredients, and energy intensive materials such as bricks and concrete. Electronic and electrical equipment are typical of products in this category. 

However, especially brominated flame retardants are creating problems when electronic and electrical equipment reach end of life. If landfilled, toxic brominated flame retardants may slowly leach ont into the groundwater, where they persist for several years or they can evolve into the air. If waste materials are burned toxic polybrominated dioxins and furans can be formed [53, 50]. 

The Waste and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) sets collection, recycling, and recovery targets for electrical goods. It is closely linked to the RoHS directive (previously described), which (with exceptions) restricts the use of certain hazardous materials in the manufacture of electronic and electrical equipment. 

Product take-back requirements for electronics continue to spring up around the world. In Ontario, the government added electronics and electrical equipment of all kinds to the list of items that are to be diverted from disposal. The plan is to require a company called Waste Diversion Ontario to develop a program to handle the diversion of waste electronics from the municipal waste stream. ... 

Raising public awareness of solutions and problems associated with science and technology also becomes more pressing as engineering artefacts pervade more and more into our daily lives. A fine example of this linked into the recent European Union directive on managing waste associated with electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE). The legal aspects of this directive are profound making manufacturers responsible for the eventual disposal of... 

In terms of composition, earthquake waste is predominantly construction and demolition waste, that is, waste generated from the demolition of earthquake-affected structures and infrastructure. Waste materials may include metal, concrete, brick, timber, plasterboard, pipes, asphalt, etc. In some cases, where buildings collapse during the earthquake or where buildings are not safe to enter following the earthquake, the waste will include the contents of the building. This could include personal property (e.g., essential documents, money, mobile phones), carpet, furniture, electronic and electrical equipment, plastics, paper, whiteware, putrescible waste, and potentially hazardous materials stored on site (e.g., gas cylinders, oils, pesticides). The exact composition of this waste will depend on the type of building construction and nature of the earthquake impacts. 

EICTA Statement on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, and the Proposed for a Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electronic and Electrical Equipment, COM (2000) 347 final, Brussels, Sep. 22, 2000. 

Because of the hazardous contents of these items and other electronic waste, they can cause health and environmental problems if not managed properly. Therefore, to address these problems the RoHS and WEEE Directives were put in place. The first WEEE Directive was enforced in Eebmary 2003. It provided collection plans, where consumers could return their electronic and electrical wastes free of charge. These plans aimed to increase the recycling and /or reuse of electronic equipment (that had been discarded). 

The WEEE Directive, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2002/96/EC, expands the recycling requirements of the ELV Directive to include a broad range of electronic and electrical appliances and equipment. WEEE went into effect on February 13, 2003. It is to be scheduled to become European national law by August 13, 2004, and be applicable to consumer use products by August 13, 2005. Article 2(3) however states Equipment which is connected with the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States, arms, munitions and war material shall be excluded from this Directive. This does not, however, apply to products which are not intended for specifically military purposes. ... 

So-called producer responsibility laws for electronics and electrical waste equipment are anticipated to be widespread in Europe. Such laws have already been in effect for some time in Holland and Switzerland, and are also in effect in Norway (1999) and Sweden (2000). Threshold limits for recycling specified materials are typically defined [2]. 

The main aims of this chapter are to provide estimates for the amounts of pollutants emitted from processed electronic waste (e-waste) and assess the magnitudes of human exposure to these pollutants. Specifically in this chapter, e-waste is defined as the sum of discarded personal computers, electronic/electrical equipment, electronic entertainment devices, cell phones, television sets, and refrigerators. In another word, e-waste explicitly refers to electronics at their end of life cycle and disposed by end users rather than surplus electronics (brand new products). In addition, e-waste also does not include reusable (e.g., repairable electronics or second hand electronics) and secondary scraps (e.g., noble metals, plastics, and rubbers). 

The environmental impact of waste disposal and of chemical use in Europe has led to three legislative actions that, in today s global economy, greatly affect flame-retardant use and research. These actions go by the acronyms of RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemical substances). These actions are discussed in detail in Chapter 22, but need to be mentioned here as they are clear examples of how changing regulations affect flame-retardant use, selection, and new fire-safety developments. The first one, RoHS, refers to how new items are manufactured, and specifically bans chemicals and elements of environmental and toxicological concern in Europe. One fall-out item of RoHS is the move from a lead-based solder on circuit... 

Schlummer, M., Maurer, A., et al (2006) Report recycling of flame-retarded plastics from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE). Waste Management and Research, 24(6) 573-583. 

Also in February 2003, the European Union enacted the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (known as the WEEE Directive), calling for manufacturers to take end-of-life responsibility for their products (European Parliament, 2003b). Until August 15, 2005, this directive applies the principle of collective producer responsibility to wastes generated by electrical and electronic products. This principle allows companies to pool monies used for managing their wastes. However, for wastes generated by products manufactured after that date, it applies the principle of individual manufacturer responsibility, with the result... 

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