EFFICIENCY OF TAKE BACK SYSTEMS FOR WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT IN EUROPE

摘要

In the past recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) was driven by economic factors, mainly by revenues from metal recycling. The removal of hazardous components as a cost driver was not in the focus of the recyclers. This lead to a situation, where a part of end-of life appliances from households and industry with higher metal content (mainly large appliances like washing machines) was recycled while the increasing amount of less valuable items ended up in mixed waste streams being landfilled or incinerated. Landfilling of WEEE leads to potential contamination of groundwater and a loss of resources. Incineration of WEEE as a part of a mixed waste stream has risen concerns about emission of pollutants (eg. dioxins), additional on this path resources are lost.