10 07 29 Master thesis Juliana Leon - e-Waste. This guide

are mixed with common glass, or are not properly disposed of. This was confirmed
by the field survey, which revealed that CRT-monitors are frequently dismantled only
because of the copper yoke and some small metals parts that can be sold as metal
scrap, but CRT glass does not have an economic value (Figure 19). Sometimes
CRTs are broken in order to extract the “shadow mask” that represent some
hundreds of grams of iron and after that the glass is discarded with the rubbish,
mixed with normal glass, or even buried.
Figure 19: CRT-monitor abandoned in the "parque Simón Bolivar", after removal of the copper
yoke. Bogotá, April 2010.
Discussions with formal recycling companies reveal that in Colombia there is no
recycling market for CRT glass. What formal recyclers are currently doing is paying
for a safe disposal in a hazardous waste disposal site (428 USD per ton) 14 , to export
it for recycling abroad, or just to stockpile them waiting for a better solution. The
problem with exporting, in addition to transport costs, is that CRT waste is specifically
listed as regulated waste under the Basel Convention 15 and, thus, export requires
special permits.
The flows of CRT glass 16 within the formal and the informal sector as calculated with
the base scenario can be seen in Figure 20. In 2009, more than 1,100 tons of
14 According to Mr Javier Cardozo from “Rellenos de Colombia SA”, e-waste as “Non ferrous heavy
metals residues” are encapsulated in security cells for final disposal at a price of 830 COP per kg,
which is equivalent to 428 USD (Calculated the 11.06.2010 with an official exchange rate of 1 USD =
1,938 COP). Rellenos de Colombia SA manages a security landfill for hazardous waste located 3km
to the north of Bogotá.
15 www.basel.int, Annex VIII, A 2010.
16 In this study, the average weight of a CRT-monitor is 12 kg from which 6.45 kg is glass as show in
Table 7.
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