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      THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS TO GREEN BUILDING: Empirical Studies in India and Switzerland

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          Abstract

          The life of consumer electrical and electronic (E&E) devices is relatively short, and decreasing as a result of rapid changes in equipment features and capabilities. This creates a large waste stream of obsolete E&E equipment. Even though there are conventional disposal methods for E&E waste, these methods have disadvantages from both economic and environmental viewpoints. This paper examines the existing recycling situations and collection methods of E&E waste in India and Switzerland. Questionnaire survey, interview discussions and case studies are conducted. Their E&E waste scenario and technologies applied for E&E waste are investigated. It is found that India performs better in E&E intensity per service unit and employment potentials, while Switzerland performs better in occupational hazards and emissions of toxics. Recommendations to improve the existing E&E waste recycling situations and its implications to green building are also given.

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          Most cited references29

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          Global perspectives on e-waste

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            Mechanical recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment: a review.

            The production of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing areas. This development has resulted in an increase of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE). In view of the environmental problems involved in the management of WEEE, many counties and organizations have drafted national legislation to improve the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce disposal. Recycling of WEEE is an important subject not only from the point of waste treatment but also from the recovery of valuable materials.WEEE is diverse and complex, in terms of materials and components makeup as well as the original equipment's manufacturing processes. Characterization of this waste stream is of paramount importance for developing a cost-effective and environmentally friendly recycling system. In this paper, the physical and particle properties of WEEE are presented. Selective disassembly, targeting on singling out hazardous and/or valuable components, is an indispensable process in the practice of recycling of WEEE. Disassembly process planning and innovation of disassembly facilities are most active research areas. Mechanical/physical processing, based on the characterization of WEEE, provides an alternative means of recovering valuable materials. Mechanical processes, such as screening, shape separation, magnetic separation, Eddy current separation, electrostatic separation, and jigging have been widely utilized in recycling industry. However, recycling of WEEE is only beginning. For maximum separation of materials, WEEE should be shredded to small, even fine particles, generally below 5 or 10mm. Therefore, a discussion of mechanical separation processes for fine particles is highlighted in this paper. Consumer electronic equipment (brown goods), such as television sets, video recorders, are most common. It is very costly to perform manual dismantling of those products, due to the fact that brown goods contain very low-grade precious metals and copper. It is expected that a mechanical recycling process will be developed for the upgrading of low metal content scraps.
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              The recycling and disposal of electrical and electronic waste in China—legislative and market responses

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                jgrb
                Journal of Green Building
                College Publishing
                1552-6100
                1943-4618
                1943-4618
                Spring 2011
                : 6
                : 2
                : 122-138
                Author notes
                1Corresponding Author. School of Engineering, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia, Tel: (61) 02-4736-0105, Fax: (61) 02-4736-0833, E-mail: vivianwytam@ 123456gmail.com .
                Article
                jgb.6.2.122
                10.3992/jgb.6.2.122
                f74f6609-cfcd-4020-8d12-08892eb638bd
                ©2011 by College Publishing. All rights reserved.
                History
                Page count
                Pages: 17
                Categories
                RESEARCH ARTICLES

                Urban design & Planning,Civil engineering,Environmental management, Policy & Planning,Architecture,Environmental engineering
                waste management,recycling,electrical and electronic waste,Switzerland,India

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