Estimating the impact of the "digital switchover" on disposal of WEEE at household waste recycling centres in England

Using Hampshire County Council (HCC) as a case study, this paper evaluates and discusses the estimated impacts of the so-called digital switchover (DSO) (scheduled for 2012 in Hampshire) on Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in England and the UK. Two public surveys of Hampshire residents were used to collect data on their preparedness for and awareness of the switchover and its implications. The survey also sought to establish the quantities of televisions (TVs) and TV related devices that are ready for the DSO. The quantities of TV and related devices that are likely to be disposed via HCC’s collection network have been established and compared to the County’s current handling capacities for waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE). Best and worst case potential net disposal scenarios have been established and the latter compared to Government projections. In addition, the potential environmental, logistical, financial and legal impacts of the WEEE arising as a consequence of the switchover have been identified and discussed. The results indicate that the majority of TVs both in Hampshire and the UK are digital ready and that awareness of the switchover is high. In contrast, most recording devices in Hampshire are not ready for the DSO. Awareness of the timeframe of the event remains modest however and about half of Hampshire households were not aware that TV recording devices will be affected by the switchover. A significant proportion of waste TVs and related equipment would be taken to HWRCs in contrast to smaller items such as remote controls that would more likely be disposed with normal household waste. Projected figures for the DSO year show that if Hampshire maintained its current collection capacity for WEEE it would experience a handling shortfall of around ∼100 K for TVs and recording devices, respectively. The most important finding of the study is that the UK Government may have substantially underestimated the quantities of TV and related devices that will be disposed during the switchover. The potential impacts for local and national WEEE management have been discussed. The paper concludes by making recommendations to address identified issues.     

The use of relative potential risk as a prioritization tool for household WEEE management in Thailand

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become one of the major global concerns in solid waste management due to its continuously...     

WEEE and portable batteries in residual household waste: Quantification and characterisation of misplaced waste

A total of 26.1 Mg of residual waste from 3129 households in 12 Danish municipalities was analysed and revealed that 89.6 kg of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), 11 kg of batteries, 2.2 kg of toners and 16 kg of cables had been wrongfully discarded. This corresponds to a Danish household discarding 29 g of WEEE (7 items per year), 4 g of batteries (9 batteries per year), 1 g of toners and 7 g of unidentifiable cables on average per week, constituting 0.34% (w/w), 0.04% (w/w), 0.01% (w/w) and 0.09% (w/w), respectively, of residual waste. The study also found that misplaced WEEE and batteries in the residual waste constituted 16% and 39%, respectively, of what is being collected properly through the dedicated special waste collection schemes. This shows that a large amount of batteries are being discarded with the residual waste, whereas WEEE seems to be collected relatively successfully through the dedicated special waste collection schemes. Characterisation of the misplaced batteries showed that 20% (w/w) of the discarded batteries were discarded as part of WEEE (built-in). Primarily alkaline batteries, carbon zinc batteries and alkaline button cell batteries were found to be discarded with the residual household waste. Characterisation of WEEE showed that primarily small WEEE (WEEE directive categories 2, 5a, 6, 7 and 9) and light sources (WEEE directive category 5b) were misplaced. Electric tooth brushes, watches, clocks, headphones, flashlights, bicycle lights, and cables were items most frequently found. It is recommended that these findings are taken into account when designing new or improving existing special waste collection schemes. Improving the collection of WEEE is also recommended as one way to also improve the collection of batteries due to the large fraction of batteries found as built-in. The findings in this study were comparable to other western European studies, suggesting that the recommendations made in this study could apply to other western European countries as well.     

The willingness to household waste disposal practices of residents in rural China

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The increasing amount of household waste is becoming one of the major challenges in the sustainable development of rural areas in China. As most...     

The development of WEEE management and effects of the fund policy for subsidizing WEEE treating in China

The consumption of electrical and electronic equipment is surging, so is the generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Due to the large quantity, high potential risk and valuable capacity of WEEE, many countries are taking measures to regulate the management of WEEE. The environmental pollution and human health-harming problems caused by irregular treatment of WEEE in China make the government pay more and more attention to its management. This paper reviews the development of WEEE management in China, introduces the new policy which is established for WEEE recycling and especially analyzes the effectiveness of the policy, including huge recovery, formation of new recycling system, strict supervision to related enterprises, and the stimulation to public awareness. Based on the current achievement, some recommendations are given to optimize the WEEE management in China.     

A life cycle approach to the management of household food waste - A Swedish full-scale case study

Environmental impacts from incineration, decentralised composting and centralised anaerobic digestion of solid organic household waste are compared using the EASEWASTE LCA-tool. The comparison is based on a full scale case study in southern Sweden and used input-data related to aspects such as source-separation behaviour, transport distances, etc. are site-specific. Results show that biological treatment methods - both anaerobic and aerobic, result in net avoidance of GHG-emissions, but give a larger contribution both to nutrient enrichment and acidification when compared to incineration. Results are to a high degree dependent on energy substitution and emissions during biological processes. It was seen that if it is assumed that produced biogas substitute electricity based on Danish coal power, this is preferable before use of biogas as car fuel. Use of biogas for Danish electricity substitution was also determined to be more beneficial compared to incineration of organic household waste. This is a result mainly of the use of plastic bags in the incineration alternative (compared to paper bags in the anaerobic) and the use of biofertiliser (digestate) from anaerobic treatment as substitution of chemical fertilisers used in an incineration alternative. Net impact related to GWP from the management chain varies from a contribution of 2.6 kg CO₂-eq/household and year if incineration is utilised, to an avoidance of 5.6 kg CO₂-eq/household and year if choosing anaerobic digestion and using produced biogas as car fuel. Impacts are often dependent on processes allocated far from the control of local decision-makers, indicating the importance of a holistic approach and extended collaboration between agents in the waste management chain.     

A new approach to estimation of methane emission rates from landfills

Methane emission monitoring has become increasingly essential for diffusive area sources, especially for landfills, which contribute to a significant fraction of the total anthropogenic methane emission globally. Statutorily, methane emission rate from landfills in Germany shall be examined on a semiannual basis; however, an appropriate approach has yet to be developed and adopted for general use. In this study, a new method is proposed based on experimental results, which utilizes a TDLAS (Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy) instrument – GasFinder2.0® system and a dispersion model LASAT (Lagrangian Simulation of Aerosol Transport) as the measurement device and calculation model, respectively. Between April 2010 and December 2011, a research project was conducted at a pilot scale landfill in the south of Germany. Drawing on the extensive research into this pilot project, an effective strategy of measurement setup was determined. Methane concentration was measured with GasFinder2.0® system in the upstream and downstream sections of the project site, while wind and turbulence data were measured simultaneously by an ultrasonic anemometer. The average methane emission rate from the source can be calculated by using the results as input data in the dispersion model. With this method, site-specific measurement approaches can be designed for not only landfills, but also different diffusive area sources with less workload and lower cost compared to conventional FID (Flame Ionization Detector) method.     

Stabilization and delisting of hazardous wastes: An effective approach for reducing high sludge disposal costs

Delisting (up-front or not) of hazardous waste streams (with or without stabilization or any other form of treatment) can be an effective approach for reducing high sludge disposal costs because a nonhazardous classification of the waste will alleviate the financial burden associated with the disposal costs. Facilities may petition EPA to remove individual waste streams from regulation as listed hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA encourages the use of up-front delisting petitions because they have the advantage of allowing the applicant to know what treatment levels for constituents should be sufficient to render specific wastes nonhazardous before investing in new or modified waste treatment systems. Thus, up-front delisting allows new facilities to receive exclusions prior to generating wastes that, without upfront exclusions, would unnecessarily have been considered hazardous. On July 18, 1991, EPA proposed to use the EPA Composite Model for Landfills (EPACML) when considering delisting petitions and evaluating the impact of the petitioned waste on human health and the environment. The use of the EPACML provides consistency in delisting decisions. Further, this new model allows a two-to-three-times higher dilution than the previously used Vertical and Horizontal Spread (VHS) model. This article presents case studies from several industry sectors where stabilization and delisting were used to manage wastes in a reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally sound manner.     

Evaluation of sites for the location of WEEE recycling plants in Spain

As a consequence of new European legal regulations for treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), recycling plants have to be installed in Spain. In this context, this contribution describes a method for ranking of Spanish municipalities according to their appropriateness for the installation of these plants. In order to rank the alternatives, the discrete multi-criteria decision method PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organisation METHod for Enrichment Evaluations), combined with a surveys of experts, is applied. As existing plants are located in North and East Spain, a significant concentration of top ranking municipalities can be observed in South and Central Spain. The method does not present an optimal structure of the future recycling system, but provides a selection of good alternatives for potential locations of recycling plants.     

Multi-criteria analysis for the determination of the best WEEE management scenario in Cyprus

Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) constitutes one of the most complicated solid waste streams in terms of its composition, and, as a result, it is difficult to be effectively managed. In view of the environmental problems derived from WEEE management, many countries have established national legislation to improve the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of this waste stream so as to apply suitable management schemes. In this work, alternative systems are examined for the WEEE management in Cyprus. These systems are evaluated by developing and applying the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method PROMETHEE. In particular, through this MCDM method, 12 alternative management systems were compared and ranked according to their performance and efficiency. The obtained results show that the management schemes/systems based on partial disassembly are the most suitable for implementation in Cyprus. More specifically, the optimum scenario/system that can be implemented in Cyprus is that of partial disassembly and forwarding of recyclable materials to the native existing market and disposal of the residues at landfill sites.     

Telerobots for remote disposal of mixed waste

Two remote-controlled robotic submersible vehicles and an automated shredder are helping remove and dispose of highly reactive, sometimes explosive materials, dumped into a water-filled quarry at the U.S. Department of Energy's reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Human workers never enter the four-acre site, except for well-planned equipment maintenance and to shoot holes from a protected but into the retrieved containers, releasing pressure and exposing the contents to air and water. During its approximately two years of operation, the $8 million project has retrieved more than 15,000 items from the thirty feet of water at the bottom of the quarry.     

Development of front check system for final disposal. II. An approach to effective and economical arrangement of equipment

The additional time required for a front check (rapid chemical analysis for criterial components) of lorry loads arriving at a landfill has been estimated by computer simulations based on observed patterns at two landfills of different types. The advantage of separating sample preparation from analysis per se is demonstrated and queue lengths have been estimated for various configurations.     

Bentonite liners for isolation of waste disposal sites

The applicability of bentonite as a lining material for isolation of waste disposal sites was investigated on laboratory and field scale. The permeability of sand-bentonite mixtures depends on the type of bentonite, the bentonite content in the mixture and the dry bulk density. In laboratory experiments the saturated conductivity decreased at low hydraulic head gradients, indicating that water flow in these mixtures does not obey Darcy's law. The swelling of the bentonite, which is responsible for the low permeability, is a time-dependent process. The permeability decreased with time and even after two months the permeability had not reached a constant level. In sand-bentonite mixtures with 5% (w/w) bentonite, the saturated conductivity ultimately reached a level below 1 × 10⁻¹⁰ m s⁻¹, which is sufficiently low for surface capping of waste disposal sites. The sand-bentonite mixtures were 10–100 times more permeable for landfill leachate than for clean water. Bottom liners should, therefore, contain considerably more bentonite to prevent infiltration of leachate in the subsoil. Water-balance studies on experimental fields showed that there was no leakage at all through bentonite liners used for surface capping of a waste disposal site over a two-year period.     

Recycling of non-metallic fractions from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): A review

The world’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) consumption has increased incredibly in recent decades, which have drawn much attention from the public. However, the major economic driving force for recycling of WEEE is the value of the metallic fractions (MFs). The non-metallic fractions (NMFs), which take up a large proportion of E-wastes, were treated by incineration or landfill in the past. NMFs from WEEE contain heavy metals, brominated flame retardant (BFRs) and other toxic and hazardous substances. Combustion as well as landfill may cause serious environmental problems. Therefore, research on resource reutilization and safe disposal of the NMFs from WEEE has a great significance from the viewpoint of environmental protection. Among the enormous variety of NMFs from WEEE, some of them are quite easy to recycle while others are difficult, such as plastics, glass and NMFs from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs). In this paper, we mainly focus on the intractable NMFs from WEEE. Methods and technologies of recycling the two types of NMFs from WEEE, plastics, glass are reviewed in this paper. For WEEE plastics, the pyrolysis technology has the lowest energy consumption and the pyrolysis oil could be obtained, but the containing of BFRs makes the pyrolysis recycling process problematic. Supercritical fluids (SCF) and gasification technology have a potentially smaller environmental impact than pyrolysis process, but the energy consumption is higher. With regard to WEEE glass, lead removing is requisite before the reutilization of the cathode ray tube (CRT) funnel glass, and the recycling of liquid crystal display (LCD) glass is economically viable for the containing of precious metals (indium and tin). However, the environmental assessment of the recycling process is essential and important before the industrialized production stage. For example, noise and dust should be evaluated during the glass cutting process. This study could contribute significantly to understanding the recycling methods of NMFs from WEEE and serve as guidance for the future technology research and development.     

Italian WEEE management system and treatment of end-of-life cooling and freezing equipments for CFCs removal

This study presents and analyzes the data of the Italian system for take-back and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEEs) in the start-up period 2008–2010. The analysis was focused particularly on the data about the treatment of end-of-life cooling and freezing equipments. In fact, the wastes of cooling and freezing equipments have a high environmental impact. Indeed, in their compressor oil and insulation polyurethane (PU) foams chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) ozone-depleting gases are still present. In the period 2001–2004 Northern Italy resulted the main source in Europe of CFCs. The European Directive on WEEE management was enacted in 2002, but in Italy it was implemented by the legislative Decree in 2005 and it became operational in 2008. Actually, in 2008 the national WEEE Coordination Centre was founded in order to organize the WEEE pick-up process and to control collection, recovery and recycling targets. As a result, in 2010 the average WEEE collection per capita exceeded the threshold of more than 4 kg per inhabitant, as well as cooling and freezing appliances represented more than one fourth of the Italian WEEE collection stream. During the treatment of end-of-life cooling and freezing equipments, CFCs were recovered and disposed principally by burner methods. The analyses of defined specimens collected in the treatment facilities were standardized to reliably determine the amount of recovered CFCs. Samples of alkaline solid salt, alkaline saline solution, polyurethane matrix and compressor oil collected during the audit assessment procedure were analyzed and the results were discussed. In particular, the analysis of PU samples after the shredding and the warm pressing procedures measured a residual CFCs content around 500–1300 mg/kg of CFCs within the foam matrix.     

Pyrolysis and dehalogenation of plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): A review

Plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have been an important environmental problem because these plastics commonly contain toxic halogenated flame retardants which may cause serious environmental pollution, especially the formation of carcinogenic substances polybrominated dibenzo dioxins/furans (PBDD/Fs), during treat process of these plastics. Pyrolysis has been proposed as a viable processing route for recycling the organic compounds in WEEE plastics into fuels and chemical feedstock. However, dehalogenation procedures are also necessary during treat process, because the oils collected in single pyrolysis process may contain numerous halogenated organic compounds, which would detrimentally impact the reuse of these pyrolysis oils. Currently, dehalogenation has become a significant topic in recycling of WEEE plastics by pyrolysis. In order to fulfill the better resource utilization of the WEEE plastics, the compositions, characteristics and dehalogenation methods during the pyrolysis recycling process of WEEE plastics were reviewed in this paper. Dehalogenation and the decomposition or pyrolysis of WEEE plastics can be carried out simultaneously or successively. It could be ‘dehalogenating prior to pyrolysing plastics’, ‘performing dehalogenation and pyrolysis at the same time’ or ‘pyrolysing plastics first then upgrading pyrolysis oils’. The first strategy essentially is the two-stage pyrolysis with the release of halogen hydrides at low pyrolysis temperature region which is separate from the decomposition of polymer matrixes, thus obtaining halogenated free oil products. The second strategy is the most common method. Zeolite or other type of catalyst can be used in the pyrolysis process for removing organohalogens. The third strategy separate pyrolysis and dehalogenation of WEEE plastics, which can, to some degree, avoid the problem of oil value decline due to the use of catalyst, but obviously, this strategy may increase the cost of whole recycling process.     

A multiple criteria analysis for household solid waste management in the urban community of Dakar

Household solid waste management is a severe problem in big cities of developing countries. Mismanaged solid waste dumpsites produce bad sanitary, ecological and economic consequences for the whole population, especially for the poorest urban inhabitants. Dealing with this problem, this paper utilizes field data collected in the urban community of Dakar, in view of ranking nine areas of the city with respect to multiple criteria of nuisance. Nine criteria are built and organized in three families that represent three classical viewpoints: the production of wastes, their collection and their treatment. Thanks to the method PROMETHEE and the software ARGOS, we do a pair-wise comparison of the nine areas, which allows their multiple criteria rankings according to each viewpoint and then globally. Finding the worst and best areas in terms of nuisance for a better waste management in the city is our final purpose, fitting as well as possible the needs of the urban community. Based on field knowledge and on the literature, we suggest applying general and area-specific remedies to the household solid waste problems.     

A charge model for household waste management services: a case study of Tehran municipality

In practice, it is difficult to implement Pay-As-You-Throw charge systems based on accurate estimates of waste generation. In many cities, this is made impossible, due to lack of technical and administrative infrastructure and cultural considerations, especially in developing countries. This paper presents an alternative two-component charge model that is the combination of cost-accounting technique of Waste Management Services (WMSs) and econometric functions of waste generation. Practical and computation steps considered by the model are presented as a proposal to reform the current system of waste charge in Tehran municipality. The presented model is simple to implement and resolves some of the disadvantages of the traditional methods of waste charge systems, including insufficient revenue to cover the cost of waste management and unfairness related to social inequality.     

Land disposal of mixed human and animal wastes: A review

Combining septic tank effluent and animal wastes (mixed wastes) for eventual application to land is being proposed as an alternative wastewater disposal system. Both types of waste are spread on land separately, and private practice may be to mix and spread them together, but in most of the United States mixing of these wastes for land disposal is illegal. No research has been done to assess the hazards associated with spreading mixed wastes on land. The concern is with the impact on public health of adding septic tank effluent to animal wastes for disposal as animal wastes. The effects of pathogens already present in animal waste are presumably allowed for in current U.S. regulations.Pathogens in mixed wastes include viruses, bacteria and parasites. Viruses are not always present in on-site waste disposal systems, but when present are in high numbers. Most viral particles will pass through the septic tank and will remain viable. Transmission will be prevented if these particles are retained in soil or other solids until any of several factors deprive them of infectivity. As animals are the chief reservoir of most enteric bacteria that are pathogenic to man, no additional hazards from bacteria are expected in a mixed waste system. Some parasite eggs and cysts will settle into the bottom of the septic tank, but significant numbers will pass through and will remain viable. Retention with solids will minimize transmission through food and water. In all instances it is important to match land use and waste disposal carefully.     

Facile characterization of polymer fractions from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) for mechanical recycling

In view of the environmental problem involved in the management of WEEE, and then in the recycling of post-consumer plastic of WEEE there is a pressing need for rapid measurement technologies for simple identification of the various commercial plastic materials and of the several contaminants, to improve the recycling of such wastes.This research is focused on the characterization and recycling of two types of plastics, namely plastic from personal computer (grey plastic) and plastic from television (black plastic). Various analytical techniques were used to monitor the compositions of WEEE. Initially, the chemical structure of each plastic material was identified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Polymeric contaminants of these plastics, in particular brominated flame retardants (BFRs) were detected in grey plastics only using different techniques. These techniques are useful for a rapid, correct and economics identification of a large volumes of WEEE plastics.