Options for remanufactured and recycled WEEE

As discussed in E-waste in New Zealand: Taking Responsibility for End-of-Life Computers and TVs (CANZ 2006), the five main options for disassembled parts in New Zealand are:

  1. component recovery and sale
  2. materials recovery and sale
  3. exporting WEEE for 1 and 2 above
  4. storage until there is a viable option
  5. landfill.

All these options are practised in New Zealand. Component recovery and sale occurs for some of the more valuable equipment such as IT equipment.

Some organisations are storing WEEE that currently doesn’t have a viable treatment option, such as cathode ray tubes (CRTs) or batteries, although a lot of WEEE is sent to landfill.

Table 8 shows the major components of different categories of WEEE and describes some of the current disposal routes.

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Table 8: WEEE – what’s in it and where it goes
Type of WEEE Components Current disposal routes
Whiteware Plastic

Metal

Circuit boards

Wiring

Refrigerant gases

Glass		 Disassembled and material (for example, plastics and metal) sent for recycling

Most whiteware is recovered by the scrap metal industry due to the high metal content
Computers (central processing units) Plastic

Steel casing

Circuit boards

Wiring

Batteries		 Disassembled and some elements sent for further treatment
Landfill
Cathode ray tubes (CRT) monitors and TVs Plastic

Glass (leaded and unleaded)

Wiring

Circuit boards		 Some disassembly

Some sent overseas for reuse and recycling

Landfill
Fluorescent lamps Glass

Metal (aluminium)

Phosphor powder

Mercury		 Crushing at facilities in New Zealand

Sent overseas for reuse of components and recycling

Landfill
Batteries Depends on battery type

Metals such as lead, mercury, zinc, nickel, cadmium		 Lead-acid batteries collected and recycled in New Zealand

Some collection and recycling overseas of other battery types

Landfill
Mobile phones Plastic

LCD

Battery (nickel–cadmium, nickel metal hydride or lithium ion/polymer)

Circuit boards

Transformers

Accessories		 Sent overseas for reuse and recycling

Landfill
Telecommunications network equipment and mainframes, other servers Copper

Battery

Steel

Glass (fibre)

Plastics

Precious metals

Lead		 Sent overseas for reuse and recycling

Landfill

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Last updated:15 March 2011