Assessing the climate co-benefits from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling in Japan

Abstract

Abstract The electronics industry leads the world's largest and fastest growing manufacturing sector. Consequently the management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) has become a prominent problem in the modern world. In some developed countries, like Japan, strategies have been adopted (e.g. the home appliance recycling law), and comprehensive policy mechanisms have been implemented which aim to recuperate materials from WEEE, conserve resources, and control environmental pollution. At present, global warming and climate-change issues have been identified as key environmental considerations in policy agendas in both developed and developing countries. In this regard assessment of the potential of WEEE recycling in terms of a country's greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target would offer a new path towards climate-change mitigation. Thus, this study aims to provide an in-depth investigation of the effectiveness of WEEE recycling on GHG mitigation. Life cycle GHG emissions were estimated from the overall recycling process of major home appliances in Fukuoka Prefecture under Japan's home appliances recycling law. The calculation indicates that by implementing an appropriate WEEE recycling and resource recovery program, a significant amount of GHG emissions could be avoided that would have otherwise occurred through the virgin production of materials. For instance, recycling of unit weight of washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners and televisions could contribute to 17.70, 27.34, 45.62 and 3.61 kg CO2-eq of GHG emissions reduction respectively. The findings will be useful for strengthening and implementing appropriate legislation and policies in countries across the Asia–Pacific and enhancing the systematic approaches of sound material recycling.