Newly defined categories of WEEE have increased the types of China's regulated WEEE from 5 to 14. Identification of the amounts and valuable-resource components of the "new" WEEE generated is critical to solving the e-waste problem, for both governmental policy decisions and recycling enterprise expansions. This study first estimates and predicts China's new WEEE generation for the period of 2010-2030 using material flow analysis and the lifespan model of the Weibull distribution, then determines the amounts of valuable resources (e.g., base materials, precious metals, and rare-earth minerals) encased annually in WEEE, and their dynamic transfer from in-use stock to waste. Main findings include the following: (i) China will generate 15.5 and 28.4 million tons WEEE in 2020 and 2030, respectively, and has already overtaken the U.S. to become the world's leading producer of e-waste; (ii) among all the types of WEEE, air conditioners, desktop personal computers, refrigerators, and washing machines contribute over 70% of total WEEE by weight. The two categories of EEE-electronic devices and electrical appliances-each contribute about half of total WEEE by weight; (iii) more and more valuable resources have been transferred from in-use products to WEEE, significantly enhancing the recycling potential of WEEE from an economic perspective; and (iv) WEEE recycling potential has been evolving from ∼16 (10-22) billion US$ in 2010, to an anticipated ∼42 (26-58) billion US$ in 2020 and ∼73.4 (44.5-103.4) billion US$ by 2030. All the obtained results can improve the knowledge base for closing the loop of WEEE recycling, and contribute to governmental policy making and the recycling industry's business development.

Uncovering the Recycling Potential of “New” WEEE in China

A Review of Sustainable E-Waste Generation and Management: Present and Future Perspectives

The development of new technologies and the increasing consumption of electronic and electrical equipment have led to increased generation of e-waste in the municipal waste streams. This waste due to the presence of hazardous substances in its composition needs specific attention and management. The present study was carried out in Ahvaz metropolis using a survey method in 2011. For estimating the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated, the “use and consumption” method was used. In order to determine the amounts of the electrical and electronic equipment that were used and their lifetime, and for investigating the current status of e-waste management in Ahvaz, an appropriate questionnaire was devised. In 2011, the total number of discarded electronic items was 2,157,742 units. According to the average weight of the equipment, the total generation of e-waste was 9952.25 metric tons per year and was 9.95 kg per capita per year. The highest e-waste generated was related to air c...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10962247.2014.976297

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) estimation: A case study of Ahvaz City, Iran

Current status of waste management in Botswana: A mini-review.

The management of waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) is a major challenge in developing and transition countries. The paper investigates recent strategies to manage this waste stream in an environmentally sound way. Obsolete electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) are a complex waste category containing both hazardous and valuable substances. Many countries and regions in the world are undertaking extensive scientific research to plan and develop effective collection and treatment systems for end-of-life EEE. In developing countries such as Botswana, effective strategies that cover all stages throughout the lifecycle of products, particularly at the end-of-life, still lag behind. Infrastructure, pre-processing, and end-processing facilities and innovative technologies for end-of-life management of e-waste are noticeably absent due to lack of investment and high costs of its management. The objective of the paper is to present the e-waste situation in Botswana, highlighting (a) measures taken in the form of legislative and policy regulations; (b) existing practices to manage e-waste; and (c) effective solutions for e-waste management in emerging economies. Studies from other countries on e-waste management issues provided insights on the "best" technical and logistical pre-processing and end-processing strategies to treat hazardous waste. The paper also highlights key societal factors that affect successful implementation of cost-effective collection and value recovery of end-of-life EEE. These include unavailability of national "e-waste policy," absence of formal take-back system, absence of financing and subsidies, inadequate source separation programmes, absence of technical and logistical integration of pre-processing and end-processing facilities, and limited infrastructure and access to technologies and investment. Effective strategies such as an "integrated approach" (mixed options), access to technologies, establishment of pre-processing and end-processing facilities and optimization of logistics, optimizing diversion of e-waste from disposal sites, and investment in e-waste are suggested to manage this complex waste stream in an environmentally sound way.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10962247.2014.892544

Waste electrical and electronic equipment management in Botswana: Prospects and challenges

The purpose of this paper is to construct an approach and a methodology to estimate future outflows of electronic waste (e-waste) in Gaborone City and most importantly tertiary education and financial service institutions to estimate future trends in the generation of obsolete computers. Accordingly, the study utilizes Stanford Method proposed by IMS 1991. The method estimates future e-waste generation quantities by modeling their proportional lifespan and variation in the distribution of lifecycle and percentage usage. The present work considers the approximation of e-waste generation based on variance in the distribution of product life span, in the absence of reliable information on actual WEEE arising. By making prediction, this helps to make informed decisions to plan and develop strategies for collection, storage, treatment, disposal and recycling services in order to channel computer waste through environmentally sound waste management system to prevent environmental and public health impacts. There is a need to enhance the limited existing collection of statistics regarding WEEE at landfills. The result shows that computer waste during 2009–2020 is increasing sharply. The city of Gaborone is estimated to generate about 3574 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment in the year 2015, as compared to present generation of 658 tonnes. Management policy considering strategy of extended producer responsibility and establishment of institutional infrastructure for collection, storage, treatment, disposal and recycling should developed for the management of WEEE in the city of Gaborone.

L Wang

Papers

Estimation of waste electronic and electrical equipment arising in Botswana-A case study of Gaborone City