Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Handbook

About this book

Electronic waste is a growing problem. The EU directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) aims to minimise WEEE by putting the responsibility on producers and distributors to pay for the costs associated with the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of WEEE. Therefore there is a need for information about waste electronics management. Part one introduces the reader to legislation and initiatives to manage WEEE. Part two discusses technologies for the refurbishment, treatment and recycling of waste electronics. Part three focuses on electronic products that present particular challenges for recyclers. Part four explores sustainable design of electronics and supply chains, part five discusses national and regional WEEE management schemes and part six looks at corporate WEEE management strategies.

Contents

Part 1 Legislation and initiatives to manage WEEE: Global e-waste initiatives
- EU legislation relating to electronic waste: The WEEE and RoHS directives and the REACH regulations
- The present recast of the WEEE directive
- The WEEE Forum and the WEEELABEX project
- Conformity assessment of WEEE take-back schemes: The case of Switzerland
- Eco-efficiency evaluation of WEEE take-back systems

Part 2 Technologies for refurbishment, treatment and recycling of waste electronics: The materials of WEEE
- Refurbishment and re-use of WEEE
- Shredding, sorting and recovery of metals from WEEE: Linking design to resource efficiency
- Mechanical methods of recycling plastics from WEEE
- Pyrolysis of WEEE plastics
- Chemical or feedstock recycling of WEEE products

Part 3 Electronic products that present particular challenges for recyclers: Recycling printed circuit boards
- Recycling liquid crystal displays
- Recycling cooling and freezing appliances
- End-of-life options for printed electronics
- Recycling batteries

Part 4 Sustainable design of electronics and supply chains: ErP, the European directive on ecodesign
- Sustainable electronic product design
- Reducing hazardous substances in electronics
- Examining subsidy impacts on recycled WEEE material flows

Part 5 National and regional WEEE management schemes: WEEE management in Europe: Learning from best practice
- WEEE management in China
- WEEE management in the USA and India: Research and education for a responsible approach to managing WEEE
- WEEE management in Japan
- WEEE management in Africa

Part 6 Corporate WEEE management strategies: Hewlett Packard's WEEE management strategy
- Siemens' WEEE management strategy
- The history of take-back and treatment of WEEE at the Philips Consumer Lifestyle division
- Creating a corporate environmental strategy including WEEE take-back and treatment

Customer Reviews

Biography

Dr Vannessa Goodship is Principal Research Fellow at WMG at the University of Warwick, UK. A Stevels is Emeritus Professor of Applied EcoDesign at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.