WEEE | INNOVATION
Dealing with complexity
in WEEE plastics Heavy regulation and the mixture of different materials in electronic equipment are challenges for WEEE plastics recyclers. David Eldridge reports on developments by OEMs, recyclers, technology companies and R&D organisations
The recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is a sector which has both great potential and tough challenges. An increasing number of electronics OEMs are looking to use recycled plastics in new products and some consumer electronics brands have started to play an integral part in WEEE plastics schemes and projects. But fulfilling these growth expectations will mean addressing wide-ranging issues in the market place, on recycling lines and in the regulatory arena. A huge disruption in the plastics recycling
market has come from China implementing a ban of plastics waste imports this year. This is certainly a challenge to the industry, but equally a lot of e-waste is now available for recycling in Europe and North America that would have previously been exported to China. Chris Slijkhuis at Austrian WEEE plastics and metals recycler Müller-Guttenbrunn Group (MGG) said he sees the Chinese ban as “a wonderful opportunity for plastics recycling to expand in Europe”. The amount of WEEE plastics available in Europe each year has been approxi-
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mately 1.2m tonnes until now, according to esti- mates. However, he said there is only about 300,000 tpa of WEEE plastics reprocessing capacity in Europe, and the need for new capacity has become more urgent with the Chinese ban this year. Slijkhuis, who leads the public affairs and e-waste activities at MGG, said the company is “lob- bying very hard” in Brussels about the need for capacity building. In addition, he indicated a regulatory issue could threaten the growth pros- pects for WEEE plastics recycling. The complexity in the legal framework, which is already a problem, could worsen with regard to halogenated flame retardants, which are present in many old electrical and electronic devices that enter the waste stream. Slijkhuis gave the example of deca-BDE, the brominated flame retardant, in his presentation at AMI’s Plastics Recycling Technology 2017 confer- ence. Previously in widespread use in EEE plastic parts, Deca-BDE now has restrictions from multina- tional regulation including: the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances, the WEEE
Main image: The mixture of materials in the WEEE waste stream is a major
challenge for recyclers
March/April 2018 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 25
PHOTO: MGG POLYMERS
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