Standardizing recycling processes globally to harvest valuable components in electrical and electronic scrap (E-scrap), extending the life of products and markets for their reuse, and harmonizing world legislative and policy approaches to e-scrap are prime goals of a new global public-private initiative called Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP).

Major high-tech manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Dell, Ericsson, Philips and Cisco Systems, join UN, governmental, NGO and academic institutions, along with recycling / refurbishing companies as charter members of the initiative, officially launched March 7.  The United Nations University will host the StEP Secretariat in Bonn.

Valuable resources in every scrapped product with a battery or plug — computers, TVs, radios, wired and wireless phones, MP3 players, navigation-systems, microwave ovens, coffee makers, toasters, hair-dryers, to name but a few — are being trashed in rising volumes worldwide. Worse, items charitably sent to developing countries for re-use often ultimately remain unused for a host of reasons, or are shipped by unscrupulous recyclers for illegal disposal. And, too often, e-scrap in developing countries is incinerated, not only wasting needed resources but adding toxic chemicals to the environment, both local and global.

In addition to well-known precious metals such as gold, palladium and silver, unique and indispensable metals have become increasingly important in electronics. Among them:
Indium, a by-product of zinc mining used in more than 1 billion products per year, including flat-screen monitors and mobile phones.

In the last five years, indium’s price has increased six-fold, making it more expensive than silver. Though known mine reserves are limited, indium recycling is so far taking place in only a few plants in Belgium, Japan and the U.S. Japan recovers roughly half its indium needs through recycling.

The market value of other important minor metals used in electronics such as bismuth (used in lead-free solders) has doubled since 2005 while ruthenium (used in resistors and hard disk drives) has increased by a factor of seven since early 2006.

“The large price spikes for all these special elements that rely on production of metals like zinc, copper, lead or platinum underline that supply security at affordable prices cannot be guaranteed indefinitely unless efficient recycling loops are established to recover them from old products,” says Ruediger Kuehr of the United Nations University’s StEP Secretariat.

Unqualified or unscrupulous treatment of e-scrap is still usual in many transition and developing countries. The inappropriate handling of e-scrap leads to emissions of highly toxic dioxins and soil and water contamination from heavy metals, among other environmental impacts.

A global guide to dismantling e-scrap and maximizing the recovery and controlling recovered substances is a major StEP objective. A large-scale project to help China safely dismantle and dispose of its domestic e-scrap is also in the works. Maximizing resource reutilization will help meet soaring demand in that country and India for increasingly scarce elements.

Inter-related StEP task forces will help shape government policies worldwide and address issues related to re-design and product life expectancy, re-use and re-cycling, and help build relevant capacity in developing nations.

 “Companies involved in StEP will benefit through globally standardized, safe and environmentally-proven processes for disposal, reduction or reuse and recycling of e-scrap,” says UN Under Secretary-General and UNU Rector Hans van Ginkel. “Consumers will benefit through knowing what to do with their obsolete machines, less pollution and longer lasting electronic equipment. Member manufacturers will work to design products more easily upgradeable because we all agree buying an entirely new product is wasteful when what’s really wanted are upgraded components.”

The StEP logo will signal to consumers that e-scrap processes associated with a company’s products conform to agreed international standards and guidelines.

E-scrap is one of the fastest growing components of the global waste stream and, arguably, one of the most troublesome. The European Environmental Agency calculates that the volume of e-scrap is now rising roughly three times faster than other forms of municipal waste. The total annual global volume of e-scrap is soon expected to reach roughly 40 million metric tons — enough to fill a line of dump trucks stretching half way around the world.

Rapid product innovations and replacement, especially in ITC and office equipment — the migration from analog to digital technologies and to flat-screen TVs and monitors, for example — is fueling an increase of e-waste, says Mr. Kuehr. The sale of electronic products market is expected to continue growing in developing markets and industrialized ones, where there is a rising tendency to own more than one computer, telephone etc.

“The efficient, cost-effective and environmentally-sound recovery of metals from complex electronic components requires large-scale, hi-tech processes,” says Hugo Morel, Executive Vice President of Umicore Precious Metals Services, a StEP member specialized in such processes. “As well, the collection, sorting, dismantling and pre-processing of electronic devices require trained labor and offers many job opportunities worldwide. We strongly support the StEP initiative as a way to foster cooperation among stakeholders, develop needed infrastructure at a global scale, optimize interfaces between manual, mechanical and metallurgical recycling and recovery processes, and minimize the environmental burden created by E-scrap.”

Improved re-use and recycling would also lessen the environmental impacts caused by producing new electronic equipment in the first place. In this context proper recycling at the end of reuse life-time must be ensured.

A 2004 UNU book, “Computers and the Environment,” co-authored by Mr. Kuehr, found the average 53-lb desktop computer with monitor requires at least 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals to manufacture. This is much more materials-intensive than for the manufacture of an automobile or refrigerator, which only require 1–2 times their weight in fossil fuels.

Manufacturing a desktop computer and 17-inch CRT monitor uses at least 530 lbs of fossil fuels, 50 lbs of chemicals and 3,330 lbs of water — a total of 1.9 tons of materials — roughly the weight of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) or a rhinoceros.

“There is a clear need and opportunity now to address the resources, health and environmental concerns being created by a surging increase in electronic waste,” says Prof. van Ginkel. “We hope that the StEP initiative will point the way for governments, companies and consumers alike to reverse this growing international problem.”

“Collectively, the role of consumers is enormously important to the world environment, whether purchasing, using or disposing of electronic equipment,” adds Itaru Yasui, UNU Vice-Rector (Environment and Sustainable Development). “Buying refurbished equipment, selling or donating unwanted equipment and finally recycling as a last step are among the choices we hope consumers will make more often. The StEP initiative is designed to make those choices easier.”

Klaus Hieronymi, Environmental Business Manager Hewlett-Packard Europe, Middle East and Africa says: "Through its Take Back and other programs, HP this year will mark the achievement of having recycled 1 billion pounds of information technology equipment since 1986. And we look for ways wherever possible to recover even more retired materials. "HP has joined StEP to help countries work through the many legal, scientific and practical issues involved in managing e-waste, treatment standards, and innovative design to maximize re-use and recycling."

For a complete list of charter members of the StEP initiative, visit: http://www.step-initiative.org/getfile.php?id=63&file_id=1

Source: http://www.step-initiative.org/getfile.php?id=63&file_id=1