Towards a high quality recycling of plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment through separation of contaminated fractions

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide an evaluation of the recyclability of plastics derived from electrical equipment from contamination standpoint. A database was created to find trends in potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and bromine concentrations; in relation to unit’s application, color, polymer type, and production date. For this study, 142 kg of plastics derived from waste electrical and electronic equipment, from the collection group 5, were analyzed. Less than 1.5 % of the analyzed material indicated hazardous characteristics due to their PTEs concentrations (following RoHS and REACH). Regarding the bromine (Br) content, larger quantities of plastics showed recycling incompatibility; 71 parts with total weight of 11 kg (8 %-wt) contained Br concentrations >2000 mg kg−1. The highest average value of Pb, Cd, Hg and Cr combined falls under the application category ‘tools’, which was as well the trend in appliances from before 1990. The same trend was observed for Br and antimony (Sb) contents; high concentrations were found in appliances from the ‘tools’ category. This study concludes that plastics derived from colored appliances and appliances labeled as tools have to be evaluated before being sent for recycling, due to high contamination risks.