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work on, no organization to control and audit the market and no support from the
government. However, despite the difficulties, it can be considered as an alternative
for companies to attend the demand of the call to a sectoral agreement.
Argentina
Although Argentina has initiated a national integrated E-waste management plan
and a project on specific legislation on E-waste that should cover the ten E-waste
categories according to the European directive (Ongondo et al. 2011), in 2005 and
2006, respectively, a limited number of companies operate return programmes for
E-waste, such as televisions, computers and mobile phones.
In 2007, when over 20,000 tonnes of information technology waste has been
generated, a third project was developed to establish guiding principles for
companies working in electronic-waste management. However, these proposals
have not yet received the political support needed to become effective (Boeni et al.
2008). Thus, significant amounts of E-waste still end up in municipal dumps with
consumers not aware of the environmental consequences of E-waste (Protomastro
2007).
Chile
Copper is a strategic material in Chile because of its large mineral reserves. As the
leading copper-producing country, Chile is responsible for 33% of world copper
mining (Lagos et al. 2018) and for more than 55% of the global lithium resources,
one of the raw materials of high technology components (Zhang et al. 2017). Both
copper and lithium are classified as critical materials because of its economic
importance in the world market.
Nevertheless, the copper ore grade is declining. To maintain the level of copper
production, more ore should be mined, which results in more waste generation and
water consumption. However, sustainable alternatives must be regarded to provide
copper sources, such as E-waste material recovering.
It was estimated that 10,000 tonnes of computer would be generated in Chile in
2010 (Steubing et al. 2010), but the most recent report on this issue presents a
generation of 159,000 tonnes of E-waste in Chile. Even considering that the first
estimation was restricted to computers, the estimate of the report seems overestimated
in relation to the first and vice versa. This condition determines the lack of reliability
in the data presented by different databases.
According to Baldé et al. (2017), Argentina generated 368 kilotonnes of E-waste
in 2016, while Chile generated 159 kilotonnes. However, in Chile were collected
0.7 kilotonnes (0.4%), and in Argentina were collected 11 kilotonnes (3%) of
E-waste. An inefficient collection rate as observed in Chile can be considered one of
the barriers to E-waste management.
Mexico
According to Estrada-Ayub and Kahhat (2014), from the United States to Mexico,
there is a dynamic commerce of used products, in which perceived value and
geographic location determine the discard rate of computers and the opportunities
of wasting or commercialization of their products and materials.
5 Recycling Challenges for Electronic Consumer Products to E-Waste: A Developing…
work on, no organization to control and audit the market and no support from the
government. However, despite the difficulties, it can be considered as an alternative
for companies to attend the demand of the call to a sectoral agreement.
Argentina
Although Argentina has initiated a national integrated E-waste management plan
and a project on specific legislation on E-waste that should cover the ten E-waste
categories according to the European directive (Ongondo et al. 2011), in 2005 and
2006, respectively, a limited number of companies operate return programmes for
E-waste, such as televisions, computers and mobile phones.
In 2007, when over 20,000 tonnes of information technology waste has been
generated, a third project was developed to establish guiding principles for
companies working in electronic-waste management. However, these proposals
have not yet received the political support needed to become effective (Boeni et al.
2008). Thus, significant amounts of E-waste still end up in municipal dumps with
consumers not aware of the environmental consequences of E-waste (Protomastro
2007).
Chile
Copper is a strategic material in Chile because of its large mineral reserves. As the
leading copper-producing country, Chile is responsible for 33% of world copper
mining (Lagos et al. 2018) and for more than 55% of the global lithium resources,
one of the raw materials of high technology components (Zhang et al. 2017). Both
copper and lithium are classified as critical materials because of its economic
importance in the world market.
Nevertheless, the copper ore grade is declining. To maintain the level of copper
production, more ore should be mined, which results in more waste generation and
water consumption. However, sustainable alternatives must be regarded to provide
copper sources, such as E-waste material recovering.
It was estimated that 10,000 tonnes of computer would be generated in Chile in
2010 (Steubing et al. 2010), but the most recent report on this issue presents a
generation of 159,000 tonnes of E-waste in Chile. Even considering that the first
estimation was restricted to computers, the estimate of the report seems overestimated
in relation to the first and vice versa. This condition determines the lack of reliability
in the data presented by different databases.
According to Baldé et al. (2017), Argentina generated 368 kilotonnes of E-waste
in 2016, while Chile generated 159 kilotonnes. However, in Chile were collected
0.7 kilotonnes (0.4%), and in Argentina were collected 11 kilotonnes (3%) of
E-waste. An inefficient collection rate as observed in Chile can be considered one of
the barriers to E-waste management.
Mexico
According to Estrada-Ayub and Kahhat (2014), from the United States to Mexico,
there is a dynamic commerce of used products, in which perceived value and
geographic location determine the discard rate of computers and the opportunities
of wasting or commercialization of their products and materials.
5 Recycling Challenges for Electronic Consumer Products to E-Waste: A Developing…