Environmental impacts of the Swiss collection and recovery systems for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE): A follow-up
Abstract
While Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collection and recovery have significantly gained in importance all over Europe in the last 15years, comprehensive studies assessing the environmental loads and benefits of these systems still are not common. In this paper we present the results of a combined material flow analysis and life cycle assessment study, which aimed to calculate the overall environmental impacts of collection, pre-processing and end-processing for the existing Swiss WEEE collection and recovery systems, as well as of incineration and landfilling scenarios, in which the same amount of WEEE is either incinerated in a an MSWI plant or landfilled. According to the calculations based on the material flow data for the year 2009 and a new version of the ecoinvent life cycle inventory database (ecoinvent v2.01), collection, recovery and disposal result in significantly lower environmental impacts per t of WEEE for midpoint indicators such as global warming or ozone depletion and the endpoint indicator Eco-Indicator '99 points. A comparison between the environmental impacts of the WEEE recovery scenarios 2009 and 2004, both calculated with ecoinvent v2.01 data, shows that the impacts per t of WEEE in 2009 were slightly lower. This appears to be mainly due to the changes in the treatment of plastics (more recycling, less incineration). Compared to the overall environmental impacts of the recovery scenario 2004 obtained with an old version of ecoinvent (ecoinvent v1.1), the calculation with ecoinvent v2.01 results in an increase of the impacts by about 20%, which is primarily the consequence of a more adequate modeling of several WEEE fractions (e.g. metals, cables or CRT devices). In view of a further increase of the environmental benefits associated with the Swiss WEEE collection and recovery systems, the recovery of geochemically scarce metals should be further investigated, in particular.
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Concentrations of gold and silver within printed circuit boards can reach ten times those seen in their respective ores.
“Concentrations of gold and silver within printed circuit boards can reach ten times those seen in their respective ores [189].”
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References 17 · Cited by 210
- Authors
- Wäger, P. A., Hischier, R., & Eugster, M.
- Affiliations
- Empa (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Wäger, P.A.
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-04
- Volume
- 409
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1746-1756
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2001788517
- Cited by
- 210
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 35.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DORA Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Recycling and Waste Management Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Municipal Solid Waste Management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
- Keywords
- electronic waste, environmental impact, incineration, landfilling, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, plastic recycling, global warming, ozone depletion, Eco-indicator 99
- MeSH terms
- Environment, Environmental Pollutants, Switzerland, Waste Management, Environmental Policy, Electronic Waste
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