Abstract
This paper investigates the regulations, recycling and treatment of WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) in China. An online survey about Chinese households’ treatment of WEEE is conducted. Optimization models are used to compare the performances of WEEE treatment in two different recycling networks. In the first network, WEEE is collected and sent by recycling stations to licensed WEEE recycling and treatment centers for testing and dismantling. In the second network, WEEE are tested and dismantled at small recycling workshops in residential districts, and then parts/components that require further processing are sent to licensed WEEE recycling and treatment centers. The performances of the two networks are analyzed with linear programming models. The results indicate that the second model is more effective with lower cost and higher recycling efficiency.
Highlights
China is one of the biggest electric and electronic equipment (EEE) manufacturing countries and markets
This paper investigates the regulations, recycling and treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in China
According to a statistics report, there are more than 1500 unlicensed workshops and only 200 licensed WEEE recycling firms in China, and the former run a more profitable business than the latter
Summary
China is one of the biggest electric and electronic equipment (EEE) manufacturing countries and markets. WEEE contains highly toxic materials, such as toxic metals, acids, plastic and plastic additives. Most recycling work is done in small-scale unlicensed recycling workshops, where WEEE is disassembled manually and recycled with simplistic methods, such as directly burning WEEE and roughly extracting metals from WEEE with acid. This kind of recycling operation incurs low cost but has harmful impacts on the environment and the health of workers. According to a statistics report, there are more than 1500 unlicensed workshops and only 200 licensed WEEE recycling firms in China, and the former run a more profitable business than the latter.
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