Elektrokleingeräte – Von der Sammlung zur Sekundärressource

Abstract

ZusammenfassungElektroaltgeräte stellen mit einem jährlichen Zuwachs von 3 bis 5 % einen der am schnellsten wachsenden Abfallströme in Europa dar. Small waste electrical and electronic equipment -from collection to secondary resourceAbstract Waste electrical and electronic equipment is one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe with an annual increase of 3-5%. Goals and visions of the European Union aim at the prevention of electrical and electronic waste, sustainable resource management and a restriction of hazardous materials. The research presented in this paper, funded by the FFG, evaluates the material flows of small waste and electronic equipment along the full end-of-life process chain and associated material losses, from collection of the devices to recovered secondary resources. Key parts of the research were a review of novel approaches of collection schemes for small devices from households, and the application of a newly developed stochastic model to estimate the material composition of outputs from a pre-treatment facility based on the facility input (collected devices). In close cooperation with the operator of an Austrian pre-treatment facility batch trials were run and primary data collected. Results for the expected output from the facility generated by the stochastic tool were then compared to the actual composition.The end-of-life process chain indicates that -when taking into account the Austrian collection rates and stateof-the-art material recycling technology -28-31% of the material from small devices put on the market are recovered. In other words, 69-72% of the materials are lost. The highest losses (and thus the highest improvement potential) occur due to uncollected devices (41% losses) and in material recycling (30-36% losses). The review of collection schemes indicates that retail takeback systems and the collection in public spaces are promising approaches to contribute to a higher collection rate. The estimation of the output composition using the stochastic model provides a satisfactory accuracy for printed circuit boards, ferrous metals and plastics.