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Journal of Environmental Waste Management and Recycling | Volume 1
March 05-06, 2018 | London, UK
Recycling & Waste Management
5
th
International Conference on
Identifying and maximizing the opportunities to recover value from electronic waste
Jacquetta Lee
University of Surrey, UK
T
here is significant value in waste electronic devices, but
to date, this has not been fully realized. Large amounts of
electronic equipment is shipped abroad, and is subsequently
lost to the reuse/recycle/recover opportunities in the original
country of use. Even if the products remain in the country
where they are originally bought and used, much never makes
it to the recycling loops. Mobile phones in particular are prey
to ‘hibernation’ that reduces the reuse options and ultimately
reduces the value of the phone.
There are many different definitions of value, ranging from
the purely financial to scarce materials to embodied energy.
Electronic products exhibit different value profile depending on
whether they are new, old, or somewhere in between. These
values are dependent not only on the design of the product
itself, but also on the surrounding ‘landscape’. This landscape
includes legislation, geographical location, and local market
conditions. In essence, determining the right waste strategy for
electronic good requires a dynamic and flexible system that will
not look the same in all regions of the world, or even within a
countries borders.
This presentationwill suggest amethod to combine the relevant
local conditions with the key decision points in the ‘disposal’
of a phone ; reuse, recovery of components, and recovery of
materials. This approach is dynamic in nature, and will support
the creation of appropriate waste systems that maximize the
value from the waste streams whilst minimizing associated
negative effects.
Speaker Biography
Lee has a MEng in Mechanical Engineering and Materials and holds a PhD in
Environmental Systems Analysis from Cranfield University (1996). She is currently the
Executive Secretary for the International Society for Industrial Ecology. She has over 25
years of experience across a diverse range of industrial sectors including aerospace,
electronics, construction, and is leading research into reducing uncertainty in early
design decision making within aerospace, and improving resource efficiency in the
electronics industry. She has a holistic approach to sustainability systems analysis,
incorporating environmental and social aspects from both academic and industrial
perspectives. As Director of the Practitioner Doctorate in Sustainability Program,
she is responsible for engaging major industry leaders and high caliber postgraduate
researchers to work collaboratively on specific research briefs designed to resolve
current sustainability issues within industry. This innovative program offers a
unparalleled opportunity, uniting academia and industry to develop solutions that will
have enduring value for individual organization, industry and governance.
e:
j.lee@surrey.ac.uk