SUbstance flow analysis of the recycling of small waste electrical ...

52 Substance flow analysis of the recycling of small WEEE
In the model illustrated in Figure 9, five collection channels were differentiated according to
the organisation responsible for the collection operations. Besides collective municipal
collection and individual producer and retailer collection, sWEEE can be collected by the
informal sector (waste pickers). Other initiatives like charity and small-scale pilot projects
aiming at collecting sWEEE are classified as “Others”. The non-separated collection of
WEEE, e.g. the disposal together with residual waste, is a reality both in the USA and in
Germany, even though it is explicitly forbidden by the German legislation.
Regarding treatment of sWEEE, it was differentiated between treatment carried out by the
formal and by the informal sector, which includes the illegal export (Figure 9). The flows of
sWEEE directed to reuse are considered in the model. The arrows RF, FR, IR and RI depict
the flows of materials going from reuse to formal or informal treatment and vice versa.
Materials going from reuse to treatment are for example damaged displays replaced by new
ones during refurbishing, so that the damaged displays have to be treated. WEEE sorted for
reuse out of the input of a treatment facility belongs to the materials going from treatment to
reuse (arrows RF and RI). Flows between the formal and the informal treatment are
neglected. The applied collection, reuse and treatment processes result in the precious
metals contained in WEEE being recovered, reused or discarded.
Figure 9
Model of the processes and material flows in the management system for sWEEE