Practicalities of Individual Producer Responsibility under the WEEE Directive

In theory, individual producer responsibility (IPR) creates incentives for "design-for-recycling". Yet in practice, implementing IPR is challenging, particularly if applied to waste electric and electronic equipment. This article discusses different options for implementing IPR schemes and producers' under German WEEE legislation. In addition, practical aspects of a German "return share" brand sampling scheme are examined. Concerning "new" WEEE put on the market after 13 August 2006, producers in Germany can choose between two different methods of calculating take-back obligations. These can be determined on the basis of "return shares" or "market shares". While market shares are regularly monitored by a national clearing house, the "return share" option requires sampling and sorting of WEEE. Herein itis shown that the specifics of the German WEEE take-back scheme require high sample sizes and multi-step test procedures to ensure a statistically sound sampling approach. Since the market share allocation continues to apply for historic waste, producers lack incentives for choosing the costly brand sampling option. However, even return share allocation might not imply a decisive step towards IPR, as it merely represents an alternative calculation of market shares. Yet the fundamental characteristics of the German take-back system remain unchanged: the same anonymous mix of WEEE goes to the same treatment operations. In the future, radio frequency identification-based sorting options could foster IPR and incentives for changes in product design.Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich. - This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively

Status of pre-processing of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Germany and its influence on the recovery of gold

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) contains gold in low but from an environmental and economic point of view relevant concentration. After collection, WEEE is pre-processed in order to generate appropriate material fractions that are sent to the subsequent end-processing stages (recovery, reuse or disposal). The goal of this research is to quantify the overall recovery rates of pre-processing technologies used in Germany for the reference year 2007. To achieve this goal, facilities operating in Germany were listed and classified according to the technology they apply. Information on their processing capacity was gathered by evaluating statistical databases. Based on a literature review of experimental results for gold recovery rates of different pre-processing technologies, the German overall recovery rate of gold at the pre-processing level was quantified depending on the characteristics of the treated WEEE. The results reveal that — depending on the equipment groups — pre-processing recovery rates of gold of 29 to 61% are achieved in Germany. Some practical recommendations to reduce the losses during pre-processing could be formulated. Defining mass-based recovery targets in the legislation does not set incentives to recover trace elements. Instead, the priorities for recycling could be defined based on other parameters like the environmental impacts of the materials. The implementation of measures to reduce the gold losses would also improve the recovery of several other non-ferrous metals like tin, nickel, and palladium

Feasibility study for setting-up reference values to support the calculation of recyclability / recoverability rates of electr(on)ic products

The ‘feasibility study for setting-up reference values to support the calculation of recyclability / recoverability rates of electr(on)ic products’ commissioned by the Joint Research Centre is embedded in the activities of the European Commission targeting the improvement of the resource efficiency by promoting the recyclability of products. The objectives of the study are to define key harmonized methodological aspects to calculate reference values on recycling and recovery rates of materials and components for electr(on)ic products, and to assess the benefits and limitations associated to the development and maintenance of such reference values. It fits well into the European Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan of 2015 that calls for more systematic analysis of recyclability under Ecodesign. To quantify the recycling and recovery rates of materials and components, three main options are possible and combinable: (1) use data on RRR compiled to comply with the reporting requirements of the WEEE directive for WEEE input flows and combined with analyses of the input composition, (2) conduct, e.g. in the frame of research projects or certification processes, additional batch analyses at treatment operators, and (3) model the processes with simulation tools. In this study, the focus was set on option 1. The frame set by the definitions, methods and rules adopted in the European Waste Framework Directive and in the WEEELABEX standard served as a methodological basis to define the requirements on the data. The data collected through batch analyses in WEEE treatment facilities, compiled using the software WF-RepTool, checked and validated, were linked with data on the WEEE input flow to calculate material-specific recycling and recovery rates. To calculate recyclability and recoverability rates of products, the material-specific rates are combined with the bill of materials of the product. One task aimed at testing the data collection methodology on few materials (including some Critical Raw Materials) and components contained in two case studies chosen for their relevance for ecodesign requirements: washing machines and laptops. The calculation of reference values using a harmonized scope and harmonized methods would provide common data reflecting the economically running treatment processes used by WEEE treatment operators for calculating recyclability and recoverability rates of products. The calculated recyclability and recoverability rates of products can be used as one of the indicators of the material efficiency of a product, and integrated into further environmental assessments. The proposed method for the production of the reference values relies on the cooperation with stakeholders, for instance operators of treatment facilities and WEEE compliance schemes. The method provides new opportunities to link product design and recycling, as well as to enhance the dialogue between the stakeholders.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

Data availability and the need for research to localize, quantify and recycle critical metals in information technology, telecommunication and consumer equipment

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The supply of critical metals like gallium, germanium, indium and rare earths elements (REE) is of technological, economic and strategic relevance in the manufacturing of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Recycling is one of the key strategies to secure the long-term supply of these metals. The dissipation of the metals related to the low concentrations in the products and to the configuration of the life cycle (short use time, insufficient collection, treatment focusing on the recovery of other materials) creates challenges to achieve efficient recycling. This article assesses the available data and sets priorities for further research aimed at developing solutions to improve the recycling of seven critical metals or metal families (antimony, cobalt, gallium, germanium, indium, REE and tantalum). Twenty-six metal applications were identified for those six metals and the REE family. The criteria used for the assessment are (i) the metal criticality related to strategic and economic issues; (ii) the share of the worldwide mine or refinery production going to EEE manufacturing; (iii) rough estimates of the concentration and the content of the metals in the products; (iv) the accuracy of the data already available; and (v) the occurrence of the application in specific WEEE groups. Eight applications were classified as relevant for further research, including the use of antimony as a flame retardant, gallium and germanium in integrated circuits, rare earths in phosphors and permanent magnets, cobalt in batteries, tantalum capacitors and indium as an indium–tin-oxide transparent conductive layer in flat displays.BMBF, 033R087A, r³ - Strategische Metalle, Verbundvorhaben: UPGRADE - Integrierte Ansätze zur Rückgewinnung von Spurenmetallen und zur Verbesserung der Wertschöpfung aus Elektro- und Elektronikaltgeräten, TP1: Übergreifendes Stoffstrommanagement und Design für Recyclin

Villetoureix – Chez Tuilet

Identifiant de l'opération archéologique : 025211 Date de l'opération : 2006 (FP) Repéré en 2006 sur l’emprise d’une ZAE réalisée par la communauté des communes du Ribéracois, au nord de l’agglomération de Ribérac, le site néolithique de Chez Tuilet a fait l’objet d’une fouille préventive de quatre mois sous maîtrise d’ouvrage déléguée du conseil général de Dordogne (service départemental d’Archéologie). Le site est implanté en fond de vallée au bord de la Dronne, au débouché d’un vallon affl..

A fast and cost-effective approach to develop and map EST-SSR markers: oak as a case study

Background: Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) are a source of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that can be used to develop molecular markers for genetic studies. The availability of ESTs for Quercus robur and Quercus petraea provided a unique opportunity to develop microsatellite markers to accelerate research aimed at studying adaptation of these long-lived species to their environment. As a first step toward the construction of a SSR-based linkage map of oak for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, we describe the mining and survey of EST-SSRs as well as a fast and cost-effective approach (bin mapping) to assign these markers to an approximate map position. We also compared the level of polymorphism between genomic and EST-derived SSRs and address the transferability of EST-SSRs in Castanea sativa (chestnut). Results: A catalogue of 103,000 Sanger ESTs was assembled into 28,024 unigenes from which 18.6% presented one or more SSR motifs. More than 42% of these SSRs corresponded to trinucleotides. Primer pairs were designed for 748 putative unigenes. Overall 37.7% (283) were found to amplify a single polymorphic locus in a reference fullsib pedigree of Quercus robur. The usefulness of these loci for establishing a genetic map was assessed using a bin mapping approach. Bin maps were constructed for the male and female parental tree for which framework linkage maps based on AFLP markers were available. The bin set consisting of 14 highly informative offspring selected based on the number and position of crossover sites. The female and male maps comprised 44 and 37 bins, with an average bin length of 16.5 cM and 20.99 cM, respectively. A total of 256 EST-SSRs were assigned to bins and their map position was further validated by linkage mapping. EST-SSRs were found to be less polymorphic than genomic SSRs, but their transferability rate to chestnut, a phylogenetically related species to oak, was higher. Conclusion: We have generated a bin map for oak comprising 256 EST-SSRs. This resource constitutes a first step toward the establishment of a gene-based map for this genus that will facilitate the dissection of QTLs affecting complex traits of ecological importance

Le Bugue – Grotte Mikolas

Identifiant de l'opération archéologique : 025471 Date de l'opération : 2008 (EX) La deuxième campagne effectuée dans cette grotte funéraire restée totalement intacte jusqu’au démarrage des fouilles a confirmé l’intérêt exceptionnel de ce site pour la préhistoire récente du Sud-Ouest. La cavité a été découverte lors de prospections systématiques par les spéléologues du G3S qui en ont tout de suite mesuré l’intérêt scientifique et en ont aussitôt assuré la conservation. Elle se présente sous ..