Electronic Waste Recovery in Western Australia

Extent of e-waste generation
What is e-waste?
Is e-waste hazardous?
Current disposal practices
Disposal to landfill
Disposal to alternative waste treatment facilities
Disposal to refurbishment or recycling facilities or charitable organisations
What are other reasons for recycling e-waste?
How much does it cost?
How is e-waste recycled?
What can I do?

Local Government Drop off depots in Western Australia
Where Electronic Waste can be dismantled and recycled in Western Australia
Where Electronic Waste can be refurbished (repaired or restored) Electronic Waste in Western Australia
National Television and Computer Product Stewardship Scheme

Extent of e-waste generation

Australians are some of the highest users of new technology in the world (1) and each year in Western Australia thousands of computers, monitors, photocopiers, fax machines, printers, televisions, and other electrical and electronic items become "obsolete". “Old” electrical and electronic equipment (“e-waste”) is generated from the rapid advance and uptake of new technology.

E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste types and subsequently the challenge is growing for governments, consumers, businesses, retailers and manufacturers in Western Australia to divert it from landfill and instead reuse, redistribute, recover or recycle it.

Discussions with the e-waste recycling industry throughout Australia and data collected from drop off collections across metropolitan Perth suggest that about 6 kg per person of e-waste is generated annually. If two thirds of the population of Perth have purchased or use electronic and electrical products, this equates to about 6,200 tonnes of e-waste being generated annually (2).
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What is e-waste?

Most simply, e-waste can be determined by everyday consumer items that contain electrical parts. E-waste can range from large household appliances to computers to electrical hand tools. The degree to which the range of e-waste can be recovered or recycled varies from state to state and country to country and is dependent on legislation, voluntary take-back schemes, collection / drop off methods, reuse or redistribution opportunities, recycling infrastructure and technology and markets for component parts.

In Western Australia, the most common forms of e-waste that can be recycled are:

Large household appliances (“white goods” such as fridges, washing machines, dishwashers);
Information technology equipment (computers, monitors, photocopiers, fax machines, printers, televisions, scanners, laptops);
Telecommunications equipment (mobile phones, mobile networks);
Consumer equipment (televisions, power tools).

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Where can e-waste be recycled in Perth? >>

Is e-waste hazardous?

Products that run on electricity have the potential to cause damage to human health and the environment if not disposed of in a safe manner. Depending on how e-waste is handled when disposed of and where it is disposed of, certain components of electronic products can be rendered hazardous. For instance, CRTs (cathode ray tubes) from PC monitors contain an average of 1.8 to 3.6 kg of lead, some of which could be released into the environment if not properly handled and recycled (3).

The safe recycling of CRT monitors is a particular issue for Perth. Those local governments in metropolitan Perth that provide recycling facilities for e-waste, and have supported periodic collection days, report that CRTs comprise at least 40% of the waste stream. CRTs are derived from PC monitors and television sets.

The diagram (Figure 1) outlines chemical components present in a typical pc and explanation as to their potential hazardous effects is provided below.

Figure 1: Chemical components present in a typical PC.

Polybrominated flame retardants: These are potentially soluble in landfill leachate and can accumulate in tissues of living organisms. There has been little medical research although dusts have been associated with harmful effects on liver, renal system and neural development (4).
Cadmium (Cd): Known to accumulate in the human kidney, is associated with bone disease and at only 1mg will cause harmful health effects on the respiratory systems of living organisms. More prevalent in older units.
Chromium VI (Cr6+): Easily absorbed and can produce various toxic effects including severe allergic reactions, asthmatic bronchitis. Can potentially damage DNA in cells.
Lead (Pb): Accumulates in the tissues of living organisms and causes acute and chronic toxic effects to nervous systems, brain function, digestive systems and renal systems.
Mercury (Hg): Accumulates and persists in the tissues of living organisms and can cause damage to the brain, endocrine and kidneys.

The following table contains the percentage by weight of key materials that comprise a standard personal computer.

Table 1: Average component composition of personal computer (5)

Material	% Weight	Material	% Weight
Silica	24.88	Bismuth	0.0063
Plastics	22.99	Chromium	0.0063
Iron	20.47	Mercury	0.0022
Aluminum	14.17	Germanium	0.0016
Copper	6.93	Gold	0.0016
Lead	6.30	Indium	0.0016
Zinc	2.20	Ruthenium	0.0016
Nickel	0.85	Arsenic	0.0013
Barium	0.03	Gallium	0.0013
Manganese	0.03	Palladium	0.0013
Silver	0.02	Europium	0.0003
Beryllium	0.02	Niobium	0.0002
Cobalt	0.02	Vanadium	0.0002
Tantalum	0.02	Yttrium	0.0002
Titanium	0.02	Platinum	Trace
Antimony	0.01	Rhodium	Trace
Cadmium	0.01	Terbium	Trace

What is the likelihood of hazardous materials causing harm?

Improper disposal and recycling of e-waste has the potential to cause human and environmental harm. The propensity for actual harm to be caused is dependent on the e-waste management and disposal methods.
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Current disposal practices

Larger corporate entities tend to have contracts in place with vendors of electronic products incorporating vendor take-back and reuse or recycling schemes. State Government established the ‘Common Use Agreement’ which stipulates that e-waste should be sent for refurbishment where possible and then recycling, and lists preferred contractors.

Across Western Australia, there are limited options for small to medium enterprises (SME’s) and consumers to dispose of e waste for the purposes of recycling. Items can be brought to e-waste refurbishment or recycling companies, however, these companies are not always located in close proximity to SME’s or consumers or indeed government offices. Furthermore, some consumers are unwilling to pay the fee to recycle items (often about $15) or require assurance on data security risks. Most recyclers either destroy hard drives and provide destruction certificates or have software in place that ‘wipes’ hard drives. An item for a PC generally consists of the computer box and peripherals such as keyboards. CRT monitors and items such as scanners and printers are generally considered as separate. TV’s are considered a separate item.

Discussions with the e-waste recycling industry and prior reports (insert ref) indicate that SME’s and consumers across Western Australia store e-waste prior to disposal. Some e waste is disposed of to landfill or alternative waste treatment facilities (AWTs), or transferred to the next user, brought to op shops, or brought to refurbishment or recycling companies. If managed inappropriately, each of these options has the potential to cause harm.
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Disposal to Landfill

A major driver to recycle e-waste is the concern over the fate of potentially hazardous or toxic chemicals such as those listed in Figure 1 when disposed of in landfill. In Australia, studies indicate that a large percentage of e-waste is disposed of in landfill. To date the limited number of scientific studies that have looked at the mobility of these chemicals in landfill has provided insufficient information to create broad agreement across the research community. Experimental testing conducted for the US EPA showed that many discarded e-waste items leached sufficient lead using regulatory testing procedures considered for hazardous waste (6). (Lead is not the only chemical of concern but is a substance that triggers the WA Controlled Waste Regulations).

A study by Kjeldsen et al (2002) (7) showed that metals are generally mobilised early on in the degradation phase. However, even if mobilised into landfill leachate, the potential harm that these chemicals could cause in a well managed landfill that has appropriate lining and leachate management is debatable. Work conducted for the US EPA on CRTs found that the content of the item (such as, the amount of plastic versus steel), played a large role in whether lead leached at sufficient concentrations to be hazardous (8).

Click to see full image of Electronic Waste before dismantling

Notwithstanding these findings, the potential harm to environmental and human health of placing significant quantities of e-waste into landfill has not been widely researched and the full implications of disposal in landfill are ‘unknown’. Any potential for harm is likely to increase with less well run and inappropriately lined landfills with inadequate leachate management processes. Regulations banning e-waste to landfill under the European WEEE Directive, and regulatory and policy initiatives by countries including the US, Canada, Taiwan and Japan to address the e-waste disposal issue, suggest that a precautionary approach is likely to be warranted and disposal of significant volumes of e-waste to landfill minimised in Western Australia.

Furthermore, longer term timeframes need to be considered in the management of leachate from landfills to the environment. Whilst a well lined and managed landfill cell may not leak leachate in the short term, the fate of toxins in leachate leaking into the environment over the longer term needs consideration.
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Disposal to alternative waste treatment facilities

A large percentage of household rubbish (municipal solid waste) across metropolitan Perth is and will be sent to AWTs for treatment. A study conducted by the US EPA (1989) (9) found that consumer electronics accounted for 27 percent of lead discards in municipal solid waste (MSW) with the tonnage expected to increase by 30 percent to 85,000 tonnes in 2000. A study conducted in the UK (10) analysed AWT compost-like output derived from MSW that was treated by autoclaving (11) and evaluated the results against the UK specifications BSi PAS100 for compost. The findings showed that the levels of e-waste in MSW feedstock appeared to be the main, single, potential factor for excessive (ie. non-compliant) amount of potentially toxic elements in the autoclaved material. This study also reports that concentrations of toxic elements are likely to be higher if MSW material is shredded during the treatment process.

Whilst these data cannot be directly translated to Australia, toxic components continue to be used in consumer electronics. Australia does not have legislation such as the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) to restrict the use of hazardous materials in the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment. As Australian’s are some of the highest users of new technology globally and as there are limited facilities to recycle e-waste in Perth, it is suggested that the presence of lead, cadmium, mercury and other chemicals in MSW is present and continuing to increase. The presence of these chemicals could affect the quality of the compost like output from AWT facilities.
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Disposal to refurbishment or recycling facilities or charitable organisations

The e waste recycling industry is relatively new in Western Australia and is characterised by smaller companies. Notwithstanding, investigations by the Waste Management Branch have found most e waste is transported to four or five larger companies and facilities operating in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Singapore. Discussions with these companies have revealed that e waste components are resold within Australia or transported overseas under Basel Convention conditions.

In disposing of e waste, it is important to deal with those companies who can provide information about the final destination of component parts, who have tracking and / or quality assurance systems in place or who are audited by multinational companies.

Click to see full image of Electronic Waste plastic separation

In May 2008, the UK Guardian newspaper reported that "thousands of discarded computers from western Europe and the US arrive in the ports of west Africa every day, ending up in massive toxic dumps where children burn and pull them apart to extract metals for cash "(12). This practice releases toxins identified in Table 1and causes human and environmental harm. Computers are sometimes sent overseas under programs for reuse (as working computers do not seem to be generally classified as a hazardous waste and so not subject to Basel Convention conditions), however, their final destination and use can be circumspect. As the Guardian reports, unscrupulous scrap merchants may illegally dump millions of tonnes of dangerous waste on the developing world under the guise of exporting it for use in schools and hospitals. Therefore any donations made to reuse programs should be made to those companies that can provide evidence of final destination and reuse of these computers.
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What are the other reasons for recycling e-waste?

Resource recovery

Examples of components arising from e waste include:

Printed circuit boards
Cathode ray tubes
Wires and cables
Mercury switches
Batteries
Light generators (e.g., lamps)
Capacitors and resistors
Sensors and connectors

Across Australia many electrical and electronic products are being disposed of in landfill sites and materials that could be recovered and reused for new products are being lost. Recovery of precious materials reduces the need to extract raw materials for the manufacture of new products. For example, Indium is being used at increasing rates in the manufacture of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens and PC monitors. Some estimates (13) have predicted that rare metals such as indium, used to form transparent electrodes in LCDs, have limited economic reserves. The US Geological Survey (USGS) agency states that whilst substitutes are available, they lead to losses in production efficiency or product characteristics. The table below, published in New Scientist (2007) (14) , provides resource reserves for element used in electronic items.

Table 2: Resource reserves at current global consumption rates

Element	Common Uses	Years Reserve	Proportion of consumption met by recycling
Antimony	Flame retardant plastics	30	0 %
Copper	Electrical connections, wire	61	31 %
Indium	LCD screens	13	0 %
Lead	Cathrode ray tubes, batteries	42	72 %
Nickel	Batteries	90	35%
Silver	Various	29	16%
Zinc	Batteries, galvanised steel	46	26%

Saving energy

Recovering rare elements from e waste not only conserves reserves but saves energy and lessens the embodied energy of electrical and electronic products if recycled rather than mined raw materials have been used. For example, aluminium derived from mining uses 20 times the amount of energy as recycled aluminium.

Diversion from unethical practices

The non-government environmental organisation Greenpeace has found that whilst exports can be in violation of international law, "inspections of 18 European seaports in 2005 found as much as 47 percent of waste destined for export, including e-waste, was illegal" (15) . There is a growing e waste problem in India with 25,000 workers employed at scrap yards in Delhi alone processing between 10-20,000 tonnes of e waste each year. It has been found that measures are not in place to safeguard human and environmental health in these circumstances.

Click to see full image of Electronic Waste circuit board separation

Encouraging 'Design for Environment'

In Europe and the US, initiatives and legislation requiring e waste to be recycled are driving ‘design for environment’ as opposed to ‘design for obsolescence’ technologies. Product manufacturers are now beginning to design products that are easier to disassemble and where components can be re-used in the manufacture of new products.

How much does it cost?

Mobile phones can be dropped off at various locations for recycling through the MobileMuster program or The centre for Cerebral Palsy. Fees do not apply.

Items can be dropped off or pick up services are available from most e waste recyclers. Fees generally apply with an item costing about $15 (computer box, television, CRT screen constitute etc. individual items).View the list of Perth e-waste recyclers

Computers, generally less than 5 years old with Pentium 3 processors or above, can be brought to several companies for refurbishment and distribution to schools, community groups and charitable organisations. Fees generally do not apply. View the list of Perth e-waste refurbishers (restore and donate)

Some Local Governments provide e waste recycling services and e waste can be dropped off at transfer station sites. Contact your local council for details and fees (if apply). Search for your local council

How much does it cost?

There are four broad methods employed by industry to recycle e waste, including:

Equipment dismantling - the manual separation of reusable and recyclable components.
Mechanical recycling - the removal of hazardous components followed by granulating or shredding and separation, in order to remove the recyclable raw materials such as plastic and ferrous metal.
Incineration and refining - metal can be recovered after the more combustible material has been incinerated.
Chemical recycling - precious metals such as gold and silver can be removed from printed circuit boards and components via chemical processes.

Equipment dismantling normally occurs in Western Australia by recyclers with components being sold locally, transported to facilities in other parts of Australia or overseas for further processing. Examples of components sold locally include: ferrous metals, aluminum and plastics. Some granulation of plastics occurs within Western Australia with the granulated products being sold to end markets across Australia and overseas. A good percentage of CRT glass is transported to a processing facility in Adelaide where the lead is removed and it is treated for reuse in the manufacture of television and computer screens. Other components are recovered by chemical recycling in New South Wales or Singapore to recover the precious metals. Further information on the processes can be found on e waste recyclers’ websites.

What can you do?

When buying new items, consider purchasing from those brands who have direct company recycling schemes in place or who are involved in broader ‘take-back’ schemes such as “ByteBack” in Victoria. Research manufacturers’ websites or contact the companies directly with respect to their end of life management practices.
When buying new items, choose ones which are durable, and which can be upgraded in the future if possible. Consider first if a current item of equipment can be upgraded, rather than being disposed of.
Rather than put unusable small appliances in the bin, take them to your local council landfill or transfer station where they can be added to other scrap for recycling. Not all e waste left for periodic vergeside collections is recycled; contact your local council for more details.
Dispose of unwanted mobile phones to outlets participating in the MobileMuster program or The centre for Cerebral Palsy

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References

ABS (2007), Australia’s Environment Issues and Trends 2007, ABS Catalog No. 4613.0:44
Based on ABS population data for Perth in 2008
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (2003), Fourth Annual Computer Report Card, (accessed 3 November 2008)
Darnerud, Per Ola. (2003) Toxic effects of brominated flame retardants in man and in wildlife, Environment International 29(6), Elsevier Science Publishers
Source: Meinhardt (2001), Computer and peripherals materials project, Environment Australia
Townsend, T., and Musson, S. (2006) Assessing the landfill disposal implication of discarded electronic equipment, Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 298-301
Kjeldsen, P., Barlaz, M. Rooker, A., Baun, A., Ledin, A. and Christensen, T. (2002) Present and long-Term composition of MSW landfill leachate: A Review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 32(4):297-336
Musson, S., Jang, C. and Townsend, T. (2000) Characterisation of lead leachability from cathode ray tubes using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure, Environmental Science and Technology, 34:4376-4381
US EPA (1989) Characterization of products containing lead and cadmium in municipal solid waste in the United States, 1970 to 2000, Office of Solid Waste Washington, Chapter 1.
Papadimitriou, E., Barton, J. and Stentiford, E. (2008) Sources and levels of potentially toxic elements in the biodegradable fraction of autoclaved non-segregated household waste and its compost/digestate, Waste Management & Research, 24:419-430
Autoclaving is designed to heat materials / aqueous solutions above their boiling point at normal atmospheric pressure to achieve sterilisation.
Wray, R. (2008), Breeding toxins from dead PCs, The UK Guardian, 6 May, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/06/waste.pollution (accessed October 2008)
Refer to investigations conducted by Armin Reller, a materials chemist and his team from the University of Augsburg in Germany.
New Scientist (2007), Earth Audit, www.newscientist.com, 26 May, (accessed December 2009)
Greenpeace, Where does e waste end up? http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/where-does-e-waste-end-up (accessed October 2008)