Does WEEE recycling make sense from an environmental perspective?

The production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. At the same time this also means that the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) will continue to increase in the coming decades. As it is crucial to obtain more knowledge about the environmental consequences of the different WEEE treatment options, a study examining the two Swiss take-back and recycling systems of SWICO (for computers, consumer electronics and telecommunication equipment) and S.EN.S (household appliances) has been conducted. The two systems, which are based on an advanced recycling fee, are well established within Switzerland. With a combined approach of material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA), the environmental impacts of these two systems have been estimated, including all further treatment steps, which transform the fractions either into secondary materials or into waste for final disposal. As a baseline, we have used a scenario assuming that no WEEE is recycled and hence only primary production for the similar amount of raw materials. The impact assessment is based on characterization factors according to the Dutch CML methodology. The results show that throughout the complete recycling chain the sorting and dismantling activities of companies are of minor interest; instead the main impact occurs during the treatment applied further downstream to turn the waste into secondary raw materials. Within the two systems in Switzerland, the collection of WEEE seems much more relevant than the sorting and dismantling activities. When comparing the environmental impact of WEEE recycling with that derived from the baseline scenario (incineration of all WEEE and primary production of the raw materials), WEEE recycling proves to be clearly advantageous from an environmental perspective.