This thesis is a comprehensive study describing and quantifying material flows of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the Czech Republic; specifically the material flow of small waste electric and electronic equipment (s-WEEE) as well as representative substances. The studied material flows were estimated regarding aspects of the environmental impact. The End-of-Life mobile phone is seen as a typical representative of s-WEEE ; therefore material flows of mobile phones are described in this thesis as well. To put it in concrete figures, approximately 124 thousand tons of WEEE from households originated in the Czech Republic in 2010, where each inhabitant got rid off 4 pieces of WEEE in average. Further, total production calculating also consumer-like WEEE from companies and institutions was around 141 thousand tons in 2010. S-WEEE present around 15% from the total amount of WEEE originating in 2010; however it is more than 80% as regards the number of pieces. Despite of that fact the recycling potential of Au for instance is slightly higher by s-WEEE than by large WEEE (63kg/year compared to the 59kg/year respectively). As regards estimation of the total production of EoL mobile phones, around 45 thousand pieces originated in the Czech Republic between the years 1990-2000 and 6,5...

This thesis is a comprehensive study describing and quantifying material flows of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the Czech Republic; specifically the material flow of small waste electric and electronic equipment (s-WEEE) as well as representative substances. The studied material flows were estimated regarding aspects of the environmental impact. The End-of-Life mobile phone is seen as a typical representative of s-WEEE ; therefore material flows of mobile phones are described in this thesis as well. To put it in concrete figures, approximately 124 thousand tons of WEEE from households originated in the Czech Republic in 2010, where each inhabitant got rid off 4 pieces of WEEE in average. Further, total production calculating also consumer-like WEEE from companies and institutions was around 141 thousand tons in 2010. S-WEEE present around 15% from the total amount of WEEE originating in 2010; however it is more than 80% as regards the number of pieces. Despite of that fact the recycling potential of Au for instance is slightly higher by s-WEEE than by large WEEE (63kg/year compared to the 59kg/year respectively). As regards estimation of the total production of EoL mobile phones, around 45 thousand pieces originated in the Czech Republic between the years 1990-2000 and 6,5...

Electronic waste has become a growing concern in the world among governments, businesses, and consumers. These concerns are well founded as electronics waste presents economic, social, and environmental challenges. Economically, discarding electronic waste into landfills represents inefficient use of valuable materials and energy resources. Socially, improperly recycled electronic waste that takes place in third world countries with poor labor standards represents a moral dilemma for developed countries. Environmentally, electronic waste is a threat to all living organisms as it contains proportionally high levels of poisonous and toxic materials. To deal with these growing challenges a strong response needs to be made by all the stakeholders in the life-cycle of electronic devices. However, despite the apparent need, compared to the rapid increases in electronic technology that make it faster, more available, and more affordable, the technology to process electronic waste has not kept pace. This fact alone points to the inadequate funding, attention, and research that has been invested in the problem. Though it also points to an opportunity; the opportunity to build an efficient system to deal with the problem using what is already known about the lifecycle of electronic devices. Therefore, the goal of this work is to create a modeling tool to help stakeholders in the lifecycle of electronic devices understand the consequences of their choices as they affect the use of material and energy resources. To focus the research, LCD computer monitors are chosen as a case study. LCD computer monitors provide a level of sophistication high enough to be interesting in terms of the stakeholders involved, yet simple enough to provide a reasonable scope for this research that is still accessible to the layman As a corollary to this modeling effort, the relatively new systems modeling language SysML and ParaMagic, a program that integrates analysis modeling capability into SysML, will be evaluated. SysML was designed with Model Based Systems Engineering principles in mind thus it seems that it is a natural fit to the problem domain. Furthermore, testing SysML will provide insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the new language. The findings with respect to LCD computer monitors show that increasing the number of end of life options and the amount of monitors flowing into those options could result in substantial network wide material and energy savings. The findings with respect to SysML and ParaMagic are mixed. Although SysML provides tremendous modeling freedom, this freedom can result in increased upfront costs for developing executable models. Similarly, ParaMagic was found to be an effective tool for creating small executable models, but as the size of models increase its effectiveness tends to zero.

The aim of the thesis was to show that it is possible to develop a sustainable product of a discarded material and provide a framework for how to do that. A great amount of discarded material is today put on landfill due to its low value and difficulties to use. But putting the waste on landfill is the least preferred way of handling it, especially when the resources in the world are not infinite. It is therefore of importance that we find another way of handling the discarded material, which is why this thesis was written.  During the work has a qoute by McDonough and Braungart (2002) been kept in mind, reminding us, as product designers,  of the responsibilty we have  for future generations well-being.  “How can we love the children of all species– not just our own – for all time?” – McDonough and Braungart. 2002. Remaking the way we want things, pp 168. This thesis consisted of three phases. In phase 1 the plastic WEEEBR (a recycled plastic blend from waste from electrical and electronic equipment) was evaluated and a suitable product for it was found. Phase 2 started with a market research trying to find a market opportunity for that product. Thereafter several concepts for the product was developed. The last phase, phase 3, analyzed and evaluated the two previous phases in order to summarize the process and develop a method for how to put requirements on future products.   Phase 1 and 2 are shortly described, thereafter follows the analysis of them. The proposed method are exemplified with concepts and results from phase 1 and 2. The result of the thesis was a method based on following 6 steps: Agree to the company’s vision Evaluate what available material you have Evaluate your technical possibilites with the material Highlight a market possibility Set product requirements Develop the concept This method is generic and shall be used as a guide when developing sustainable products. Developing sustainable products include thinking about what material you have. It is worth thinking about if the product shall be produced locally, with local material and also how the material should be handled after it is used and at last where it ends up. / Waste to Design / Closing the loop

The informal sector is described as groups of persons who act in parallel to official waste management systems without official authorisation. Such informal activities can result in risks as well as benefits both to the environment and involved stakeholders, which explains the continuing lively discussions in politics, science and society. Transhipments of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are increasingly focused in Germany. In addition to informal exports via the port of Hamburg to countries such as China, Ghana or Nigeria, informal transports to Eastern European countries have been recognised for decades. This paper describes investigations regarding the characteristics, transhipped amounts as well as the eco-efficiency of informal sector activities originating from Eastern European countries, while thereby highlighting transhipments of used appliances to destination countries and a corresponding sale for reuse. Investigations reveal that a majority of informal collectors originate from Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania and are recognised across Germany. A high WEEE specialisation was determined, whereby average annual transhipped amounts are estimated at 77,000 tons. Collected materials are transhipped and partially sold for reuse. A case study considers the example of Polish informal collectors. The ratio between economic and environmental performance reveal that informal sector reuse activities in Poland achieve a higher environmentally sound performance in comparison to further usage of appliances under consideration. The informal collection of a television in Germany (and subsequent reuse in Poland) causes 8.34 kg less specific CO2 emissions per spend-costs (€) than the production, usage and further use in Poland. Conversely, a further use of a television in Germany only results in 2.2 kg less CO2 emissions per spend-costs (€). These results demonstrate that reuse as a result of informal sector activities can have a positive effect. Future electrical and electronic products available for reuse will have lower energy consumptions. A positive contribution to resource protection is thereby achieved while extending already short life cycles. Taking into account a dependency on collections with respect to their income, a pure ban of informal sector activities would therefore be socially counterproductive. A structured and controlled accomplishment of informal collection processes would open up new opportunities to enlarge the (already existing) concept of reuse at an international level.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 HOSOKAWA_Meire_2017.pdf: 20945810 bytes, checksum: d502972b6ec32a1366e3718adaf229a0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / In a technology-driven society, the increase of electrical and electronic equipment consumption has been a matter of concern in relation to its management, since the expectation is that the quantity of electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) produced worldwide will reach 49.8 million tonnes by 2018. The reprocessing of WEEE is an alternative to reduce the environmental impact caused by improper disposal. In this work, composites using recycled ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) copolymer from WEEE were developed, reinforced with jute fiber fabrics. These materials were molded by compression molding in a hydraulic press in order to evaluate mechanical properties (flexural, tensile and impact strength), melt flow index, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA/DTG) and fracture analysis by Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) after mechanical tests. It was observed in the thermal analysis that adding jute fiber fabric caused a decrease in the thermal stability of the composites in relation to the matrix. By mechanical properties, it was verified that, by adding jute fiber fabrics, an increase in flexural and tensile strength occurred up to 13% and 9%, respectively. In addition, it was observed in the impact test for notched specimens that no chances occurred in the maximum strength value about 100 J/m, which is a positive result, since recycled materials tend to present lower impact strength values. Fracture analyzes of the materials demonstrated that the incorporation of the jute fiber fabrics improved the molding process and compaction of recycled ABS. Thus, the incorporation of jute fiber fabric in recycled ABS demonstrated satisfactory results, enabling the substitution of synthetic materials in composites. In addition, recycling of ABS promotes the volume reduction of this type of discarded polymer and its reinsertion in productive chain, aiming, for example, new products such as panels, furniture, shoe soles and automotive components. / Em uma sociedade cada vez mais conectada, o crescente consumo de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos tem sido motivo de preocupação em relação à sua gestão, principalmente, porque a expectativa é que até 2018, a quantidade de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos (REEE) produzidos mundialmente alcance 49,8 milhões de toneladas. O reprocessamento dos REEE é uma alternativa à diminuição do impacto ambiental causado pelo seu descarte em locais inadequados. Assim, neste trabalho foram desenvolvidos compósitos utilizando o copolímero ABS (acrilonitrila-butadieno-estireno) reciclado proveniente de REEE, reforçados com tecidos de fibras de juta. Estes materiais foram moldados por compressão a quente em prensa hidráulica para a avaliação das propriedades mecânicas (flexão, tração e impacto), índice de fluidez, análise térmica por Termogravimetria (TG/DTG) e análise de fratura por Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV), após ensaios mecânicos. Foi observado, através da análise térmica, que a incorporação do tecido de fibras de juta ocasionou diminuição na estabilidade térmica dos compósitos em relação à matriz. Em relação às propriedades mecânicas foi verificado que a incorporação do tecido de fibras de juta ocasionou aumento na resistência à flexão e à tração, de 13% e 9%, respectivamente. Além disso, foi observado no ensaio de impacto das amostras entalhadas que praticamente não houve alteração no valor da resistência ao impacto, em torno de 100 J/m, que é um resultado positivo, pois materiais reciclados tendem a apresentar menores valores de resistência ao impacto. As análises da fratura dos materiais demonstraram que a incorporação dos tecidos de fibras de juta, melhoraram a moldagem e a compactação do ABS reciclado. Neste sentido, a incorporação do tecido de fibras de juta no ABS reciclado demonstrou resultados satisfatórios, viabilizando a substituição de materiais sintéticos em compósitos. Além disso, a reciclagem do ABS promove a redução no volume deste tipo de polímero descartado e reinserção do mesmo na cadeira produtiva visando, por exemplo, a confecção de novos produtos como painéis, móveis, solado de calçados e componentes automotivos.

The issue of the increasing amount of e-waste is a phenomenon of the 21st century. The amount of EoL mobile phones is growing rapidly but only a small amount is recycled. The thesis examines the environmental impacts of the Remobil project concerning the collection of phones that go to recycle. The impacts of the project are evaluated by the LCA method. Life cycle assessment is an important method of assessing the product that is part of decision-making at the international, national and local level, within the government and private sectors. The method provides complex outputs that can be comparable to other results. Modelling the impacts of the Remobil project provided a number of results. The comparison of the collecting boxes showed that the least impact on the impact category was caused by polypropylene boxes while the stainless steel boxes caused the greatest impact. The biggest influence on impact categories within the project was caused by transport, which was quite excessive due to the pilot phase of the project. It is also important to note the higher level of effort required for the per- kilogram collection of small electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) waste, such as mobile phones, compared to the collection of large EEE waste, such as washing machines. The Remobil project and recycling of...

The research aims at reviewing how mobile phone producers in the EU are approaching individual obsolete phone collection from private households in terms of the information provided on their websites, in addition to the collective schemes that they may be part of for complying with the WEEE Directive. In this study, competitive benchmarking was used to differentiate the accessibility level of take-back offers among the selected producers. The availability of the take-back offer and the penetration rate in the EU states are examined into a five-level metrics. The results reveal that producers have extreme offers on the availability aspect and diverging information coverage in different countries. It is inferred that a producer’s attitude toward the product take-back affects the accessibility of their take-back offers, which can be explained by several economic concerns; however, different methods in future research is needed to further investigate the reasons behind different producers’ choices.

O crescimento econômico e o avanço da tecnologia tem gerado maior produção de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos, cuja vida útil está cada vez menor. A troca constante de equipamentos tem levado a um aumento no descarte dos mesmos. Além da maior produção de resíduos, um agravante é o potencial poluidor deste tipo de resíduo devido aos metais pesados contidos neles, como o chumbo, mercúrio e cádmio. Contudo, apesar disso, há também metais nobres como ouro e prata, o que tem se tornado uma grande oportunidade de negócio para a indústria de reciclagem e os interessados nesta cadeia de resíduos de equipamentos eletroeletrônicos (REEE). Entretanto, apesar do mercado bilionário que gira em torno da produção e troca destes equipamentos, o descarte incorreto dos REEE tem consequências socioambientais muito sérias, como a poluição do solo e da água, o que causa implicações à saúde como doenças neurológicas, câncer e até a morte. Neste contexto, foi estabelecida a Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos (PNRS) (Lei 12.305/2010), cujo objetivo é dar a destinação ambientalmente adequada para os resíduos. Com novas obrigatoriedades legais, os envolvidos na cadeia de produção, consumo e descarte dos eletroeletrônicos estão tendo que se reorganizar para manter-se neste mercado. Por isso, o objetivo deste estudo foi entender e mapear o campo no qual os REEE estão inseridos. Ou seja, conhecer quais atores fazem parte deste campo; como se relacionam; quais são os interesses e disputas; como tudo isso está relacionado; como se organiza e quais os campos próximos que interferem nele. A pesquisa se baseou na teoria de campos de Fligstein e McAdam (2012) para entender a existência do campo de ação estratégica estudado, seu estado e características. Foi feito o levantamento de dados através de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. Utilizou-se da observação participante e a entrevista semiestruturada com os principais atores do campo de ação estratégico dos REEE identificados, com apoio de um roteiro. Pôde-se perceber a existência do campo de REEE, como se estabeleceu a crise no mesmo e como isso tem transformado o campo. Foram identificados uma série de atores que participam do fenômeno de transformação do campo de ação estratégica dos REEE: Universidade, empresas, sociedade civil e governo, além de dois campos próximos que exercem influência no campo estudado, o Mercado de EEE e a Indústria internacional de reciclagem de REEE. O Estado se mostrou muito influente no campo de REEE. Os atores e campos envolvidos desejam, portanto, a recuperação destes REEE para a reciclagem, devido, principalmente, às vantagens econômicas que a reciclagem proporciona a eles. A forma de fazer a recuperação dos REEE é o que tem sido discutido e está em disputa no campo. Diversos entraves foram observados para a gestão dos REEE no contexto brasileiro, mas a principal questão foi a necessidade de investimentos, incentivos e ações conjuntas, colaborativas e concomitantes para possibilitar a gestão efetiva dos REEE. Assim, a forma como a responsabilidade compartilhada, em especial o acordo setorial, vem sendo empregados não se mostram suficiente para a gestão dos REEE. Observou-se a necessidade de uma mudança de paradigma no que tange as questões de produção, consumo, troca e descarte dos REEE no contexto brasileiro. / Economic growth and the advancement of technology have generated greater production of electrical and electronic equipment, with a shorter service life. The constant exchange of equipment has led to an increase in their disposal. In addition to increased waste production, an aggravating factor is the potential for this type of waste to be polluted due to the heavy metals contained in them, such as lead, mercury and cadmium. However, despite this, there are also noble metals such as gold and silver, which has become a great business opportunity for the recycling industry and those interested in this waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) chain. However, in spite of the billion dollar market that revolves around the production and exchange of these equipments, the incorrect disposal of WEEE has very serious socio-environmental consequences, such as soil and water pollution, which causes health implications such as neurological diseases, cancer and even the death. In this context, the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) (Law 12.305/2010) was established, whose objective is to provide the environmentally appropriate destination for the waste. With new legal mandates, those involved in the chain of production, consumption and disposal of consumer electronics are having to reorganize to stay in this market. Therefore, the objective of this study was to understand and map the field in which WEEE are inserted. That is, to know which actors are part of this field; how they relate; what are the interests and disputes; how all this is related; how it is organized, and what nearby fields interfere with it. The research was based on the field theory of Fligstein and McAdam (2012) to understand the existence of the field of strategic action studied, its state and characteristics. Data collection was done through bibliographical and documentary research. Participant observation and the semi-structured interview with the main actors of the strategic action area of the WEEE identified were used, with the support of a script. It was possible to perceive the existence of the field of WEEE, as it was established the crisis in the same one and how this has transformed the field. A number of actors have been identified in the phenomenon of transformation of WEEE\'s strategic field of action: University, companies, civil society and government, as well as two close fields that influence the field studied, the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Market and the International Industry of recycling of WEEE. The state proved to be very influential in the field of WEEE. The actors and fields involved therefore want the recovery of these WEEE for recycling, mainly due to the economic benefits that recycling provides them. The way to do WEEE recovery is what has been discussed and is in dispute in the field. Several barriers were observed for the management of WEEE in the Brazilian context, but the main issue was the need for investments, incentives and joint, collaborative and concomitant actions to enable the effective management of WEEE. Thus, the way shared responsibility has been used does not prove to be sufficient for the management of WEEE. It was observed the need for a paradigm shift in the issues of consumption, exchange and disposal of WEEE in the Brazilian context.

Submitted by admin tede (tede@pucgoias.edu.br) on 2017-03-23T17:57:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIEGO DE CASTILHO SUCKOW MAGALHAES.pdf: 1368609 bytes, checksum: 5b7bf5336a8796459dad66c2db4b727d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-23T17:57:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIEGO DE CASTILHO SUCKOW MAGALHAES.pdf: 1368609 bytes, checksum: 5b7bf5336a8796459dad66c2db4b727d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-11 / This study has been dedicated to Master's Degree in Law, International Relations and Development, on Academic Master's Degree of the Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás and presents an ste: electronics waste e- this scientific study is to identify the reality that permeates the waste of electronics internationally and nationally, combining the available data, identify the risks and to point out need for environmental management and the adequate way to handle ewaste, not only by the government but throughout society, primarily those involved in the production of electrical and electronic products. In face of the domestic and foreign situation will become clear that electronic products are discarded as scrap after its useful life, sometimes inappropriately, given the governmental omission of some States and the lack of specifications for the management and handling of e-waste. In this sense, it has been elucidated critical and positive aspects of domestic and foreign legal policies to the objects of analysis. It matters because the perception of how important the care of the e-waste and how large are the implications and consequences of improper waste management. Remain to be highlighted specific initiatives on recycling and final destination of e-waste for prevention of environmental pollution. And particularly with a view to environmental protection, enable to foster intelligible discussions to provide to government, business and society robust scientific evidence in order to effectuate the mechanisms of protection and control of disposal of electrical and electronic equipment waste. The methodology applied to the academic endeavor is a hypothetical-deductive effort, which is part of a rational analysis of specific and general factors in order to show the reality about the foreign and domestic electronic equipment waste, to emphasize the importance of adequate environment management waste of solid of this kind. / Esta pesquisa volta-se à linha de pesquisa ¿Mercado Ambiental, do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Direito, Relações Internacionais e Desenvolvimento, na modalidade Mestrado Acadêmico, da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás e apresenta um "Panorama dos Resíduos de Equipamentos Elétricos e Eletrônicos: o lixo eletroeletrônico - e-lixo"A par do pressuposto de preocupação para com a questão ambiental, o foco do estudo científico está em identificar a realidade internacional e nacional que permeia o resíduo eletroeletrônico; conjugar os dados disponíveis, identificar os riscos e, apontar a necessidade de gestão e manejo ambientalmente adequado do e-lixo, não somente pelo Poder Público, mas sim, por toda a sociedade, primordialmente, aqueles que participam da cadeia produtiva de produtos elétricos e eletrônicos. Diante da conjuntura estrangeira e doméstica verificar-se-á que produtos eletroeletrônicos são descartados como sucata após o ciclo de vida útil, por vezes de modo inapropriado, face à omissão governamental de alguns Estados e a ausência de ações específicas para a gestão e manejo idôneo do lixo eletrônico. Nesse sentido, são elucidados aspectos críticos e positivos de ordenamentos jurídicos externos e interno em relação ao objeto de análise. Interessa, pois, a percepção de quão importante são os cuidados com o resíduo eletroeletrônico e como são amplas as implicações e reflexos em decorrência da gestão inadequada dos mesmos. Restam evidenciadas iniciativas pontuais sobre reutilização, reciclagem e destinação final do e-lixo, em prevenção à poluição ambiental. Sobretudo e, com vistas à proteção ambiental, enseja-se fomentar discussões inteligíveis, para propiciar à Administração Pública, empresas e sociedade elementos científicos robustos a fim de efetivar mecanismos de tutela e controle do descarte de resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletroeletrônicos. A metodologia aplicada ao esforço acadêmico consiste num esforço hipotéticodedutivo, no qual se parte de uma análise racional de fatores gerais e específicos, para evidenciar a realidade internacional e doméstica acerca dos resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos, com a finalidade de ressaltar a importância da gestão ambientalmente adequada dessa espécie de resíduo sólido.