Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-05-25T17:33:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudia Adriana Kohl.pdf: 1912832 bytes, checksum: 980f4b4ab5b5338526ee01adf1d6cb31 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-25T17:33:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudia Adriana Kohl.pdf: 1912832 bytes, checksum: 980f4b4ab5b5338526ee01adf1d6cb31 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-16 / CNPQ – Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / FINEP - Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / A presente pesquisa teve como principal objetivo caracterizar e valorizar os resíduos de gabinetes de microcomputadores de mesa (desktops). Realizaram-se cinco etapas distintas: efetuar o balanço de massa dos gabinetes e de seus componentes; calcular as taxas de reciclagem dos gabinetes e de seus componentes; efetuar a caracterização dos elementos químicos dos materiais que compõe os gabinetes, e; classificar os resíduos conforme sua periculosidade segundo a ABNT NBR 10004:2004. Alcançaram-se as etapas por meio da desmontagem manual dos gabinetes, da separação e pesagem dos componentes, bem como dos materiais constituintes, dos cálculos das taxas de reciclagem, das análises químicas realizadas no Espectrômetro de Fluorescência de Raios-X e da comparação dos elementos químicos encontrados nas análises com os Anexos da ABNT NBR 10004:2004. Os resultados mostraram que os gabinetes de microcomputadores de mesa deste estudo, têm a massa média de 10,56 kg e que 81,71% desta massa é composta pelas placas mãe, pelas fontes de energia e pelos invólucros do gabinete (tampa, corpo e outras partes). Os outros componentes que são os drives de disquetes, drives de CDs, cabos IDEs, HDs e os coolers representam 18,29% da massa média dos gabinetes. A taxa de reciclagem obtida para os gabinetes foi de 96,66%, essa taxa representa a quantidade de materiais com possibilidade de ser reciclado nas amostras estudadas. Nas análises químicas efetuadas, encontrou-se o total de 47 elementos químicos da Tabela Periódica, entre eles citam-se o níquel e o antimônio (considerados elementos cancerígenos), o cloro e o bromo (considerados elementos halógenos), bem como o bário, o chumbo e o cromo (considerados elementos que conferem periculosidade aos resíduos). Logo, classificaram-se os gabinetes de microcomputadores deste estudo como resíduos Classe I (perigoso), conforme o método empregado neste trabalho. / This study aimed to characterize and enhance waste desktop computer, without screen. There were five distinct steps: the mass balance of the desktop computer, without screen, and their componetes effect; calculate recycling rates of the desktop computer, and their components; make the characterization of the chemical elements of the material that makes up the desktop computer, and; classified as a hazardous waste according to ABNT NBR 10004:2004 Solid Waste - Classification. Been achieved-through the steps: the manual disassembly of the case; separating and weighing the components as well as the constituent materials; the calculation of recycling rates; chemical analyzes by fluorescence spectrometry X-rays, and; comparison of the chemical elements found in analyzes of the Annexes to ABNT NBR 10004: 2004. The results showed that the desktop computer, without screen study, have an average weight of 10.56 kg and 81.71% mass consists of the motherboard, the power supply and the cabinet enclosures (lid and body other parts). The other components are the floppy drives, CD drives, IDE cables, hard disk and coolers represent 18.29% of the mean weight of the cabinets. The recycling rate achieved for the desktop computer, without screen, was 96.66% this rate represents the amount of material likely to be recycled in the samples studied. Chemical analyzes performed, we found a total of 47 chemical elements of the Periodic Table, of these, we mention nickel and antimony (considered carcinogens), chlorine and bromine (halogen elements considered) as well as barium, lead and chromium (considered elements that confer dangerous waste). Soon, classified themselves the desktop computer this study, as Class I (hazardou) waste, according the method used in this work.

Submitted by Fabricia Fialho Reginato (fabriciar) on 2015-07-30T23:41:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MartaBUBICZ.pdf: 2003103 bytes, checksum: 89ed3512b1024e1b433850665792b8b4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-30T23:41:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MartaBUBICZ.pdf: 2003103 bytes, checksum: 89ed3512b1024e1b433850665792b8b4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Nenhuma / As questões ambientais passam por uma valorização pelas empresas com uma intensidade muito grande nos últimos anos. Inovações tecnológicas geram rápida obsoletização dos produtos e grande volume de resíduos Eletroeletrônicos - REEE. Embora os programas de qualidade contemplem questões de controle ambiental com utilização racional de recursos, reutilização e descarte, os equipamentos eletroeletrônicos ainda não são tratados como prioridade e rigor necessário para seu descarte, com destinação adequada. Este trabalho, desenvolvido no Parque Tecnológico TECNOSINOS e em três empresas prestadoras de serviços, apresenta um modelo de avaliação e controle de desempenho ambiental nas operações de transporte, tratamento e destino final de REEE a partir da caracterização dos produtos pelo seu perfil de toxicidade, que deve ser monitorado. As três empresas que fizeram parte da pesquisa são: POLLO e CESMAR, nas operações de transporte, CESMAR E DC, tratamento e CESMAR e DC, na operação destino final. Os resultados mostram que as operações apresentam lacunas de desempenho importantes, tanto nos aspectos de atendimento à legislação quanto na definição das prioridades de ação. O resultado aponta um desempenho ambiental dos prestadores de serviço com os seguintes dados para duas empresas em cada operação: para as operações de Transporte de 83,2% para POLLO transportes e 58,9% para CESMAR; na Operações de Tratamento, um desempenho de 85,6% para DC e 92,9% para CESMAR; e para as Operações de Destino Final o resultado de desempenho foi de 83,9% para CESMAR e 89,3% para DC. A operação de Transporte teve o menor desempenho entre as operações analisadas. A avaliação de especialistas indica que aspectos importantes no gerenciamento do desempenho ambiental são os que tiveram em alguns casos o pior desempenho, enquanto que outros com menor impacto ambiental são tratados como mais importantes, apresentando os melhores resultados de desempenho. / Environmental issues go through a valuation of companies with very high intensity in recent years . Technological innovations generate rapid devaluation of products and large volume of waste Consumer Electronics - WEEE. Although the quality programs contemplate issues of environmental control with efficient use of resources, reuse and disposal, electronic equipment are not treated as a priority and rigor needed for its disposal, with proper disposal. This work, carried out at Parque Tecnológico TECNOSINOS and three service companies, presents a model for evaluating and controlling environmental performance in transport operations , treatment and disposal of WEEE from the characterization of the product by its toxicity profile, which should be monitored. The three companies that were part of the research are: POLLO and CESMAR , transport operations, CESMAR and DC treatment and CESMAR and DC operation final destination. The results show that the operations have significant performance gaps, both in the aspects of legal compliance and in setting priorities for action. The result indicates environmental performance of service providers with the following data for two companies in each operation: for operations Transport POLLO 83.2% and CESMAR 58.9% for transport; Processing Operations in a performance DC to 85.6% and 92.9 % for CESMAR, and Transactions of the Final Destination performance result was 83.9 % for CESMAR and 89.3% to DC. Operation of Transportation had the lowest performance among the transactions analyzed . The expert assessment indicates that important aspects in the management of environmental performance are those who in some cases had the worst performance, while others with less environmental impact are treated as more important, showed better performance.

Nas últimas décadas houve um incremento do uso de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos, que têm vida útil determinada por vários fatores, como o porte de equipamento e o comportamento do usuário, por exemplo. Quando estes equipamentos e seus acessórios são descartados tornam-se resíduos de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos (REEE). O objetivo desta tese é selecionar variáveis a serem utilizadas como base de um modelo de previsão de demanda para os REEE. O método de pesquisa adotado foi a pesquisa exploratória combinada com a pesquisa conclusiva, utilizando abordagens de caráter qualitativo e quantitativo. A parte qualitativa utiliza como técnicas de pesquisa a revisão bibliográfica, a revisão sistemática, o grupo focado e as entrevistas. Já em relação à parte quantitativa foram utilizados questionários, ferramentas estatísticas (gráficos e coeficiente de correlação posto-ordem de Spearman) e o método AHP. Foram elaborados cinco artigos científicos, que atingindo objetivos específicos, contribuem para o objetivo geral. O primeiro artigo visava obter informações sobre métodos e ferramentas utilizados para realizar a previsão de demanda de REEE. O segundo artigo pretendia delinear o cenário atual dos REEE do ponto de vista das responsabilidades dos stakeholders no processo de logística reversa. Os riscos e oportunidades decorrentes dos REEE foram abordados no artigo 3, fornecendo informações para o cenário do ponto de vista social, ambiental e econômico. Já o artigo 4 focou nas indústrias de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos do RS e buscou informações sobre a forma de produção, a composição dos produtos e ações destas indústrias para implantação do sistema de logística reversa para os REEE. No último artigo foi definido um conjunto de 21 variáveis que influenciam na logística reversa dos REEE e foi realizada a priorização destas variáveis. Como resultado, foram selecionadas 7 variáveis: estimativa de vida útil do equipamento (1º); Disponibilização de pontos de coleta de REEE (2o); Existência de um acordo setorial (3º); Número de equipamentos vendidos (4º); Incentivos para empresas de reciclagem/gerenciadoras de REEE na região (5º); Existência de empresas de reciclagem ou gerenciadoras de REEE na região (6º); Distância dos pontos de coleta de REEE (7º). / In recent decades there has been an increase in the use of electrical and electronic equipment that have life cycles defined by several factors such as the size of the equipment and user behavior, for example. When this equipment and its accessories are disposed, they become waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The aim of this doctoral dissertation is to select variables to be used as basis for a demand forecasting model for WEEE. The research method adopted combined exploratory research and conclusive research, with a qualitative and quantitative approach. The following research techniques were used in the qualitative part: literature review, systematic review, focus group and interviews. Regarding the quantitative part, the following techniques were used: questionnaires, statistical tools (graphs and the Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient) and the AHP method. Five scientific articles were written, which contributed to the general objective by reaching specific objectives. The first article aimed at obtaining information on methods and tools used to carry out demand forecasting of WEEE. The second article intended to describe the current scenario of WEEE from the perspective of the stakeholders’ responsibility in the process of reverse logistics. The risks and opportunities resulting from WEEE were the theme of the third article, which provided information about the scenario from a social, environmental and economic point of view. The fourth article focused on the factories of electrical and electronic equipment of Rio Grande do Sul, and collected information on the product composition and production methods of such factories, and their actions to implement a system of reverse logistics for WEEE. The last article defined a set of 21 variables that influence the reverse logistics of WEEE, and arranged these variables in order of priority. As a result, seven variables were selected: estimate of life cycle of equipment (1st); Availability of WEEE collection points (2nd); Existence of a sector agreement (3rd); Number of equipment sold (4th); Incentives to WEEE recycling/managing companies in the area (5th); Existence of WEEE recycling or managing companies in the area (6th); Distance between WEEE collection points (7th).

The work in this thesis aims to develop new systems for the more efficient recovery of metals from aqueous solution using solvent extraction. Understanding the underlying coordination chemistry to improve hydrometallurgical methods is crucial in order to meet the demand for critical metals for use in modern technologies, reduce the environment impact of recovery from primary mining deposits, and recycle valuable metals from secondary sources (e.g. mobile phones, WEEE). Chapter 2 examines the use of a simple primary amide that can load gold and other chloridometalates into a toluene phase through an outer-sphere mechanism. The loading of a variety of metals/metalloids from varying [HCl] is reported, highlighting the selectivity for gold over other metalates and chloride due to a combination of speciation of those metals and the relative ease of extraction of lower charged species (the Hofmeister bias). The advantages in loading/stripping, toxicity and mass balances compared to commercial alternatives are also outlined, in particular the efficacy of separating gold from a mixed-metal solution representative of those found in WEEE. The mode of action of the primary amide (and secondary/tertiary analogues) is determined using slope analysis, Karl-Fischer water determinations, NMR and MS measurements, EXAFS and computational models. The extraction occurs by the dynamic assembly of multiple amide ligands and gold metalates to generate supramolecular clusters held together through hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic interactions. The secondary and tertiary amides are found to be able to extract monoanionic metalates in a similar manner as the primary amide, although clustering occurs to a lesser extent. Whilst the secondary and tertiary amides are stronger gold extractants than the primary amide, they are not observed to be as successful when extracting from a mixed-metal solution. Instead, a 3rd phase is seen to form from these amides and some metals at higher metal concentrations, which removes the ligands from solution and prevents successful extraction of gold. Chapter 3 builds on an observation in Chapter 2 that a synergistic combination of a simple primary amide and an amine can extract chloridometalates that are typically difficult to solvent extract, such as iridium(III) and rhodium(III). These metalates, complexes with increased anionic charge and varying speciation in aqueous solution, are typically recovered last in a metal production flowsheet. The combination of a primary amide and primary amine was found to be the most effective at extracting the chloridometalates; the strength and strippability of the system is of particular interest in the context of rhodium(III) recovery as this metal currently is not extracted in commercial circuits. The mode of action of the system is investigated using similar techniques to Chapter 2, and reveals that the amine is the more important component of the synergistic mixture compared to the amide, with an improvement in extraction observed when both components are present. Rh(III) is extracted as a mixture of RhCl6 3– and RhCl5(OH2)2– complexes, dependent on the initial [HCl] concentration and the age of the initial aqueous solution. Chapter 4 investigates the feasibility of the recovery of lanthanides as anionic metalates from chloride-, nitrate- or sulfate-rich feeds. Reagents that have been found to be strong chloridometalate extractants, fragmented versions of these, and ‘classic’ commercial outer-sphere reagents are studied. The variations of ligand, anion type and concentration, proton concentration and solvent for the extraction of lanthanides is investigated. However, despite these permutations, no extraction of lanthanides is observed due to the difficulty in extracting more highly hydrated species and the lack of stability of the metalates in aqueous solution.

O uso de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos (EEE) tem se tornado tão inerente aos hábitos cotidianos que a demanda por novas tecnologias aumentou, impulsionando o desenvolvimento tecnológico. Assim, houve um aumento em sua rotatividade pela redução do tempo de vida útil, com a chamada obsolescência programada. Esta combinação resulta no aumento da geração de resíduos de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos, os chamados REEE, devido ao descarte após seu ciclo de vida. Os REEE apresentam composição heterogênea em termos de materiais, e podem representar um problema ambiental se forem descartados na natureza, entrando em contato com o solo e corpos hídricos. As placas de circuito impresso (PCIs) estão presentes na maioria dos REEE e apresentam uma ampla gama de metais em sua composição, o que justifica a motivação por aliar interesses ambiental e econômico com sua reciclagem. A prata está presente nas soldas das PCIs lead free e pode ser recuperada por meio da combinação de processamento físico e hidrometalúrgico. Após a purificação, o metal pode ser utilizado como precursor na síntese de nanopartículas de prata, que apresentam potencial para aplicação em diversos setores da indústria, justificando seu valor agregado. Neste trabalho, foi estudada e composição de placas de memória de computadores obsoletos por meio de um processamento físico de cominuição e quarteamento, seguido da caracterização física e química por meio de análise granulométrica, análise em estereoscópio, digestão em água régia e ácido nítrico, ensaio de perda ao fogo e análise em MEV/EDS e ICP-OES. Da fração metálica, 0,045% corresponde à prata, cuja recuperação foi estudada. Para isto, foi realizada uma lixiviação ácida em meio oxidante com H2SO4 2M como agente lixiviante e em 95°C em duas relações sólido-líquido (1:10 e 1:20) e tempos (8 e 12h), de forma que foi possível alcançar 97,3% de extração da prata com relação sólido-líquido de 1:10 em 12h. Paralelamente, o estudo da síntese de nanopartículas de prata pelo método de Turkevich utilizando dois precursores, AgNO3 e AgCl, foi conduzido, variando as proporções molares entre o precursor e o redutor em 1:0,25, 1:1, 1:1,3673, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 e 1:5, para avaliar as características das nanopartículas e sua estabilidade ao longo do tempo. Na síntese com AgNO3 como precursor sugere-se que as melhores condições combinadas foram referentes à proporção de 1:2. Na síntese com AgCl como precursor, embora nas melhores condições estudadas (proporção molar de 1:5) o resultado em termos de estabilidade, dispersividade e diâmetro médio tenham sido melhores se comparados aos ensaios utilizando AgNO3 como precursor, houve a precipitação de prata micrométrica que era indesejada. / The use of electrical and electronic equipments (EEE) has become so inherent in daily habits that the demand for new technologies increased, boosting technological development. Thus, there was an arising on EEE\'s turnover because of the reduction of the useful time, with the so-called planned obsolescence. This combination results on the increase of the generation of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE) due to discard after the life cycle. WEEEs have heterogeneous composition and may represent an environmental issue if discarded on environment, coming into contact with soil and water bodies. Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are present in most WEEE and present a lot of metals in their composition, which justifies the motivation on combine environmental and economic interests with recycling. Silver is present on the weld of lead free PCBs and can be recovered through the combination of physical and hydrometallurgical processing. After the recovery, the metal can be used as precursor on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, which present potential of application in many industry fields. In this work, the composition of memory boards from obsolete computers was studied through physical processing of comminution and quartering, followed by physical and chemical characterization through granulometric analysis, stereoscope analysis, aqua regia and nitric acid digestion, fire loss test and SEM/EDS and ICP-OES analysis. Of the metallic fraction, 0.045% corresponds to silver, whose recovery was studied. For the recovery, it was performed an acid leaching in oxidant media with H2SO4 2M as leaching agent in 95°C and using two solid-liquid ratios (1:10 and 1:20) and times (8 and 12h), and it was possible to reach 97.3% of silver extraction in 12h for solid-liquid ratio of 1:20. In parallel, it was performed the study of the synthesis of silver nanoparticles by Turkevich method using two precursors, AgNO3 e AgCl, with the variation of molar ratios of the precursor and the reductant in 1:0,25, 1:1, 1:1,3673, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 e 1:5, aiming the evaluation of nanoparticles characteristics and stability through the time. In the synthesis with AgNO3 as precursor, the combined results suggest the proportion of 1:2 as the best synthesis condition. In the synthesis with AgCl as precursor, even in the best studied conditions (molar ratio 1:5) the results in terms of stability, dispersity and medium diameter was best then obtained using AgNO3 as precursor in same conditions, there was undesirable micrometric silver precipitation.

<p>The European Union Member States has a common environmental policy. The intention of the environmental policy and the WEEE and RoHS directives are to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, protect human health and make use of natural resources. The WEEE is abbreviation for “Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment”. The WEEE directive purpose is to improve the reuse, recycling and recovery in order to reduce the amount of disposal of equipment and the contents going to landfill. The RoHS directive is abbreviation for “Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment”. The six restricted substances are lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium and two brominated flame-retardants; PPB and PBDE. The purpose of the RoHS directive is to approximate the laws of the European Member States on the restrictions of the use of hazardous substances in EEE, “Electrical and Electronic Equipment”. The common legislation is needed because the companies shall have the same terms of concerns.</p><p>The amount of EEE that the European Member States generate is growing rapidly and that is why a common waste management is needed. The content of hazardous components in EEE is a major concern during the waste management phase and recycling of WEEE. The landfills do not have the possibility to handle the upcoming volumes of waste and the rubbish incineration creates high levels of heavy-alloy metal in our surroundings. The WEEE and RoHS directives covers ten categories of EEE and the producer responsibility shall encourage the design and production of EEE, which take into full account and facilitate their repair, possible upgrading, disassembly, reuse and recycling.</p><p>The Commission has not drawn up distinct guidelines and boundaries for the EEE within some of the categories in the WEEE and RoHS directives. This makes it difficult for the producers of EEE to determine if their products are within the scope of the directives. The definition of “large-scale stationary industrial tools” is one of the most difficult definitions to interpret. This definition includes four points that the EEE shall comply with to be allowed as an exemption.</p><p>Atlas Copco and CP are two of the concerned companies that have products within the scope of the WEEE and RoHS directives. In the Atlas Copco group there are two divisions; Atlas Copco and CP. Atlas Copco and CP develop, manufacture and market industrial tools, compressed air equipment, construction and mining equipment and assembly systems. It is Atlas Copco and CP’s industrial tools and assembly systems, which are affected by the WEEE and RoHS directives. Due to this Atlas Copco and CP needs to decide which of their products that is within the scope of the directives. Some of their industrial tools and assembly systems are in the grey-area of the legislation. The purpose of this thesis is to interpret the WEEE and RoHS directives and review Atlas Copco and CP’s industrial tools and assembly systems. The author believes that the majority of Atlas Copco and CP’s industrial tools and assembly systems are not “large-scale stationary industrial tools” because they sells as single units which the customers combine as they wish, to get the accurate performance. The tools are furthermore handhold and driven by electricity through a cable or battery and the industrial tools and assembly systems are not permanently fixed. The author’s decision which industrial tools and assembly systems are within the scope of the directives differentiates from Atlas Copco and CP’s decision.</p>

<p>Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand that develop and manufacture electrical and electronic products are among other SMEs in the world meeting increasingly stringent legal and customer requirements related to environmental issues. Obstacles for the SMEs around the world to meet these requirements are almost the same in form of lack of knowledge, budget and resources. The differences between SMEs in Thailand and SMEs in the EU, Japan or even Korea are that these countries have been developed the eco-design concept and SMEs have been involved in eco-design activities for many years. This process and activities are new both for the SMEs and for the supporting institutes and organisations in Thailand. Thailand has just started to build up the infrastructure to support the SMEs to implement the eco-design concept and to work more with product related environmental issues. The focus right now for the SMEs in this research is to comply with the EU Directives, RoHS and WEEE, and this is where the main investments are made, e.g. in order to be able to export to the demanding EU market.</p><p>This research is investigating what kind of environment demands that SMEs in Thailand that develop and manufacture electrical and electronic products have on their products, how they handle these requirements and also what obstacles there are for implementing a more product related environmental concept, also known as eco-design, Design for the Environment (DfE), Green Design or Environmentally Oriented Design. A research in form of interviews and factory visits has been done with five different SMEs in Thailand. These five SMEs have also participated in the first official eco-design projects in Thailand with funding from the government in Thailand and also some from the EU. Interviews have been conducted with involved parties in these project such as institutes and experts provided by Universities. These interviews were made in order to get their opinion and experience about the present situation for SMEs in Thailand that develop and manufacture electrical and electronic products to work with product related green issues.</p><p>The research shows that these companies have the possibilities and conditions to work further on with the eco-design concept in the future. Their participation in the eco-design projects has been a good experience and there is evidence of strong support from the management and owners, environmental awareness, pro-active work and motivation among the companies. The obstacles are as mentioned above concerning lack of resources, knowledge and experience of how these environmental demands and requirements will affect the product development process. This lack of experience depends mostly on the fact that these eco-design projects are the first projects in this field for the companies. These five companies have now built up a fundamental knowledge but are still in need of further support. The communication between the SMEs and supporting parties are important and also one factor these five companies think is functioning well.</p>

The European Union Member States has a common environmental policy. The intention of the environmental policy and the WEEE and RoHS directives are to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, protect human health and make use of natural resources. The WEEE is abbreviation for “Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment”. The WEEE directive purpose is to improve the reuse, recycling and recovery in order to reduce the amount of disposal of equipment and the contents going to landfill. The RoHS directive is abbreviation for “Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment”. The six restricted substances are lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium and two brominated flame-retardants; PPB and PBDE. The purpose of the RoHS directive is to approximate the laws of the European Member States on the restrictions of the use of hazardous substances in EEE, “Electrical and Electronic Equipment”. The common legislation is needed because the companies shall have the same terms of concerns. The amount of EEE that the European Member States generate is growing rapidly and that is why a common waste management is needed. The content of hazardous components in EEE is a major concern during the waste management phase and recycling of WEEE. The landfills do not have the possibility to handle the upcoming volumes of waste and the rubbish incineration creates high levels of heavy-alloy metal in our surroundings. The WEEE and RoHS directives covers ten categories of EEE and the producer responsibility shall encourage the design and production of EEE, which take into full account and facilitate their repair, possible upgrading, disassembly, reuse and recycling. The Commission has not drawn up distinct guidelines and boundaries for the EEE within some of the categories in the WEEE and RoHS directives. This makes it difficult for the producers of EEE to determine if their products are within the scope of the directives. The definition of “large-scale stationary industrial tools” is one of the most difficult definitions to interpret. This definition includes four points that the EEE shall comply with to be allowed as an exemption. Atlas Copco and CP are two of the concerned companies that have products within the scope of the WEEE and RoHS directives. In the Atlas Copco group there are two divisions; Atlas Copco and CP. Atlas Copco and CP develop, manufacture and market industrial tools, compressed air equipment, construction and mining equipment and assembly systems. It is Atlas Copco and CP’s industrial tools and assembly systems, which are affected by the WEEE and RoHS directives. Due to this Atlas Copco and CP needs to decide which of their products that is within the scope of the directives. Some of their industrial tools and assembly systems are in the grey-area of the legislation. The purpose of this thesis is to interpret the WEEE and RoHS directives and review Atlas Copco and CP’s industrial tools and assembly systems. The author believes that the majority of Atlas Copco and CP’s industrial tools and assembly systems are not “large-scale stationary industrial tools” because they sells as single units which the customers combine as they wish, to get the accurate performance. The tools are furthermore handhold and driven by electricity through a cable or battery and the industrial tools and assembly systems are not permanently fixed. The author’s decision which industrial tools and assembly systems are within the scope of the directives differentiates from Atlas Copco and CP’s decision.

Title: Inventory Control of WEEE (Waste of Electronic and Electrical Equipment) Reverse Logistics in parts of China  --The HEA (household electrical appliances) manufacturers’ perspective   Background: With economic development, the requirement of public for enterprises and products has become increasingly rational. Price is no longer the only consideration of public, they also pay attention to other factors, such as energy conservation. The manufacturers face enormous challenges because of the late start of products recycling in China. So enterprises start to build their own recycling logistics system in order to have more competitive for themselves.   Purpose: The purpose is to describe the methods of inventory controls in the case HEA manufacturers and the problems of inventory controls, find out what problems exsist in the case manufacturers, then analyze what are the origins of these issues for HEA manufacturers as well as propose how these issues can be alleviated, and what methods would be suitable. By solving these research questions, the thesis tries to offer some suggestions about inventory control improvement not only to the cases, but also wider to the whole HEA manufacturers in China.   Method: Multiple - case study as research method has been applied. Specifically, two case companies, Chinese HEA manufacturers, have been selected. Two telephone focused interviews combined with open-ended interviews have been conducted with two related managers. The empirical evidence has been analyzed by using with-in case study and cross-case analysis method, then model analysis is applied.     Results, conclusion: First, the methods are not good enough in the two case companies, a new model is built to help inventory control in the case companies. Second, from external and internal perspective, the origins to cause the problems are a lot, but the main causes are environmental factors, and in busy seasons of these companies. Besides, for doing reverse logistics is a capital costing job, none of the enterprises would like to step in. and reverse logistics is in an uncertainty environment, doing so need to make sure everything clearly and orderly, or costs will be a large amount. The best way of improving inventory control of WEEE reverse logistics in China is that the enterprises standing together to restore the orders.   Limitations and drawbacks: For one thing, there are not enough previous studies references in China, this brought some difficulties of supporting the view points in the thesis. Two empirical cases are not persuasive enough to represent the whole China due to the limitation of the authors’ knowledge and the huge area of China. Nevertheless, the ideal model in model analysis is not that complicated, which means, for more complex problems and processes, the model would be lame.

Rapidly growing quantities of e-waste (WEEE) demand the increasing attention of environmental policy all over the world. Developing countries are particularly affected by recycling and disposal activities, which are deemed harmful to health and environment. Holistic or integrated approaches to WEEE policy are required. The paper discusses first recycling technologies for glass from cathode ray tubes (CRT) and printed circuit boards (PCBs) in Vietnam. Thereafter the German approach to WEEE policy is adjusted to allow for an integrated policy. This is then adapted to allow for the recycling of used monitors and computers. / Sự gia tăng một cách nhanh chóng số lượng các chất thải từ các thiết bị điện, điện tử (WEEE) đòi hỏi sự tăng cường chú ý tới các chính sách môi trường toàn cầu. Các nước đang phát triển bị tác động đặc biệt bởi các hoạt động tái chế, do nó ảnh hưởng xấu tới sức khỏe và môi trường. Các phương pháp tổ hợp và toàn diện đối với các chính sách quản lý chất thải điện tử (WEEE) là đòi hỏi cấp thiết. Trong bài báo này, trước hết phân tích đánh giá các công nghệ tái chế thủy tinh đèn hình (thủy tinh CRT) và bản mạch in điện tử (PCBs) ở Việt Nam. Tiếp theo là phương pháp tiếp cận các chính sách quản lý chất thải điện tử của Cộng hòa liên bang Đức được sử dụng để điều chỉnh cho thích hợp nhằm đưa ra giải pháp tổ hợp có thể thích ứng cho việc tái chế màn hình Tivi và máy tính hỏng, hết hạn sử dụng và thải bỏ ở Việt Nam.