Page 662 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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Electronics Waste 633
Recovered electronics equipment is recycled by a small group of companies due to the large
capital investment and substantial infrastructure required. In the United States, the five largest recy-
cling firms handle more waste equipment than all the other companies combined. In addition, elec-
tronics recyclers are geographically concentrated; half of all electronics recycling firms are in the
mid-Atlantic and midwest regions of the United States. (NSC, 1999).
The electronics recycling industry can be considered as a chain of handlers and processors
(NSC, 1999). The major steps in the chain are:

● Collection/separation
● Direct resale of computers or components
● Parts and materials recovery
● Smelting/refining of metals
● Other parties — resellers and not-for-profit organizations
Electronics recycling activity is expected to grow 18% annually between 1998 and 2007 (U.S.
EPA, 2002a). This growth will be from the entry of new businesses and increased handling volume
from large facilities. Estimates indicate that over 40 million units of electronic equipment will be
recycled in 2007, with notebook PCs and desktop CPUs experiencing significant growth in recov-
ery (NSC, 1999). A Carnegie Mellon report estimates that nearly 150 million computers will be
recycled in 2005 (Matthews, 1997).

22.6.1 RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION PROGRAMS
In order to establish a consistent and high-volume stream of electronics discards, adequate and con-
sistent collection is essential. The costs of residential collection and the inherently lower value of
obsolete consumer electronics create economic and logistical obstacles for the public and private
sectors. In recent years a number of programs have been tested to develop approaches to residential
collection to overcome these obstacles. The U.S. EPA and its CSI has developed such programs, and
several states have followed with programs of their own.
In the EPA pilot program, a variety of different collection models were evaluated including
curbside collection, drop-off events, establishment of a permanent collection depot (Figure 22.2),
and point of purchase (retail) collection. The weighted average of all electronics items collected by
the various programs was as follows (U.S. EPA, 2002a):
● Televisions (36%)
● Audio and stereo equipment (16%)
● Monitors (11%)
● Computers (8%)
● VCRs (6%)

Most of the collected equipment was outdated and in poor condition; therefore, it had low scrap
value and was expensive to handle. Items that contained CRTs predominated, which drove up pro-
gram costs. There were some notable differences in efficiencies and costs between the program
models used; for example, curbside collection yielded more pounds of material collected per resi-
dent, but high transportation costs resulted. Also, the cost per item collected was lower for 1-day
collection events due to lower transportation and operating costs. Net costs for the collection pro-
gram ranged from $0.17 to $0.50 per pound. The dominant costs were for transportation, demanu-
facturing, and disposal. Adequate planning and promotion were considered essential to the overall
effectiveness of the electronics waste collection program (U.S. EPA, 2002a).
Data regarding optimizing collection programs are still lacking in a number of areas, including:

● Up-front costs
● Operational costs