A Circular Approach to the E-Waste Valorization through Urban Mining in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

The waste valorization in the cities has become a topic of increasing importance in the context of sustainability, efficiency, and costs reducing in the productive systems. Electronic waste (e-waste or WEEE) is one of the most critical categories regarding the decisionmaking for waste management, due to the amount generated, the diversity of materials, the hazardous potential, and the high added value in its components. It was estimated that in 2016 were generated almost 45 million tons of e-waste in the world, from which 25.3% were generated in the American countries. Brazil is the second major e-waste producer in the Americas, after the USA, with 1.5 million tones generated annually. The proposal of e-waste recovering, reuse and recycling in Brazil emerged with the Reverse Logistics Systems (RLS) regulation, implemented in 2010 through the Brazilian Policy on Solid Waste (BPSW), bringing an innovative approach to the country: the circularity of waste in the production chain. Under the circular economy concept, the reuse option is desirable rather than recycling choice. This priority echoes the search for less impacting processes and greater value providing for waste. Therefore, decision-makers should opt for sustainable solutions in reducing, reusing, repairing, reconditioning and remanufacturing procedures prior to final shipment to the recycling alternative. The economic and environmental criteria used to be the main reasons of this hierarchy in the circular pattern. Concerning this hypothesis, we proposed a scenario analysis to support decision-making in e-waste management. Were analyzed the ewaste amount generation and collection routes in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and proposed a set of criteria and indicators to identify the best option for e-waste management. It was provided with a general overview of collection points and e-waste recycling industries locations through the geo-referencing. Whilst the literature suggests that the waste generation can be estimated through the GDP values, the preliminary finds suggest that other indicators could be used as an alternative for a more accurate analysis of the e-waste generation, the distribution of collection points and the allocation of recycling industries for a sustainable urban grid design. In the sequence of this study, it will be possible to classify the indicators to be presented in a dashboard, supporting the e-waste decisionmaking considering the circularity concept. Urban mining of e-waste seems to be an interesting alternative for secondary raw material recovery, especially in an emerging economy country like Brazil, which consumes huge amounts of electronic devices and demands solutions compatible with environmental law requirements. Hence, this study contributes to a more sustainable development pattern regarding e-waste management in the country, since it reinforces the importance of circularity.

Keywords: E-waste, WEEE, Brazil

JEL Classification: Q56