Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Management

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE, or e-waste) is defined by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as “any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its end of life”. The main services a comprehensive e-waste management system has to deliver in order to ensure sustainability are (1) collection of e-waste; (2) recovery of valuables, such as secondary raw materials; and (3) segregation and safe disposal of hazardous waste. This chapter presents approaches to manage WEEE in different parts of the world. In contrast to traditional waste management approaches, WEEE management has evolved under two new paradigms: closed loop economy and extended producer responsibility, especially in OECD countries. In recent years, e-waste regulations have also been established in a range of developing countries.

[1]  L. Hilty,et al.  Prospective Impacts of Electronic Textiles on Recycling and Disposal , 2011 .

[2]  F. Renaud,et al.  A review of the environmental fate and effects of hazardous substances released from electrical and electronic equipments during recycling: Examples from China and India , 2010 .

[3]  Martin Streicher-Porte,et al.  Informal electronic waste recycling: a sector review with special focus on China. , 2011, Waste management.

[4]  Ab Stevels,et al.  Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Handbook , 2012 .

[5]  Deepali Sinha Khetriwal,et al.  Producer responsibility for e-waste management: key issues for consideration - learning from the Swiss experience. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[6]  Lorenz M. Hilty,et al.  Information technology and sustainability : essays on the relationship between ICT and sustainable development , 2008 .

[7]  M. Schluep,et al.  WEEE management in Africa , 2012 .

[8]  Rolf Widmer,et al.  Insights from a decade of development cooperation in e-waste management , 2013 .

[9]  Lorenz M. Hilty,et al.  Electronic waste—an emerging risk? , 2005 .

[10]  Lorenz M. Hilty,et al.  End-of-life impacts of pervasive computing , 2005, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.

[11]  Rolf Widmer,et al.  Global perspectives on e-waste , 2005 .

[12]  Philipp Kraeuchi,et al.  A comparison of electronic waste recycling in Switzerland and in India , 2005 .

[13]  F.O. Ongondo,et al.  How are WEEE doing? A global review of the management of electrical and electronic wastes. , 2011, Waste management.

[14]  Eric Williams,et al.  Forecasting global generation of obsolete personal computers. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[15]  Mathias Schluep,et al.  Assessing the e-waste situation in Africa , 2008 .