Comparative Analysis of Small WEEE Pre-treatment Options: An Economic and Environmental Assessment

Collection and pre-treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are the two biggest limiting factors of enabling a high WEEE recovery rate. Small WEEE (sWEEE) have recently received increased attention by legislators that have recognised the improvement of this deficiency as an integral part of mitigating associated greenhouse-gas emissions and transforming the EU's economy towards carbon neutrality. Different sWEEE pre-treatment methods are currently in use, which pose a range of economic and ecological impacts. This study examines the economic properties and potential impacts on climate change of the different sWEEE pre-treatment options that currently exist in Germany for eight devices representative of sWEEE. A consequential bin-to-cradle life cycle assessment (cLCA) and an extended Life Cycle Costing (LCC) were conducted to identify the most beneficial pre-treatment option for each device regarding economic feasibility and greenhouse-gas emissions. The results indicate improvement potential in both aspects, particularly for the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions, by pre-treating the device classes differently from the current status quo. Furthermore, discrepancies between most profitable and least greenhouse-gas-intensive pre-treatment option were found.