Electronics & Appliances Waste Management
Electronic waste (e-waste) is the most rapidly growing segment of the municipal waste stream. These products contain toxic materials such as lead, barium, mercury, and cadmium that require proper management. These are valuable resources that should be recovered.
E-waste includes:
- General electronic products: machines that contain toxic materials in component parts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that personal computers (including desktops, portables, and computer monitors), televisions, hard copy computer peripherals (including printers, scanners, and fax machines), computer mice and keyboards, and cell phones constitute the majority of electronic products in state and local recycling programs.
- Refrigerant appliances: machines that typically use ozone-depleting chemicals (CFCs, HCFCs, HBFCs, etc.) to regulate temperature such as air conditioners, chillers, refrigerators, and freezers.
There is a preferred hierarchy of management methods for the disposal of E-waste:
- Reuse: The best management method is to keep electronics and appliances in productive use as long as possible. This assumes, of course, that they meet current energy standards (Energy Star rated, etc). Reuse might entail finding new users for older items.
- Refurbish and Reuse: The effective life of an electronic product or appliance can sometimes be extended through repairs and refurbishment. Such activities can also boost local economy by providing job training and employment opportunities.
- Component Recovery: Items that cannot be reused should be dismantled in order to reuse salvageable components. There are growing markets for items like memory boards, microprocessor chips, and cathode ray tubes (CRT), that can be reintroduced into the manufacturing process.
- Raw Material Recovery: Non-reusable parts are also valuable as raw materials in and of themselves. These must typically be segregated by material type for entry into the commodities market. Further, all hazardous materials (such as batteries or mercury-containing bulbs) must be removed and disposed of in compliance with federal and state regulations.
Data on the amount of electronic materials subject to reuse and recovery is not publicly available. However, the EPA chart below shows researched estimates of the quantity of CRT-containing products (televisions and computer monitors) collected by U.S. recyclers going to the various end markets.
|
END MARKET
|
TONS / YEAR
|
PERCENT OF TOTAL
|
|
Resale “as is” or after some repair/upgrade in the U.S.
|
3,000
|
2%
|
|
Resale “as is” or after some repair/upgrade abroad
|
3,500
|
2%
|
|
Refurbishing or remanufacturing into specialty monitors in the U.S.
|
2,500
|
1%
|
|
Refurbishing or remanufacturing into new TVs or specialty monitors abroad*
|
107,500
|
61%
|
|
CRT glass-to-glass factories in the U.S.
|
4,000
|
2%
|
|
CRT glass-to-glass factories abroad
|
24,000
|
14%
|
|
CRT glass to smelters in North America for lead recovery **
|
10,000
|
6%
|
|
Plastic, metal, and other material recovery from demanufacturing***
|
20,500
|
12%
|
|
TOTAL
|
175,000
|
100%
|
BENEFITS
- Prevent emissions of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases from refrigerants, insulating foams, and other toxic substances
- Protects ground water sources by preventing the release of PCBs, mercury, oil and other toxic substances from landfill leachate
- Reduce needed landfill space and associated energy by keeping materials in productive cycle
- Decrease energy consumption by reducing use of virgin raw materials and haul trip
- Boost local economies by creating jobs for e-waste refurbishment, repair, collecting, sorting and processing
RISKS
Local governments often employ outside contractors to operate and manage their e-waste programs. This minimizes both the cost and physical risks associated with the collection and processing of potentially hazardous materials. Suitable measures must be taken to certify that contractors meet regulatory standards to protect their employees and to guarantee the proper disposal of materials.
EFFORT REQUIRED
The level of effort required to execute an e-waste program depends on the type of program being implemented. Some communities limit their e-waste efforts to designated collection events at which residents drop-off old appliances and electronics. These events require careful planning, effective marketing strategies, and minimal funding. Other programs provide permanent collection facilities or curbside collection, which are more capital intensive. In all cases, there must be a local or regional facility capable of receiving and processing the collected e-waste.
ACTION AGENTS
- Environmental Management Department
- Solid Waste Management/Recycling Department
- Public Works Department
COSTS
Historically, the costs of recycling programs have been greater than associated revenue. Revenues from e-waste end markets can be sensitive to market fluctuations. Nevertheless, there are steps that local governments can take to minimize their financial risk and even to realize program cost recovery.
Communities have pursued diverse methods of funding their electronics and appliance waste management programs. Some governments simply roll the costs of their recycling programs into their general solid waste budgets; others charge a recycling fee. Contract negotiations for outsourced programs can further minimize or eliminate financial risk to local governments and/or provide a new source of revenue.
In 2005, retailers in the State of California began collecting an Electronic Waste Recycling Fee at the point of sale which is then remitted to the state to cover the costs of collecting and recycling certain e-waste.
The State of Washington recently passed a law that requires manufacturers to pay for the costs of hiring vendors to haul away electronic waste plus reimburse the government .09 cents per pound for e-waste collection costs.
A measure of a building's or product's energy performance compared with that of similar buildings or products, as determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency / U.S. Department of Energy's ENERGY STARŪ Portfolio Manager. The collection, reprocessing, marketing, and use of materials that were diverted or recovered from the solid waste stream.Greenhouse gases are a part of the Earth's atmosphere and are both naturally occurring and the result of human chemical processes. The most common greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluourocarbons. These gases trap heat and thus contribute to the warming of the planet. See also CFCS and GREENHOUSE EFFECT.The ability or potential of a physical body to do work. The most common forms of energy are heat, light, mechanical (moving parts), and electrical.
