Recycling of e-Waste
Practical studies at Dutch recycling companies
have revealed that in the Dutch situation the
plastic fractions from CE can be separated into
the different plastic fractions for reuse, in an
economical, environmental and technical
feasible manner.
An innovative research program
in the Netherlands has shown
that it is technically and economically
feasible to collect and convert
waste from electrical and electronic
equipment, WEEE, into sound products
for reuse. Redesign of equipment and
improved waste treatment can lower the
environmental impact in the whole
lifecycle of these products. Mechanical
testing and field tests have shown that
the plastic fraction from WEEE treatment
can be purified into its different
plastic fractions for reuse in a technically
and economically feasible way.
Environmental studies have shown that
dedicated dismantling, shredding and
separation give the largest environmental
improvements for larger equipment,
e.g. equipment with a cathode ray tube,
is treated in such a way. From an environmental point of separate treatment of
small equipment like mobile phones
give better results compared to treatment
of mixed equipment.
Introduction
The use of plastics in electronic and
electrical equipment (E&E) is increasing
rapidly, see Figure 1. Besides plastics,
steel and glass products also contain
toxic compounds e.g. CFC’s, flame
retardants and heavy metals like mercury,
copper, cadmium and lead. These
components will leak into the environment
when E&E products discarded are
not treated in the right way. For this reason
the Dutch government set up rules
regarding the collection of different
types of E&E products. Collected products
are being dismantled and shredded,
not only to reclaim hazardous materials
like CFC’s but also useful materials like
ferro and non-ferro metals. The plastic
waste fraction was not seen as a useful
stream for a long time and would therefore
be incinerated or land filled.
....contd.
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