End-of-pipe Challenges within Waste Management Waste Management – a multidisciplinary field of knowledge and competence Associate professor Elisabeth Román, Narvik University College

Waste Management – a multidisciplinary field of knowledge and competence The waste concept – what is waste? “ At thing or product the holder has discarded or is going to be discarded” EU: Waste shall mean any substance or object in the categories set out in Anex 1 which the holder discards or is required to discard. Actual questions:  Is waste something no one longer wants?  At what moment is a product turned into being waste?  Who decide a useful product to turn into being waste? Waste management does not deal with these questions: When a product is discharged by the owner it is treated as waste regardless of the further quality of the product for further use.

Mobile life cycle 1. Production 2. Use 3. End of life Mobiles turned to be waste, is hazardous: Of ca 63 grams metal 99 % are: Aluminium (Al) Iron (Fe) Copper (Cu) Cobalt (Co) Zinc (Zn) Nickel (Ni) Tin (Sn) Crom (Cr) Lead (Pb)

A new mobile ”is born” Lifetime of mobiles in 2000? In 2010? What happens when it is turned to be WEEE? Producers responsibility? BAT for recovery and recycling? Disassembly Production Line? Taking care of heavy metals and plastics? Export to Africa or Asia? Sustainable production? Reverse chain management?

Incineration EU: Control of heavy metals and environmental hazardous compounds Landfill for hazardous waste Landfill or dump Diffuse spread of heavy metals and POP into soil and water EU: Controlled end- of pipe emissions into marine systems Heavy metals or POPs entering food chain Alternative routes

Alternative ways of waste management Increasing sustainability Sustainable production Waste minimizing: P roduct is made for long life-time Reuse and recycling: Product or part of the product is recycled into new products or energy Incineration: Mass loss, energy production and emmision control Landfill: Ultimate method for non-recyclabe products Some emmision control Dump: The ultimate method for non-developed countries. No emission control

WEEE burning at dump in Archangelsk

Geological delimitation of a landfill

Regional waste company in Narvik, Norway Landfill 1 - terminated (1997) Leachate – pipes into fiord Administration Landfill 2 – still under operation Pipe for burning biogas from landfill 2 Sorting station for waste

Leachate indicators for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Waste Electronics (WEEE)  Leachate reflects the content of the waste put on the landfill  In general the following parameters are elevated in leachate from landfills of MSW:  MSW Leachate Indicators: Conductivity, COD, NH 4 -Nitrogen, Iron (Fe), Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd).  WEEE Leachate Indicators: Aluminium (Al), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Cobalt (Co), Zinc (Zn), Nickel (Ni), Tin (Sn), Crom (Cr), Lead (Pb)  98,9 % of total metals in mobiles are hazardous

Challenges: Sustainable production (SP)  Amounts and new products of mobile phones has increased during last years  Producers intense competition to reach new markets is more important than SP  Producers responsibility is lacking  Turnover time is decreasing → more WEEE  Lack of open industrial systems  Lack of research within Reverse Chain Management

Challenges: Sustainable Waste Treatment  Lack of organized WEEE collection system  Large distance between Mobile-Producer and Mobile-Waste-Producer  Peoples tendency to ignore their own role as polluter

Challenges: End-of pipe for WEEE 1. Recipients  Marine systems  Fresh water  Ground water  Soil 2. Heavy metals are persistent  Tenfold up-concentration at each level in food chain  Animals migrations moves leachate pollution over large distances

Still optimistic! Thank you for attention!