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D2.2 Analysis of the WEEE value chain

NEW_InnoNet | H2020 CSA | D2.2_RP_Report summarising the analysis of the WEEE value chain | of 30

Start date of project: 2015/02/01 Duration: 30 Months

Identifier: D2.2 Report summarising the results of the analysis of Electronics valuechain

Date: 2016/08/12

Class: Deliverable

Responsible Partner: VGW

Annexes: -

Distribution: Public

Title: Analysis of the WEEE value chain

The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 researchand innovation programme under grant agreement no 642231

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS STATEMENT

THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION, WHICH IS PROPRIETARY TO THE NEW_InnoNetCONSORTIUM. NEITHER THIS DOCUMENT NOR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL BEUSED, DUPLICATED OR COMMUNICATED BY ANY MEANS TO ANY THIRD PARTY, IN WHOLE OR INPARTS, EXCEPT WITH THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE NEW_InnoNet CONSORTIUM THISRESTRICTION LEGEND SHALL NOT BE ALTERED OR OBLITERATED ON OR FROM THIS DOCUMENT



TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................... 2

ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 3

Summary .....................................................................................................................................................4

1 Overview of the report .......................................................................................................................... 51.1 Objective ................................................................................................................................................... 51.2 Scope ........................................................................................................................................................ 6

2 Background information ...................................................................................................................... 82.1 State-of-art of WEEE recycling ................................................................................................................... 82.2 Composition of WEEE ................................................................................................................................ 9

3 Methodology for bottleneck analysis ................................................................................................... 11

4 Analysis of the WEEE value chain ........................................................................................................ 134.1 Actors.......................................................................................................................................................144.2 Operations ...............................................................................................................................................184.3 Products ...................................................................................................................................................21

5 Challenges and bottlenecks ................................................................................................................ 24

6 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 29



ABBREVIATIONS

BOF Blast (Oxygen) FurnaceCEN The European Committee for StandardizationCENELEC The European Committee for Electrotechnical StandardizationCFC ChlorofluorocarbonCRM Critical Raw MaterialEPR Extended Producer ResponsibilityELV End of Life VehiclesICT Information and communication technologyMCDM Multi Criteria Decision Making MethodologyMS EU Member StatesMSW Municipal Solid WasteOEM Original Equipment ManufacturerOPM Original Product ManufacturerPCB Printed Circuit BoardPE PolyethenePP PolypropenePRO Producer Responsibility OrganizationREACH Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals ( Regulation

EC 1907/2006)ROHS Directive (2002/95/EC) on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous

substances in electrical and electronic equipment /ECUHSS Ultra High Strength SteelWEEE Waste of Electric and Electronic EquipmentWFD Waste Framework Directive



SUMMARY

This report is about the analysis made on the value chain of WEEE to identify possiblebottlenecks hampering the goal to reach a Near Zero Waste EU. The goal is to analyse the valuechain of WEEE, through three materials (Metals, Plastics and Minerals) and to find bottlenecksthat can be solved through technological development and support from the EU.

These bottlenecks are the next step onto a roadmap addressing possible solutions to thosebottlenecks. In order to make sure that effort is put into the right place the bottlenecks areanalyzed and prioritized for use in the roadmapping exercise.

To create a solid base for the next steps in the NEW_InnoNet project it is needed to get a clearand good overview on all the actors and the performance of the WEEE value chain.

When looking at the analysis of the bottlenecks there is a big bottleneck in the way Electric andElectronic Equipment (EEE) is evolving with continuously smaller products containing anincreasing number of functions. This development is a bottleneck for the value chain becausesorting and detection are limited in their performance, and also components are rarely fit for re-use.

Because of this increase of complexity, the use of recycled materials is in low quality applicationsand thus creating not enough added value in the value chain to get those materials back.Overlooking the results of the analyses the following bottlenecks are derived as having thebiggest positive impact when overcome:

Inadequate detection/sorting for smaller quantities of material.Fast changing design and use of different materials.Performance of recycling technologies.Export of WEEE outside the EU.Low cost incineration for mixed streams plastics.



1 OVERVIEW OF THE REPORT

WP: WP2

Task : Task 2.2 Value chain analysis of the electronics value chain

Title : D2.2 Report summarising the results of analysis of the WEEE value chain

Version: Final

1.1 OBJECTIVE

Within the context of work package 21 of the H2020 project NEW_InnoNet, an EU near zero-waste stakeholder platform, an analysis is made of three selected waste value chains (WEEE, ELVand plastic packaging waste) to identify bottlenecks that hamper the minimization of wasteproduction within the respective value chain and to analyse the potential when these bottleneckscould be overcome.

The approach and methodology for this analysis is explained in more detail in a dedicatedmethodology report for the bottleneck analysis (NEW_InnoNet D2.1 2015) - which issummarized in chapter 3 of this report. The purpose of the present report is to provide an analysisof the WEEE value chain as one of the three cases to be analysed.

This is a final report including:The definition of the scope.Description of the applied methodology.A description of the value chain.Identification of bottlenecks.Analysis of bottlenecks.

1 WP2: Analysis of the value chains to identify best practices and bottlenecks



1.2 SCOPE

WEEE (Waste of electronic and electrical equipment) is divided into several product categories attheir end of life phase. The waste stream is regulated by the WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU), whichalso defines waste categories. In the original directive (Directive 2002/96/EC February 2003)there where ten types of electronic devices defined as WEEE.

Large household appliances.Small household appliances.IT- and communication devices.Consumer electronics.Lighting.Electric and electronic tools.Toys, electronic games and sport equipment.Medical devices.Measure and control devices.Vending machines etc.

The revised directive now only holds six categories:Lamps.Large electronic equipment.Small electronic equipment.Screens, and appliances containing screens > 100 cm2 diameter.Cooling, heating and demoisturisation equipment.Small ICT and communication devices < 50 cm.

WEEE is defined as all of these electronic products that are discarded after use. Within the scopeof this project we will work on the basis of this directive.

The directive is based on extended producer responsibility, i.e. the manufacturers and importersare held responsible for the end-of-life stage of their products. Within the EU, countries haveimplemented the directive differently. The basis for these differences lays in the difference ofEEE consumption, waste legislation, standard of living, technical infrastructure and the level ofconsumer involvement.

The WEEE can be collected by take-back systems, collection points in stores or collection centresat municipal level.



In addition to WEEE directive, the WEEELabex (the Waste of Electric and Electronic EquipmentLabel of Excellence) standards on collection, logistics and treatment are important for the WEEErecycling industry. WEEELabex standards have been developed through a Europeancollaboration between producers and recyclers of (W)EEE (WEEEForum 2016). The set ofstandards describes the proper ways of recycling WEEE. Since the first of July 2015, anyone wholikes to be a recycling or treatment center for WEEE requires the WEEELabex certification.

The European standardisation organisation CEN/CENELEC is currently working on WEEEstandards and technical specifications covering collection, logistics, treatment and reuse(CEN/CENELEC 2015, Namm A. 2015). The standards, first of which have already been published,are largely based on WEEELabex standards. So far compliance to these standards is notmandatory at EU level, although a few states have made it a legal requirement and compliance isalso supported by several associations in EEE value chain (WEEE Forum 2016).



2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

2.1 STATE-OF-ART OF WEEE RECYCLING

Every year, an estimated 9 million tonnes of electronic and electric equipment (EEE) arediscarded by consumers, businesses and governmental agencies (European Commission 2014,CWIT 2015). At this point, they become WEEE (Waste Electronic and/or Electric Equipment) andcan become a valuable source for secondary raw materials such as metals and plastics.

In order to recover the materials proper collection and recycling is required. A challenge forWEEE is that of those 9 million tonnes, only around 3 million tonnes are officially collected,treated and reported to the authorities (CWIT 2015). From the remainder, over 3 million tonnes istreated by unauthorized facilities in Europe, and over 2.5 million tonnes WEEE, used equipmentsand parts is exported, mostly illegally (CWIT 2015). A part, consisting mainly of small appliances,ends to MSW and is incinerated or landfilled. This situation is a large challenge for WEEErecyclers and EEE producers.

Figure 1 Collection rates achieved by EU member states in 2010 and 2012 (% of the estimated amount of WEEEgenerated). No data was available for Croatia. The figure is based on the data in the report on WEEE collectionrates (European Commission 2014).

According to the EU study on WEEE collection (European Commission, 2014), the collectionefficiencies vary strongly between EU member states. Both in 2010 and 2012 the collection rates

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

SW DK BG IE FI BE LU DE AT SK CZ NL

HU UK FR PL EE SI EL LT PT MT IT CY ES LV RO HR

2010

2012



calculated as percentage of the estimated total WEEE amount were over 50% only in fourcountries and over 40% in seven countries (Figure 1).

2.2 COMPOSITION OF WEEE

Electric and electronic equipments as well as the waste generated contain a wide variety ofcomponents and materials. Examples of materials which can be found in WEEE, include(Hagelüken & Corti 2010, European Commission 2015):

Base metals, the most common of them are iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and aluminium (Al).

Precious metals, such as gold (Au), silver (Ag) and palladium (Pd).

Special metals, several from which are categorised as critical (Critical Raw Materials,CRM2) for EU. They include for example indium (In), gallium (Ga), cobalt (Co), silicon (Si)and rare earth elements (REEs).

Technical plastics and other organics. A large range of different plastics is used and thereare also differences in plastic types between different WEEE categories (WRAP 2012).

Hazardous substances, such as brominated flame retardants, lead, beryllium, arsenic. Theconcentrations of several hazardous compounds in WEEE will gradually decrease due tothe legislative restrictions.

Other materials, such as glass and ceramics.

An example of simplified material composition of WEEE according to EU10 classification ofWEEE (Directive 2002/96/EC) is presented in Table 1. The most representative materials fromeach material group have been chosen for this classification by the writers of the report(European Commission 2015).

Over time, the composition of WEEE has changed and is constantly changing due to rapiddevelopment of technological solutions and more understanding of hazardous components.Plastics are replacing traditional metals, more exotic metals have been introduced and certainsubstances have been banned. There is also a trend to go ‘smaller’ and with that not only moreexotic materials are asked but the smaller amount per equipment provides a smaller value thatcan be recovered. (European Commission 2015, iNEMI 2013, Hagelüken & Corti 2010).

2 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_en



Table 1. Simplified material composition of WEEE for the EU10 categories. The composition is defined forestimated total WEEE generation (kt) in EU for 2018. The categories are presented in Chapter 1.2, page 6.However, category 5 has been divided to lamps (5a) and luminaires (5b)3

Category Fe,kt

Cu,kt

Al,kt

Ag,kt

Au,kt

Pd,kt

Plastics,kt

Glass,kt

Other,kt

Total,kt

1 2800 199 276 0.002 0.000 - 715 - 853 48432 402 63 41 0.005 0.001 - 466 - 169 11413 356 39 24 0.100 0.035 0.010 438 148 278 12834 514 62 63 0.276 0.020 0.010 296 318 221 14745a - - 21 - - - 23 135 23 2025b 302 71 18 - - - 13 - 1 4056 127 13 11 - - - 79 - 2 2327 6 5 2 - - - 82 - 20 1158 12 0 3 - - - 3 - 19 379 30 6 8 - - - 31 - 37 11210 15 2 2 - - - 8 - 15 42Total, kt 4564 460 469 0.382 0.056 0.020 2154 601 1638 9886Total, % 46 5 5 0.004 0.001 0.000 22 6 17 100

These and other developments and challenges will be further explained in the followingparagraphs. In the next paragraph, the focus will be first on the methodology for the bottleneckanalysis.

3 Luminaire is a complete lighting unit to which lamp is inserted



3 METHODOLOGY FOR BOTTLENECK ANALYSIS

A common methodology was developed for the analyses of the three value chains within thescope of the NEW_InnoNet project: End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV), Waste Electrical and ElectronicEquipment (WEEE) and Plastics Packaging. Due to the differences in data availability, themethodology was further adapted for each sector.

The overall objective of the analysis was to evaluate where and how the change towards nearzero-waste value chains can be made by overcoming the major bottlenecks of technical and non-technical nature. Secondly, the analysis should create a basis for subsequent project activities,including innovation roadmaps and strategic research and innovation agenda. A schematicoverview of the key stages in the analysis is given in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Description of the stages of analysis of the value chains to identify best practices and bottlenecks

The analysis consisted of the following research steps:

The current good practice value chains were described in order to enable identification ofbottlenecks limiting the performance in the chain and to enable collection of data for analysisand prioritization of the bottlenecks. The value chain covers whole the material cycle. Mainfocus is in the waste handling operations from waste discarding and collection to processingstages which prepare reusable parts or raw materials fulfilling the specifications of theprevalent manufacturing processes. Other parts of the cycle cannot be excluded because theyare linked and have influence on the performance of the waste value chain.

The bottlenecks, their causes and impacts were identified and described as explicitly aspossible. The bottlenecks were defined based on the project goal and scope as factors thatlimit transformation towards zero waste value chains.



The significance of the bottlenecks was evaluated based on criteria which describe the impactof removal of the bottlenecks. The following types of criteria were chosen and furtheradapted depending on the characteristics of each value chain:

a. Economic: Lost value and additional costs due to the bottleneck;b. Material efficiency: Losses of materials due to the bottleneck;c. Environmental: GHG emissions due to the bottleneck.

The criteria performance was evaluated based on expert opinion on the consequences ofeach bottleneck. The bottlenecks were prioritized using this information.

The results of the analysis per value chain were cross-linked to define commonalities betweenthe chains and bottlenecks, so that uniform solutions applicable to several waste streamscould be identified. This research step is described in the NEW_InnoNet report Commonmethodology for bottleneck analysis (NEW_InnoNet D2.1 2015).

Creation of a database of potential technological solutions of the bottlenecks to be used andfurther developed during subsequent project activities.



4 ANALYSIS OF THE WEEE VALUE CHAIN

The (W)EEE value chain is build up on the basis of where the materials; plastics, metals andminerals originate from, and how value is added in the value chain of the products up to theconsumer. Overview of the chain is presented in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3 Overview of the WEEE value chain

After the consumer phase there is a decrease in the material value, how further away the valuechain moves from the consumer. The blue processes are on the product being ready for a secondlife as the product itself, but with lesser value. The green processes are the WEEE processes in



which the WEEE product will be taken apart and at some point after the parts harvesting, it’s allabout getting a certain volume of a material.

4.1 ACTORS

Waste suppliers

Electronic or electric equipment (EEE) can become waste for several reasons. Of course, beforethis point is reached, the product might have been refurbished and/or re-sold several times. Butat some point, it may simply become outdated, with not enough value to sell it again as aproduct, or it can malfunction and not be economically worthwhile to repair. At that point, EEEbecomes WEEE and it should be recycled.

Stakeholders in this first step of the chain are:

Private Individuals: the consumer who decides to discard the equipment has several waysto do so:

o Hand it in at a municipal facility for recycling. These are usually part of theProducer Responsibility Organization (PRO).

o Sell it to a commercial collector or recycler. Depending on the equipment, somescrapyards pay up to 50 € for a piece of equipment. These facilities may or may notbe part of the PRO.

o Hand it in at any large retailer selling EEE.

Each should be at least free of charge. Unfortunately smaller electronic equipment endsup in municipal solid waste, so it is not recycled but landfilled or incinerated. It’s notalways common practice to discard smaller WEEE to recycling points because people donot always recognise the product as WEEE or because it is just easier to put them into themixed waste bin.

Businesses, municipalities, governments: in addition to consumers, businesses also useEEE. They have no obligation to recycle their discarded EEE and are free to choose theirown processor or recycler.

Equipment manufacturers, rebranders and importers: can have old stock or faulty newequipment. They are obliged to recycle this, and are free to choose their own recycler.

Associated Stakeholders:

[equipment owner- both consumers and businesses, municipalities, governmentsetc.][equipment manufacturers, rebranders and importers]



PROs

The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is under European Law assigned to organise takeback of its equipment, when it reaches end-of-life stadium. OEMs may either setup their ownsystem, or assign a third party to execute these regulations. The organisation on WEEE take-back is organised differently per country.

A Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) is collectively representing a group ofmanufacturers, to fulfil their legal requirements on management of waste arising. This allows theOEM to focus on their key objective, to design and market their products.

Multiple waste streams in Europe are falling under the European Waste Framework Directive.This standard-setting initiative of Europe has created waste stream specific European Guidelines.The ‘WEEE Directive’ requires OEMs to take responsibility on their end-of-life equipment, anddescribes some criteria. However, implementation and enforcement of the WEEE Directive is inthe hands of national authorities. Large differences can be seen between (generally speaking)Western and Eastern Europe, but all member states have implemented Extended ProducerResponsibility schemes for WEEE (OECD 2014).

It is obligatory for the PRO to inform the government on the recycling performance. The overallaim of the WEEE directive is a collection target of 45wt% of electronic equipment sold that willapply from 2016 and, as a second step from 2019, a target of 65wt% of equipment sold, or 85wt%of electronic waste generated.

Some Member States will be able to derogate from the new targets for a limited time, where thisis justified by a lack of necessary infrastructure or low levels of consumption of electronicequipment (European Commission 2014).

Associated stakeholders:

[EEE manufacturer] [Producer Responsibility Organisations] [Environmental authority][Enforcement inspectorate]



Recycling Companies

In general, WEEE is collected, dismantled and recycled, after which the ensuing materials orcomponents are recycled by specialised companies. Transport can occur between any of thesesteps.

Recycling companies have to meet the local and European legislation, but it is generally notnecessary to be part of the PRO. Recent studies demonstrate that on average one-third of allWEEE generated is collected by producer responsibility systems (EPR systems) and on averageanother one-third by commercial collectors (CWIT 2015, European Commission 2014. The rest isexported or ends to MSW treatment.

In general, recycling companies that are part of the PRO are Authorised Treatment Facilities(ATF), which means they are formally accredited, permitted and equipped to collect/ take backand/or recycle WEEE or material streams ensuing from WEEE. The main goal of this is to registerthe material flows and to ensure that certain standards for treatment are met.

Although metal producers who will use scrap as feedstock for their processes are not alwaysacclaimed to be ‘recyclers’, they actually are – similar to companies accepting non-metallic WEEEresidues (plastics, glass, rubber).


[Collection point] [Dismantling stations] [Recyclers of (dismantled) WEEE] [Scrap traders] [localauthority] [Specialist recycling company]

WEEE traders and brokers

Traders or brokers of WEEE are yet another actor, whose exact role and significance is unknown.These actors buy the WEEE from various sources and then sell them to other parties. These arenot necessary within the same country, and the ensuing export is not always legal. Thedestination of illegal exports is not known, but it is assumed that most of it is sent to Africa orAsia for some form of material recovery. The conditions in which the valuable materials arerecovered are not always safe and can also lead to environmental damage.

It is unknown how much WEEE is illegally exported in this way. This represents a challenge bothto the PROs, since they cannot close their mass balances, and to the legally operating recyclingcompanies, due to the unfair competition.


[EEE manufacturer] [Producer Responsibility Organisations] [Environmental authority][Enforcement inspectorate] [Dismantling stations] [Recyclers of (dismantled) WEEE]



Metallurgical Industry

After separation of the metals from other WEEE materials they are usually sent to themetallurgical industries for further refining and for use as raw materials. The metallurgicalindustries can be broadly divided into primary, secondary, and miscellaneous metal productionoperations. Primary production of metals involves the processing of ores to extract the metalsthey contain, and the mixture of metals, sometimes with other elements, to produce alloys.

Secondary metals refer to the manufacturing of alloys by utilising metals from scrap and salvage,as well as ingots. Miscellaneous metal production encompasses industries with operations thatproduce or use metals for final products.

Associated stakeholders

[Aluminium smelters ] [Copper Smelters, with or without precious metal smelters] [Blastfurnaces]

Other specialized material recyclers

In addition to metal smelters, other materials from WEEE are sent to specialized recyclers. Atsome point within the value chain, plastics are separated by type, compounded and thenreprocessed into products.

Depending on the source, glass can be sent to glass recyclers and glass producers, or it is sent toproducers of concrete building blocks.

Other WEEE specific materials are for example coolants, CFCs, oils, foam, concrete and mercury.All of these have their own recycling routes.

Associated stakeholders

[plastic recyclers][glass recyclers][miscellaneous specialized recycling companies]



4.2 OPERATIONS

Discarding

Electronic or electric equipment (EEE) can become waste for several reasons. Then the usersneed to discard the products into the waste value chain. The products do not always end up inthe WEEE stream as the original product because of reuse or refurbishment of components.

After discarding, EEE becomes WEEE and it should be recycled.

The collection rate depends on public awareness, user-friendliness of collection systems and onthe availability of recycling facilities, among other. For bulky WEEE pick-up services improverecycling rates and prevent illegal dumping. For small WEEE, the tempting solution for manyconsumers and companies is to simply dispose of the equipment in their mixed waste.

Collection

When EEE becomes WEEE, oftentimes it will still represent a value due to the materials itcontains. If not too many hazardous components are present, the material value can outweighthe costs of collection and recycling. This is especially the case for high-tech electronics and ICTequipment, which makes certain WEEE streams very attractive to collect and/or recycle. Due tothis, in some member states a part of the WEEE is collected or bought by parties which are notpart of the PROs.

This leads to the following unwanted situations:

Exact volumes of discarded and collected WEEE cannot be determined.

WEEE is not treated according to the standards of the PROs/ Best Available Technologies.

Illegal export.

The local requirements on collectors and recyclers as well as collection efficiencies vary stronglyper country. In certain EU member states, such as the Netherlands, WEEE can be collected orrecycled by any individual or company, as long as they meet all the EU and local rules andregulations. In other member states, such as Estonia, all collectors and recyclers are obliged tomeet the same standards. Another possibility is the situation in e.g. France, where all recyclersand contractors have to be part of the PRO.

The importance of proper collection is also emphasized for example in the UNEP report on Metalrecycling (UNEP 2013) as well as in the conclusions of EC study on WEEE Recovery targets(Seyring et al. 2016), which states that “the collection targets have a far greater influence on thefinal material recovered than the recycling and recovery targets”. The fact that only around 3million tons of the estimated total of 9 million tons in waste in electrical and electronicequipment (WEEE), was officially collected, treated and reported to authorities across Europe in2012, raises several concerns among the various WEEE-stakeholders.” (CWIT 2015)



Manual sorting & dismantling

After collection the recycling process usually starts with a sorting and dismantling step. Thesorting step is to ensure that similar equipment is treated together, allowing easier, moreefficient and more productive further treatment. Each recycling process will have its own specificrequirements for this; some recyclers might go so far as to sort small household appliances bytype, while others will only sort equipment based on their hazardous or valuable components andtreat the rest as one mixed fraction. Very important in this manual sorting & dismantling are theWEEE-Directive and the requirements of the Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment Label ofExcellence (WEEELabex) which describe the proper way of collection and recycling (see Ch. 1.2).

Dismantling can be performed for the following reasons:

To remove hazardous components, which may harm the recycler’s staff or equipment,e.g. inkjet cartridges are removed from printers and (rechargeable) batteries are removedfrom equipment to prevent exposure to toxic chemicals and to prevent (dust) explosions.

To remove valuable components or equipment, for the purpose of reuse.

To remove valuable components, for the purpose of recovery of maximum values.

To remove environmentally harmful components, such as CFC’s from refrigerators,mercury switches or plastics containing brominated flame retardants.

To optimise the recycling process, i.e. some materials are hard to separate aftershredding; therefore it may be easier to separate them beforehand to avoid problems inthe recycling process.

Mechanical processing

After dismantling, the materials are ready for mechanical processing. This may be done at thesame site as the dismantling or at a different location.

A piece of WEEE consists of many different materials which may be joined together by manydifferent connections, such as glue, screws, welds, etc. In order to sort the different materials,they first need to be liberated from each other. This is achieved by several shredding steps; usinga cutting motion and/or impact, the equipment is reduced in size and the first materialconnections become undone.

The materials can be separated based on their physical and even their chemical properties, suchas magnetism, density, conductivity, colour or composition.

Mechanical processing consists of the optimal combination and sequence of shredding andseparation steps. The end products are a ferrous (iron based) stream, one or more mixes ofseveral non-ferrous metals, perhaps some specific metal streams such as aluminium, one or moreplastics streams, and some material streams that are very dependent on the type of equipment.These other streams may be glass from television screens, concrete from washing machines,



insulation foam from refrigerators and many more materials. These are then further treated byspecialised companies.

Due to mechanical processing there is a side stream that contains low amounts of valuablemetals and is in a fine physical form (dust like). Due to the low intrinsic value and the difficulty inprocessing the dust in thermal processes, most of these volumes of valuable resources are stilldisposed to landfills.

Refining and end processing

The recuperated materials from WEEE – or ‘secondary commodities’ – are supplied to finalprocessors, in different quantities and qualities.

Shredded steel is sold globally to Electric Arc Furnaces (100% scrap) or Blast Furnaces (up to 20%scrap as a cooling agent). Aluminium is sold to aluminium smelters. The mix of other non-ferrousmetals is usually a mix of copper with other precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium,which is sold to copper smelters which also recover the precious metals.

Plastics first need to be sorted by type, which can be done at the first recycling site or at aseparate site. After this the plastics are compounded and are ready to be processed into newproducts. Because not all OEMs use the same type of plastic [PP (Polypropene), PE (Polyethene),ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) etc.] and if necessary also use flame retardants of differentkinds, these streams contain mixed plastics.

Sorting is done by using the float/sink method where plastics are separated based on theirdensity. The plastics are put through water bath with salt added to give the bath a certaindensity. The density of the bath is set on a level so that one plastic will float and others will sink.This gives a good quality of PE and PP separation, but the technical plastics will end up in themixed residue stream. This mixed residue stream is then incinerated as mixed waste with energyrecovery.

The other materials streams each have their own dedicated recycling process. Depending on theproduct and process, part of the materials cannot be recovered and are only suitable for energyrecovery in energy from waste plants.



4.3 PRODUCTS

Parts for Reuse

Though not very common, some parts can be reused. The most common parts being dismantledfor reuse are doors from washing machines, pumps and motors. These can be sold via physical oronline stores. Customers are generally consumers. Companies selling refurbished equipmentusually collect the required parts within their company.

Of course, the entire piece of equipment may be refurbished, but in that case it has not becomeWEEE yet.

Components for Recycling

Cables, electro motors, printed circuit boards, glass trays and other high (material) valuecomponents are dismantled or handpicked as soon the prices and extra purity of the handpickedmaterials justify the manual labour cost.

A new development is that producers are interested in recovering materials from their ownproducts. An example is known of a producer who asks recyclers to remove the plastic cases fromtheir own vacuum cleaners. These plastics are then recycled into their new products. The same ishappening for cast iron from washing machines. It is too early to say if this is a trend, but it is aninteresting development.

Secondary material streams

Secondary materials are the materials which originate from the product manufacturing and usechain, either generated as post production or postconsumer. Initially, economic value is the keydriver to recycle materials, but for some products the recycling targets determine the level ofrecycling of products.

The developments in both recycling and in the electric and electronic equipment itself have beenenormous in the past decade and this can be seen in the secondary material streams. Thefollowing developments have a direct effect on the quality and quantity of secondary materialstreams:

More and more materials are present in one single piece of equipment, and they are oftenintricately connected to each other (UNEP 2013). This poses a challenge because eachmaterial that is added also needs to be separated; so this calls for an additional separationstep in the recycling process, adds costs, decreases recovery rates and decreases purity.

Products contain minute amounts of materials: 0.1% or <0.01% of for example preciousmetals or rare earth elements. These low concentrations can make it hard toeconomically recover these materials.



Materials are used for which no full-scale recycling processes exist yet, such as rare earthelements (REEs). There is still a gap between the high-quality raw materials which arerequired by most of the current applications of REEs and the material quality which can bereached in the currently available recycling solutions. Therefore it is difficult to findmarket for recycled materials.

Metals are replaced with plastics, which are more difficult to recycle and are prone todown-cycling. This is because different alloys of one metal may be recycled together, butthis is not the case for different compositions of one plastic type.

The plastics used are being more and more high tech and are developed specifically forone product type from one producer. The properties by which plastics are separated forrecycling are not adequate anymore, since for example densities of different plastic typesnow overlap with the addition of fillers and flame retardants.

New EU legislation on hazardous substances, such as REACH (Regulation (EC) No1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation,Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) and ROHS (Directive 2002/95/EC of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use ofcertain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment), require traceabilityof materials and the ability to guarantee that no hazardous substances are present in therecycled materials. This makes it very difficult to find markets for certain materials,because OPMs do not disclose the composition of all the used materials in their products.Also over time legislation and/or specifications on products change concerning the use ofadditives. This makes that the whole volume of WEEE materials is not homogenous in itscomposition.

Examples of the substances hampering recycling include:

o Different flame retardants (Brominated, Aluminium Oxides): Due to the use offlame retardants in different electronics parts/products, the composition of thesecondary raw materials coming from WEEE processing will not be as stable asthat of virgin plastics. In addition, brominated flame retardants should be takenout of the system.

o Lead in WEEE, Electron Tube Glass: Glass from Electron tubes could be used assecondary raw material. Due to the fact that it contains lead and within REACHlead is defined as a critical material that has to be taken out of the system, thisglass cannot be recycled.



Refined material streams

The key distinction between metal processors (steel, copper, aluminium) and other convertors ofnon-metallic materials, is that the first have installed and organised themselves to reprocessscrap metal. But traditional plastics producers are not capable to take in secondary plastics withcontamination levels; instead, a new playing field has arisen of specialist plastics treatmentcompanies, which produce specified recyclates which are directly used by injection moulders andsimilar product makers.

Electric Arc Furnaces produce steel derived from 100% scrap metal, as well as by-products whichare concentrated in the slags. Blast (Oxygen) Furnaces (BOF) produce steel from both primary(80%) as secondary (20%) resources, steel scrap is used as a cooling agent to balance the furnacetemperature. High quality steel products (such as Ultra High Strength Steel – UHSS – used forautomotive) is created by BOF’s.

Aluminium and copper refiners often rely on scrap metal, although virgin materials are alwaysrequired to reach the optimum required quality. Due to high energy/electricity consumption,aluminium and copper recycling plants have only raison d’etre in case they are located in regionswith low energy pricing.

Treatment of residues, such as slags from steelmaking, gains relevancy since metals areincreasingly alloyed with more exotic and valuable metal alloys, which end up in the residues.



5 CHALLENGES AND BOTTLENECKS

The key objective of defining bottlenecks is to identify the main factors that hamper thetransition towards a near zero waste WEEE value chain. The bottlenecks have been identified byVGW experts based on consultation of representatives of WEEE recyclers.

Table 2 presents the key bottlenecks, describes the key challenge and main impacts on the valuechain of each bottleneck. A qualitative estimate of the impacts of bottlenecks is also presented.

Qualitative analysis of the impacts was chosen because clear and good data about the currentstate of recycling, potential volumes and composition of the WEEE waste stream was notavailable. The EU wide WEEE reporting covers only 33% of the total EU volume, and there arelarge differences between countries in practical implementation, monitoring and control ofcollection and treatment of the waste stream. The data available is mostly focused on someaspects of recycling, on the situation of one country or that of one individual recycling plant. Dueto the disintegration of the chain, the different actors mostly have data only about the volumesand performance of their own plants or operations. There are also challenges in transparency andreliability of the data.

The criteria for bottleneck analysis were chosen for the relevant aspects of the bottlenecks usingthe following criteria proposed in NEW_InnoNet D2.1 (Common Methodology for bottleneckanalysis) as a basis:

Economic: Lost value and additional costs due to the bottleneck;Material efficiency: Losses of metals and plastics due to the bottleneck;Environmental: GHG emissions and release of harmful substances due to the bottleneck.

Due to the challenges related to data availability, the evaluation of the bottlenecks wasperformed on qualitative level through consultation of experts in the field of WEEE processing,recycling and collection. Only the total effect to the higher level criteria was taken into account inthe evaluation. The criteria used were the following:

Economic Balance between the lost value and higher processing costso In order to gain more value from the waste material, improved refining or manual

dismantling is usually necessary, leading to higher costs. The economic criteriontakes into account the equilibrium between the lost value and the higherprocessing cost.



Material Higher volume of materials recoveredo In order to get more volume out of the recovery processes, one has to focus on the

materials that end into the residues of the WEEE value chain. The criterion takesinto account the material volume that could be recovered if the bottleneck isremoved.

Environmental GHG emissionso The GHG emission criterion is focused on the emissions from transportation and

processing of WEEE. Also here the evaluation of the impact had to be based on thejudgment of the experts, because due to the international trade of WEEE and thematerials coming out of the processing of WEEE it is not possible to give an exactfigure on GHG emission effect.

The evaluation of the bottlenecks was performed through consultation of experts in the field ofWEEE processing, recycling and collection. The impacts were estimated qualitatively using athree point scale: Low, moderate and high impact.

Low impact means that there will be no significant change in the criteria value when thebottleneck is removedModerate impact means that when the bottleneck is removed there will be some change.High impact means that when the bottleneck is removed there will be a significantchange.



Table 2 Description of bottlenecks, their main impacts and estimated level of impact.Bottleneck Description of the

bottleneckImpact of bottleneck Estimated level of impact

Economic Material Environ-mental

Illegal export of WEEEout of EU

WEEE can easily end toillegal or non-complianttreatment due to theleaks in official reportingand monitoring systems:

-Reporting obligationsmay not cover all theactors

- Inofficial collection e.g.with metal scrap (notreported as WEEE)

- Reuse is not reported oris poorly reported

- Information deficiencies

About 30% of totalvolume is not availablefor EU recyclers

Reduces feasibility ofrecycling in the EU

Risk of treatment inuncontrolled conditions,leading toenvironmental andoccupational safety risksas well as low recoveryefficiencies

Leads to inconsistenciesin reporting

High High High

Unregisteredtreatment within EU

The same as above Over 30% of totalvolume is not availablefor the PRO approvedrecyclers. However, thewaste is mostly recycledor treated by EU actors.

Loopholes in monitoringof efficiency andenvironmental safety ofprocessing

Leads to Inconsistenciesin reporting

Moderate Moderate Moderate

Different legislationand enforcementbetween countries

Large differences in thecollection systems,reporting and monitoringrequirements,codification, etc., make itcomplex to understandwhat requirements arefor legal operators

Deficiencies in EUstatistics, no certaintyabout internationalmarket volume, easier touse substandardpractices in the valuechain.

Moderate Low High

Unlevel playing fieldbetween PRO andnon-PRO approvedrecyclers

Only PRO approvedrecyclers are required toshow that they fulfil allthe requirements for PROapproved WEEE recyclers

PRO approved recyclershave to maintainapproval status withhigher cost

Low Low Low

Rapidly changingdesign of WEEE anduse of materials (lookand feel)

The composition ofWEEE is continuouslychanging. The fact that itis changing gradually,containing newer andolder designs, increasesinconsistency ofcomposition

No consistentcomposition of WEEEfor recycling, so suboptimised processes arein place. This leads tosmaller volumes ordilution of valuablematerials.

Low HIgh High



Bottleneck Description of thebottleneck

Impact of bottleneck Estimated level of impact


Components aregetting increasinglycomplex

- WEEE isgettingsmaller

- Morefunctions perWEEEappliance

In order to improveefficiency of equipmentsand reduce materialcosts, electronicsproducers aim forminiaturisation andmultifunctionality ofcomponents.Smaller amounts ofvaluables, increasingamounts of componentsand integrated materialsand components difficultto separate are used.

Amount of valuableswithin WEEE isdecreasing andcomplexity for recoveryis increasing

Increasing recyclingprocess developmentcost, and no certainvolume expectation

High High Moderate

No incentive forproducers to developrecyclable products

Recyclability is not apriority for productdevelopers because it isnot emphasized byconsumers or legislation.New designs may requireshift from well-definedand steady availablematerials andcomponents, whichrequires time and moneyfor development andprobably optimisationbetween currentpriorities andrecyclability.

Complexity of recoveryis further increasing

Valuable materials arelost due to difficultrecovery

Recycling processdevelopment costs areincreasing

High High Moderate

Lack of stability in therecycled materialsupply (volume – price– quality)

Due to the changingqualities and quantities ofinput material supply anddependence of the pricesof recycled materials onthose of virgin materials,it is difficult to keep thevolumes, qualities andprices of the recycledmaterials stabile

In development phase ofa new product it’s noteasy to align withrecycled materialvolumes

Low Moderate Moderate

Availability of low-cost energy recoveryand landfilling

In some EU countriesovercapacities ofincineration facilities andlandfills lead to low gatefees. This creates unlevelplaying field related torecycling

Easy to use solution,reducing wastequantities available forrecycling and thuseconomic feasibility ofhigh-quality recycling.

Low High Low

Recyclers focus on Recyclers usually Valuable materials are Moderate High Low



Bottleneck Description of thebottleneck

Impact of bottleneck Estimated level of impact


one material and therest is made non-recyclable

optimise their processesfor materials, therecovery of which istechnically andeconomically mostfeasible. Other valuablesend up to wastefractions, from which therecovery is not feasible.

lost from the system,because they are boundto residual fractionswhich are disposed orsometimes used in lowergrade applications.

Recycled materialpricing isbenchmarked withprimary materialpricing

Although secondarymaterials provide a highenvironmental value,compared to primarymaterials, this is notrewarded in the finalpricing of materials.Virgin materials,especially oil-based, aredominating price setting.When oil prices are weak,plastics recycling is facingeconomic hurdles.

Global pricing andpolitics drives thevolumes bought bymanufacturingindustries

Total environmental andsocietal benefit ofrecycling are notreflected in materialpricing

Moderate High Moderate



6 BIBLIOGRAPHY

CEN/CENELEC Work Programme 2016. http://www.cen.eu/news/brochures/brochures/CEN-CENELEC-WP2016_EN.pdf

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European Commission 2015. Study on WEEE recovery targets. Writers: Seyring, N et al. Available:http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/pdf/16.%20Final%20report_approved.pdf

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Extended Producer Responsibility, Position Paper by CECED, 30-5-2014. Available:http://www.ceced.eu/site-ceced/news/2014/05/CECED-Position-Paper--extended-producer-responsibility.html

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Nam, A. 2015. About European standardization and the WEEE standards. WEEE Symposium;Japan, November 2015.

NEW_InnoNet D2.1. Common Methodology for Bottleneck Analysis. NEW_InnoNet 2015.Available: D 2.1. Common methodology for bottleneck analysis.pdf

NEW_InnoNet D.2.3. Analysis of the End-of-Life Vehicle Value Chain. Deliverable of the projectNEW_InnoNet. 2016. Available: D2.3_RP_Report summarising the analysis of the End-of-LifeVehicle chain.pdf

NEW_InnoNet D.2.4. Analysis of the Plastic Packaging Value chain. Deliverable of the projectNEW_InnoNet. 2016. Available: D 2.4_RP_Report summarising the analysis of the plasticpackaging value chain2.pdf

OECD, 2014. The State of Play on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Opportunities andChallenges. Available:



http://www.oecd.org/environment/waste/Global%20Forum%20Tokyo%20Issues%20Paper%2030-5-2014.pdf

UNEP, 2013. Metal recycling: Opportunities, limits, infrastructure. Report of the Global MetalFlows Working Group. Available:http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/Portals/24102/PDFs/Metal_Recycling_Full_Report.pdfWEEEForum. WEEELabex. Available: http://www.weee-forum.org/weeelabex-0.

WEEEForum, 2016. Compliance with EN 50625: Position paper. Available: http://www.weee-forum.org/news/compliance-with-en-50625-position-paper

WEEELABEX organization. Available http://www.weeelabex.org/

WRAP, 2012. Electrical product material composition. Overview of updated data within themarket flows model of electronic products. Available:http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Electrical%20product%20material%20composition%20overview.pdf

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