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WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
MANAGEMENT IN UKRAINE
Assoc. Prof., Dr. Vitalii Ishchenko1
Prof., Dr. Sc. Volodymyr Pohrebennyk2
Dr. Anna Kochanek3
PhD student, Lilia Hlavatska4
1, 4Vinnytsia National Technical University, Ukraine
2Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine
2, 3State Higher Vocational School, Poland
ABSTRACT
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or e-waste) is a relatively
new type of waste generated due to the market growth for electronic and electrical
devices. Thus, recycling and treatment of WEEE are crucial for every country.
Although this waste contains both toxic and valuable components, it is mostly
delivered to landfills. That leads to negative environmental consequences. E-waste
is constantly exported from developed to developing countries, often illegally. Due
to the high environmental impact caused by the misuse of such waste, this research
is relevant.
A detailed literature review on WEEE management was conducted. E-waste
generation in Ukraine was estimated using electronics market analysis. Besides, all
the companies managing WEEE in Ukraine were analysed (i.e., collection,
transportation, storage, processing, recycling, disposal).
Waste electrical and electronic equipment management in Ukraine is still
primitive. There is no appropriate legislation and infrastructure. There are very few
companies managing this growing type of waste. The existing data collection is not
efficient. This leads to a great underestimating of e-waste flows. Therefore, Ukraine
needs the adoption of relevant legislation, as well as assistance and control over
WEEE management.
Keywords: waste electrical and electronic equipment, e-waste, environment,
waste management, e-waste treatment
INTRODUCTION
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE or e-waste) is a relatively
new type of waste generated due to the market growth for electronic and electrical
devices. Last years, WEEE managing and recycling is crucial for every country.
Although this waste contains both toxic and valuable components, it is mostly
delivered to landfills. That leads to negative environmental consequences.
According to [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. WEEE commonly contain toxic substances, such
as lead, mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals which may leach into soil and
groundwater. In USA landfills, 70% of heavy metals come from e-waste [6].
Besides, the plastic from e-waste contains various accessory substances (pigments,
retardants, stabilizers, plasticizers) [7], being the source of many toxic compounds.
The estimated world WEEE generation is about 42 million tons per year [8].
Although Europe and the United States were previously responsible for most of this
waste, China, Latin America, and other emerging economies are now generating
even more e-waste [9].
E-waste is constantly exported from developed to developing countries, often
illegally. For example, in the USA, an estimated 50 80 percent of the waste
collected for recycling is being exported in this way [6]. Compliance with the e-
waste export ban remains a major challenge for the Basel Convention
implementation. Particularly large e-waste volumes are illegally delivered to China
via Hong Kong [10]. Lee et al. [6] provide a study of WEEE transportation and
illegal global commerce of e-waste. The authors also give an overview of new ways
to monitor, regulate, and enforce the rules on the international shipping of
hazardous e-waste materials. In Ukraine, there is also a problem of illegal import of
used electronics and other equipment.
Efficient WEEE management in Ukraine has already been under consideration
for some time. The EU, Japan, Korea Republic, and other countries have examples
of efficient financial tools for e-waste processing [11], [12], [13]. These include, for
example, advanced producer responsibility ensuring the payment for WEEE
collection and managing. Despite these facts, Ukraine still has no strategy on WEEE
management. In 2016, a draft Law on waste electrical and electronic equipment was
prepared, bit it has not yet been adopted. According to the sustainable development
concept, the legislation in the field of WEEE should be improved, as well as creation
of modern infrastructure is planned. This should ensure 20% reduction of e-waste
volumes.
WEEE does not decompose over a long time, but accumulates in the
environment contaminating with toxic substances. Due to the high environmental
impact caused by the misuse of such waste, this research is relevant.
The purpose of this work is to study waste electrical and electronic equipment
management in Ukraine and the analysis of entities involved.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A detailed literature review on WEEE management was conducted. E-waste
generation in Ukraine was estimated using electronics market analysis. A
significant industrial, scientific and technical, and entrepreneurial potential is
involved in the field of waste management in Ukraine with more than 1500
companies operating. Ukrainian legislation does not envisage the licensing of
WEEE management as a separate waste type. Thus, a list of entities [14] licensed
by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine for hazardous waste
management was analysed. This is because many WEEE are also categorised as
hazardous waste (e.g., fluorescent lamps, spent batteries, etc.). According to
Ukrainian legislation [15], the license is issued for an unlimited period. All the
companies managing WEEE (i.e., collection, transportation, storage, processing,
recycling, disposal) in Ukraine were analysed. Also, e-waste generation rates in
Ukraine are estimated using electronics market analysis and statistics on waste
generation in the industrial and commercial sectors
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
WEEE generation in Ukraine
After the economic decline in 2014, the electronic equipment market in
Ukraine has been showing steady growth in recent years (Fig. 1). This leads to an
increase of WEEE volumes.
Analysis shows plastic (30%), copper (20%) and iron (8%) as main e-waste
components in Ukraine. The content of other precious metals is less: tin 4%,
nickel, aluminium, lead 2% each, zinc 1%, silver 0.2%, gold 0.1%. Since
WEEE is very diverse and also contains valuable components, special and
expensive technologies are required to process it. This requires new high-tech
companies that does not exist in Ukraine at the moment.
Today, much of WEEE is delivered to Ukraine from the EU, including some
illegal part (14 18%). In 2017, according to the official statistic, Ukraine generated
about 28225 tons of WEEE (Table 1).
Figure 1. Sales of some home appliances in Ukraine, pcs.
Table 1. WEEE generation in Ukraine, 2017
WEEE Source Weight,
tons
Recycled,
tons
toner remnants
waste of printed products
manufacturing 0.1
wires and cables
waste of rubber and plastic products
manufacturing
waste of electric equipment
manufacturing
695.2 42.8
electrodes
waste of metals manufacturing
waste of electric equipment
manufacturing
2.9
conductors
waste of machines and equipment
manufacturing 0.2
electrical insulating
materials
waste of machines and equipment
manufacturing
waste of elec
tric equipment
manufacturing
208.7 13.0
radiators
waste of machines and equipment
manufacturing 1.5
special technological
equipment
waste of machines and equipment
manufacturing
household waste
16506.6 418.8
electric detonators waste of machines and e
quipment
manufacturing 0.1
electrical household
appliances
commercial waste
household waste
waste of machines and equipment
manufacturing
3637.5 1.2
electronic
components
waste of machines and equipment
manufacturing
34.8
office equipment waste of off
ice equipment
manufacturing 20.3
industrial batteries
and their components
waste of electric equipment
manufacturing
waste of car manufacturing and use
5934.8 34400.6
household batteries
household waste
waste of electric equipment
manufacturing
7.2
ot
her electric
appliances
waste of electric equipment
manufacturing
0.6
fluorescent lamps
household waste
waste of television and radio
equipment manufacturing
588.5 429.1
cathode-ray tubes
waste of television and radio
equipment manufacturing 2.3 17.7
s
crap of household
radio equipment
waste of television and radio
equipment manufacturing
household waste
1.1
television and radio
transmitting devices
waste of television and radio
equipment manufacturing
0.6
medical equipment
waste of medical equipment
manufacturing
household waste
medical waste
292.3 73.9
measuring devices
waste of measuring equipment
manufacturing
household waste
0.1
transformers and
capacitors household waste 208.4 3.0
electromagnetic
equipment household waste 9.4
scientific equipment household waste 72.3
Total 28225.5 35400.1
Summarizing the data, one can find such composition of e-waste in Ukraine:
technological equipment 60%,
batteries 21%,
home and office appliances 13%,
components of electric equipment 4%,
fluorescent lamps 2%.
Data from the Table 1 seem to be underestimated due to the lack of WEEE
monitoring from households. This is confirmed by an estimated 0.7 kg/year of
WEEE per capita, which is significantly lower in comparison to other countries (for
example, in Sweden 17.5 kg/year [13]). Obviously, a large volume of used
equipment remains unaccounted. Besides, many old appliances are imported to
Ukraine illegally. The absence of separate WEEE collection system and places for
its delivering, does not allow complete evaluating the flows of e-waste from the
households.
In 2017, WEEE weight recycled in Ukraine amounted to 35400 tons (Table 1).
This exceeds the amount of waste generated. It is possible if industrial batteries
accumulated in previous years were recycled. Excluding the batteries, the amount
of e-waste recycled was about 1000 tons providing only 4.5% of the waste
generated.
Organisation of WEEE management system
In Ukraine, among 219 companies licensed to manage hazardous waste, 128
companies can manage some types of WEEE containing hazardous components
(batteries, fluorescent lamps, etc.). But other WEEE are not covered. 22 companies
have the relevant license and capacity to process WEEE, but only 4 of them are
actively operating (one in Odesa, three in Kyiv region). These companies
collect, store, treat, dispose and recycle hazardous e-waste (mercury and its
compounds, waste lead batteries, waste and scrap of electrical and electronic
components containing batteries.
There are 22 regions in Ukraine where licensed companies operate (Table 2).
Two regions (Volyn and Chernihiv regions) do not have any entity managing e-
waste.
Table 2. Companies managing e-waste as part of hazardous waste
Region Number of
companies Region Number of
companies
Kyiv 27 Vinnytsia 4
Donetsk 13 Ivano-Frankivsk 4
Cherkasy 9 Zhytomyr 4
Zaporizhzhya 8 Mykolayiv 3
Dnipro 8 Sumy 2
Lviv 7 Chernivtsi 2
Luhansk 7 Ternopil 2
Khmelnytskyi 6 Kherson 1
Poltava 5 Zakarpattya 1
Kharkiv 5 Rivne 1
Kirovohrad 5 Volyn 0
Odesa 4 Chernihiv 0
Therefore, the largest quantity of companies licensed to manage hazardous
waste (i.e, able to manage some types of WEEE) are located in Kyiv and Donetsk
regions (21% and 10%, respectively). There are also regions with very few
companies or even without (Volyn, Chernihiv, Rivne, Zakarpattya, Kherson
regions). This fact, as well as the lack of WEEE management system lead to the
disposal of e-waste with hazardous components at landfills. That significantly
damages the environment, and also valuable resources are lost.
Taking into account a big area and population, there are no enough companies
managing e-waste Ukraine. Besides, only a small part of these companies provide
real recycling. Moreover, a significant part of WEEE remains uncovered, while
posing a big risk to the environmental safety of Ukraine.
CONCLUSION
Analysis shows plastic (30%), copper (20%) and iron (8%) as main e-waste
components in Ukraine. The content of other precious metals is less: tin 4%,
nickel, aluminium, lead 2% each, zinc 1%, silver 0.2%, gold 0.1%. Because
WEEE is very diverse and also contains valuable components, special and
expensive technologies are required to process it. This requires new high-tech
companies that does not exist in Ukraine at the moment. In Ukraine, among 219
companies licensed to manage hazardous waste, 128 companies can manage some
types of WEEE containing hazardous components (batteries, fluorescent lamps,
etc.). But other WEEE are not covered. 22 companies have the relevant license and
capacity to process WEEE, but only 4 are actively operating. Today, much of the
WEEE is delivered to Ukraine from the EU, including some illegal part (14 -18%).
In 2017, according to the official statistic, Ukraine generated about 28225 tons of
WEEE. These includes (in tons): toner remnants 0.1, wires and cables 695.2,
electrodes 2.9, conductors 0.2, electrical insulating materials 208.7, radiators
1.5, special technological equipment 16506.6, electric detonators 0.1,
electrical household appliances 3637.5, electronic components 34.8, office
equipment 20.3, industrial batteries and their components 5934.8, household
batteries 7.2, other electric appliances 0.6, fluorescent lamps and other mercury-
containing waste 588.5, cathode-ray tubes 2.3, scrap of household radio
equipment 1.1, television and radio transmitting devices 0.6, medical equipment
292.3, measuring devices 0.1, transformers and capacitors 208.4,
electromagnetic equipment 9.4, scientific equipment 72.3. Obviously, many e-
waste is not included in this list (many WEEE from household waste) due to the
lack of data.
Waste electrical and electronic equipment management in Ukraine is still
primitive. There is no appropriate legislation and infrastructure. According to
official data, about 28000 tons of e-waste are generated yearly in Ukraine. However,
this amount does not count household waste, since appropriate statistics are not
being provided. Estimation of e-waste flows as a separate category is not carried
out. There are very few companies managing this growing type of waste. They are
not able to manage efficiently the waste amount that is already accumulated and
will grow. The existing data collection is not efficient. This leads to great
underestimating of e-waste flows. Two Ukrainian regions do not have any entity
managing e-waste. Therefore, Ukraine needs to adopt appropriate legislation, create
special places for WEEE collection, conduce and control e-waste management
operations, establish efficient monitoring system of WEEE flows. Besides, the
necessary task includes public informing about the hazard caused by the misuse of
e-waste, as well as preventing disposal such waste in the environment.
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