1. The best available technologies in e-waste management
CONFERENCE: DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR WASTE DISPOSAL IN KAZAKHSTAN ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN, IEC ATAKENT
Anahide Bondolfi

2. Structure of Presentation
Collection
Recycling process:
Composition of e-waste
Manual dismantling
Mechanical recycling
Best practices for dismantling and mechanical facilities
Hazards and pollutants related to e-waste recycling and best practices

3. How to collect e-waste?

4. Efficient collection strategies
The key to a successful model is to make it as convenient as possible for the consumers!
The collection models must rely on existing systems (informal collection, if existing)
A pricing policy must be implemented if the consumers expect value for obsolete equipment (avoid cherry picking)
Collectors should only collect, no transformation of any kind is allowed

5. How to recycle e-waste?

6. What is the typical composition of e-waste?
(example in Switzerland)

7. Composition of e-waste in Switzerland
TECHNICAL REPORT 2014 SENS Swico SLRS

8. Manual dismantling Mechanical recycling Pre-treatments units
Picture: Cablofer, Bex, Switzerland

9. Manual dismantling or mechanical pre-treatment?
Mechanical recycling
Tons of e-waste per year
Small and medium quantities (usually 200 to 2’000)
Important quantities (min 5’000 tons). If less, semi automatic facilities
Staff
One technician can dismantle about 10 to 40 tons of e-waste a year, depending on how far the dismantling process is conducted.
Little staff is required
Costs
Viable with low cost labor
High investment costs : 10 to 15 million USD
High operating costs (power consumption and maintenance)
Strengths
Very easy to adapt to downstream processes
Allows to remove easily pollutants
Economically interesting for important quantities

10. Recycling steps in a mechanical pre-treatment unit
Mechanical separation of plastic and metal
1. Shredding
2. Magnetic separation
3. Granulation
4. Eddy current
5. Density separation
Printed circuit board manually removed
(sometimes done after shredding)
Small pollutants manually removed
Manual sorting of material and removing of monitors

11. Outputs of the pre-treatment
Plastic, metal
local/ regional treatment
(plastic recycler, refinery)
Manual dismantling facility
Printed circuit board
International recycler
Collection system
Permanent collection points and awareness building to reduce stock and ensure future input in dismantling facility /recyler
(incl. refurbishment) Or
Mechanical pre-treatment facility
Hazardous Outputs (battery, capacitors,…)
International integrated smelter

12. Chemical treatment of Printed Circuit boards at Umicore, Belgium
Other plants are located in Sweden, Germany, Canada and Japan
Valorised:
Copper (15%), Nickel (10%), Silver (<1%), Palladium (<0.1%), palatine, Gold (<0.1%), Indium, tin, antimonies (<0.1%) , lead (<1%), bismuth (<0.1%), arsenic (<0.1%), selenium, tellurium, cobalt (4%), ruthenium (<0.1%), mercury, cadmium (<1%)

13. Best practices for dismantling facilities and pre-treatment units

14. Training and guidelines
Train staff to proper EHS procedures and use protective equipment
Check available technical guidelines and standards:
STEP
R2 Solutions
WEEELABEX
E-stewards

15. Keep track of the downstream vendors
Monitoring
Material flows must be weighed and registered at the entry and the exit of the dismantling unit
Keep track of the downstream vendors
Computers
Refrigerator
Television
Washing machine
= 100 kg
Dismantling unit
= 100 kg
Copper
Steel
Plastics
Printed circuit boards

16. Which hazards and pollutants are related to e-waste recycling?

17. Hazardous substances in equipments
Occurence in equipments
Possible adverse effects
PBDEs, PBBs
Flame retardants in plastics
Hormonal effects, under thermal treatment possible formation of dioxines and furanes
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
Condensers, transformers
Cancer, effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, endocrine system and other health effects
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)
Cooling units, insulation foam
deleterious effect on the ozone layer -> increased incidence of skin cancer / genetic damage
Americium (Am)
Smoke detectors
radioactive element
Antimony
carcinogenic potential
Arsenic
gallium arsenide inlight emitting diodes
skin diseases, decrease nerve conduction velocity, lung cancer
Barium
Getters in CRT
brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the heart, liver and spleen
Cadmium
NiCd-batteries, fluorescent layer (CRT screens), printer inks and toners
symptoms of poisoning (weakness, fever, headache, chills, sweating and muscular pain), lung cancer and kidney damage
Chromium VI
Data tapes, floppy-disks
irritating to eyes, skin and mucous membranes, DNA damage
Lead
CRT screens, batteries, printed wiring boards
vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, coma or even death, appetite loss, abdominal pain, constipation, fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability and headache
Mercury
Fluorescent lamps, some alkaline batteries, switches
brain and liver damage

18. Hazardous substances contained in e-waste: plastics and cables
Risk that plastics containing hazardous substances such as flame retardants will be mixed with “clean” plastics and will contaminate the plastic streams, resulting in diluted amounts of hazardous substances in consumer products made of recycled plastics.
Don’t mix e-waste plastic with other plastics
Inform your plastic recycler
Keep track of all downstream vendors X X

19. Hazardous substances contained in e-waste: printed circuit boards
If shredded: in mechanical recycling processes, there is a risk of cross contamination of other materials by the hazardous substances contained in the printed circuit boards
 One solution is to separate printed circuit boards before shredding (dismantling)
If left abandoned in a dumpsite and a landfill, the boards will slowly leach the many substances they contain into the ground and underground water
 No dumping, but export to a recycling facility

20. Hazardous substances contained in e-waste: monitors
All processes involving dismantling of appliances must be performed by trained workers
No breaking of lamps
Getter pill (Barium)
Back-light lamps in flat screens, and also photocopy machines (Hg)

21. Hazardous substances contained in e-waste: other components
 Hazardous components must be removed manually and securely stored and labeled:
Batteries
Capacitors (PCB containing)
Lights (mercury)
Misc (getters pills, mercury switches, etc.)

22. Hazardous substances released by e-waste recycling processes : wet chemical leaching
During manual and usually informal backyard recycling processes, emissions will occur from improper recycling practices. Additional agents such as cyanide, acids or mercury are used for the process  All processes involving chemical reactions must take place in industrial facilities

23. Hazardous substances released by e-waste recycling processes: open air incineration
Dioxin formation during burning of halogenated plastics
 All processes involving material incineration / melting must be banned!

24. Authorised value (VSBo)
Hazardous substances released by WEEE recycling processes: a proven contamination
Soil analysis in Delhi
Parameter
Measured Value
Authorised value (VSBo)
Indicative value
Investigation value
Alert value
[mg/kgTS]
Gold
< 5.0
Copper
7'740.0
40.0
150.0
1'000.0
Lead
54'900.0
50.0
200.0
2'000.0
Zinc
4'730.0
Mercury
< 1.0
0.5
Cadmium
1.6
0.8
2.0
30.0

25. Conclusions

26. All steps, including recycling, have costs
Collection
Dismantling / Pre-processing
Downstream treatment
Acquisition of the e-waste purchase prices of the collected material (i.e. tender offers, to scavengers)
Collection and transport transport costs, costs for take-back points, labour costs, investment costs (truck, etc.)
dismantling labour costs, training costs, investment costs and depreciation for equipment
administration labour costs, investment costs and depreciation for equipment
infrastructure & equipment investment costs and depreciation for real estate, tools, vehicles, etc.
Material recovery sales of recovered materials on the commodity market
Material disposal Cost for disposal / treatment of hazardous / non valuable materials
Transport and handling costs
 Need for a financing mechanism to do an environmentally sound recycling!

27. What to remember…
It is possible to start small, with low technology and labor intensive processes, and progressively upgrade to a more mechanized process with increasing volumes
If mechanical facility or manual dismantling unit, it mainly depends on the amount collected, so the priority is to ensure the collection!
The staff involved in collection and dismantling needs to be trained for OHS procedures (look at the guidelines!)
Manual dismantling to remove pollutants is always needed, even with mechanical facilities
Refurbishment is always a priority

28. Thank you for your attention!
Anahide Bondolfi
Thank you for your attention!