Title: A Study on Reverse Logistics of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in China
Abstract: Due to technological advances, the quantity of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) has increased dramatically during the last 20 years. Besides the large quantity, another issue of concern is that WEEE contains over 1000 different substances, many of which are toxic, such as lead, mercury and cadmium, Accordingly if disposed improperly, WEEE will result in serious environmental pollution. Additionally, WEEE has a high residual value. If recycled properly, some of the components can be used to replace raw materials and many valuable materials in WEEE, such as gold, platinum and cadmium have high economic value and could be recycled by proper environmentally sound technologies. In developed countries, people have paid much attention to recycling WEEE. Most countries have WEEE reverse logistics system, developed legislations and technologies to dispose of WEEE. In China, there is no systemized take-back or recycling network yet, and the illegal, poor quality WEEE disposal and recycling methods commonly practised have severly hazardous effects on both the environment and human health. In response to this, the Chinese government is continuously strengthening the legislative and institutional framework but the have not been effective. This paper makes a comparison of WEEE reverse logistics in developed countries and in China, and then finds out existing problems and challenges and gives solutions accordingly.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-05-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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