ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Technical Process of WEEE Recycling:Products and Processes
Presented to China’s National Appliance Productivity Center (CNAPC) Conference on WEEE
Robin IngenthronPresident, American Retroworks Inc.VP, ElectroniCycle Inc.
September 24-26, 2002
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
State Recycling Contracts:3 Basic Goals
• Meet Chinese/World demand for copper• Use Best available environmental
management• Least possible cost
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Example: the CRT Monitor• US demand: 50 million monitors per year• Chinese demand: 50M monitors per year• India demand: 50M monitors per year• % Made in Asia rising every year
ferrouscopperleadsilicaplasticalumother
These 3 countries willneed 450,000,000 lbs. of copper for monitors alone
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
3 Sources of Copper
World Copper Production: 2001
1. Mining (concentrates) 13,570,000 tons
2. Primary Smelter Recycling 1,234,000 (includes mix of brass, etc.)
3. Secondary Smelter Recycling 802,000
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Lifecycle of Copper
Mining Primary Smelting SecondarySmelting
Wire Fabrication Product Assembly
Distribution / Retail First Consumer 2nd Consumer
Repair Recycle Disposal
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
First Effect: Reduce Mining Waste
500 Tons Mining,Concentrating2% concentrates, 98% waste
PrimarySmelting
350 tons residuals,145 tons leachate tailings1.8-2.7 tons SO gas1.8 tons slag
1 ton refinedcopper
cyanide Arsenic
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Pollution Subsidies for Raw Materials
Number of 15 largest EPA Superfund Sites which are hard rock mines: 14
Percent of all toxic emissions from all US Industries attributed to hard-rock mining: 47%
Estimated Cost of Superfund cleanups to taxpayers $10B
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Recycling Markets
Primary Smelting SecondarySmelting
First Consumer 2nd Consumer
Repair
Recycle
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Recycling PlantW ood C on s oles
F errou s
P las t ic
A lu m im u m
G o ld -B ea rin gA -B oard s
C op p erD eg au ss in g C o ils 4 2 %
Y ok es 2 8 %W ire 2 2 %
5 ) S crap Proc ess ing4 4 ca teg ories
C ables , cordsM em ory, ca rd s
tu n ersca rtrid g es
6 ) Pa rts Inventory
3) D em anufacturing1 2 S ta ff
M on itorsC P U S
TV sV C R s
7) Q ual i fied E xport
R ep a ir In -H ou se fo r R esale2 7 " + TV s
1 9 " + m on ito rsP en tiu m 2 & ab ove
D om es tic S u b con trac torsTV rep air lis tse rvescom p u ter lis tse rves
sp ec ia lty rep a ir sh op s
8) D om estic
4) Technica l6 S taff
2) TEC H N IC AL TR IAG E
1) R ece iv ing
Shipping
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
1) Collection and Receiving
6 Million residents Collections/deliveries from City services, Retailers,Charities, Trash Haulers
Receiving: Must categorize, price, weigh eachload and enter it into administration database.
$/lbmonitors
$/lbTVs
$/lbCPUs
$/lbmixed
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Service and ResaleWholesale ReUseWholesale Repair/partsScrapResidue
Glass SmeltersPlastic Recyclers
Gold, copper, aluminum other metals Smelters
Destiny of materials at ElectroniCycle
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
2) Technical Triage
3) Demanufacturing/Processing Department
4) Technical Department
$8-10 / hour70% labor force50 categories of scrapremove screwsgradingbaling
$10-22 / hour30% labor force41 categories of parts,reuse, etc.inspect for in-house repairinspect for 3rd party repair
15-30% 70-85%
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Why is USA recycling expensive?
• Demanufacturing labor is high (75 monitors per FTE/day)• Plant and overhead is new• Baling, shredding, air compressing, power generating
equipment, degaussing equipment, rolling stock, shredder
Revenues:Tip Fees 85%Repair / Resale 10%Recycling 5%
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Labor cost to product value$ spent and earned per 1000 monitors
-2000
-1500
-1000
-500
0
500
1000
1500
Copper revenuePlastic revenueOther metal revenue250 monitor resaleDemanufacturingRepairScrap handling
Does not include tippingfees charged to government.
Unscrupulous competitorsavoid demanufacturing andrepair labor, send WEEEoverseas “as is”
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
3. Demanufacturing / Processing
• Processed Material • Grades of gold• Grades of copper• Grades of ferrous• Grades of Plastic• Grades of Alumium• Grades of Glass
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Possible End-Markets for Processed MaterialP roc ess ed R ec yc led M a te ria ls M arke ts
U S A C R T G las s S m e lters
Ferrous S m eltersU S A or F oreig n
A lu m im u m , L ead , Z in clos t in s lag was te
O EC D Prim aryC opper S m elters
G old s lim eP a llad iu m s lim e
G o ld rec overed inh arm fu l p roc ess
C hinese SecondaryC opper Sm elters
A lu m in u m , fe rrou s ,IC re covery
F lam e R eta rd en ts ?
C hinese P lasticrecyclers (brokers)
U S S eco n d ary S m e ltersor fu rn ac es / G o ld
Processed, G raded M ateria lM ajo r Scrap C ategories
Disadvantages
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Sample Beijing EPAPermit for graded copper scrap. These permits areintended to allow 3 million tons per year of processed (clean) scrap, but somemay have beenabused by waste exporters
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
4. Technical Department
4) Technical Department
Domestic Refurbishment- TVs 1992+, 75 cm+- Monitors 1996+, 55cm+- Parts resale, cords, etc.- Networking Equipment
Export Reuse- Working small monitors- Repairable large monitors- Pentium computers- Repairable PAL TVs, VCRs
25% material = 60% revenue
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
4. Examples of Technical Dept.
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Realistic Reuse Goals
Re-UseRecycle
% of weight Re-usable
Red portion is still good for reuse, Blue portion should be processed to remove toxic waste
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Largest Sellers of Refurbished Computer Equipment (USA)
• Gateway• Dell• IBM• Hewlett Packard/Compaq
•“Certified” Refurbished units is fastest growing profit center•Used Quality Products compete with New Off-name products
Hire your best counterfeiters!
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Summary of Alternatives
USA Export
Repairbest revenuebest end use
decliningexpensive labor (andsometimes lousy)Poor consumer demand
expandingcheap, talented repairHigh consumer toleranceOEM Hostility / parts
Recyclingbest source ofnew material
expandingdriven by need todispose, regulation
expandingdriven by demand fornon-ferrous metal
Disposal well regulatedrelatively expensive
unregulatedresidues dumped onstreets and in rivers
Mining stagnanthorrow show
expandingsnuff film
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
• Secondary Nonferrous Metals Smelters• BAODING ALUMINUM WORKS• BAOTOU ALUMINIUM SMELTER, INNER MONGOLIA• BEIJING METALS & MINERALS IMPORT & EXPORT CORPORATION• BEIJING NONFERROUS METALS INDUSTRY CORPORATION• BENXI ALLOY PLANT• CHANGSHA ALUMINIUM MATERIAL FACTORY• CHANGZHOU HUAYI ALUMINIUM PROFILES CO., LTD• CHANGZHOU SMELTERY• CHINA NATIONAL METALS & MINERALS IMP. & EXP. CORP. TIANJIN BRANCH• CHINA NATIONAL NON-FERROUS METALS IMPORT AND EXPORT CORPORATION, BEIJING BRANC• CHINA NATIONAL NON-FERROUS METALS INDUSTRY CORPORATION ZHUZHOU SMELT• CHINA NATIONAL NONFERROUS METALS IMP. & EXP. CORP. GUANGXI CO.• CHINA NONFERROUS METAL INDUSTRY CO. SHANGHAI UNITED CENTER• CHINA NONFERROUS METAL INDUSTRY CORP. XIANGHUALING STANNARY NORTH-WEST ALUMINIUM
WORKING MILL• DESHENG ALUMINIUM PLANT• FUJIAN CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL SUPPLY CORPORATION• FUSHUN ALUMINIUM PLANT• GANSU ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY COMPANY• GANZHOU ALUMINIUM PLANT• GEJIU GENERAL FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS & TRADE CORPORATION• GUANGDONG NANHAI COUNTY XINGFA ALUMINIUM SECTION PLANT.• GUANGXI HARDWARE MINERALS IMP. & EXP. BEIHAI CORP.• GUANGZHOU ALUMINIUM MATERIAL PLANT• GUANGZHOU ALUMINIUM PROCESSING FACTORY• GUANGZHOU COPPER AND ALUMINIUM MATERIAL FACTORY• GUIZHOU ALUMINIUM PLANT• HAINAN NATIONAL FOREIGN TRADE CORPORATION• HANGZHOU YATONG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD• HANSEN SPECIAL ELECTRIC WIRE CO. LTD.• HENGDIAN GROUP CO. HENGDIAN GROUP CORP. IMPORT & EXPORT COMPANY
Chinese secondary non-ferrous smelters
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
• HENGYANG TIANYUAN NONFERROUS METAL CO.,LTD.• JIANGSU ALUMINIUM PLANT• JIANGXI NON-FERROUS METALS SMELTING AND PROCESSING PLANT• JILIN NICKEL INDUSTRY CORPORATION• KAI PINT ALUMINIUM SECTIONS MATERIAL MANUFACTORY• LANZHOU LIANCHENG ALUMINIUM SMELTER• LUOYANG PETROLEUM CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SUPPLY AND MARKET COMPANY• MATOU ALUMINIUM PLANT MEIZHOU CIGARTTE FACTORY• METALLURGCAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, GUANGHUA CHEMICAL INDUSTRY COMPANY• NANHAI OIL ZHUHAI BASE CO.• NANJING DOLOMITE MINE NANJING HUAHONG MAGNESIUM COMPANY• NINGBO THREE A INDUSTRIAL GENERAL CORPORATION• NORTHEAST LIGHT ALLOY FABRICATION PLANT• PANSHI ALUMINIUM WORKS, JILIN• PINGXIANG ALUMINIUM FACTORY, JIANGXI• QINGTONGXIA ALUMINIUM PLANT• SHANDONG ALUMINIUM COMPANY• SHANGHAI AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING FACTORY• SHANGHAI NON-FERROUS METALS INDUSTRY CORP• SHANGHAI SMELTER• SHANGHAI VACUUM FLASK & VESSEL MANUFACTURING CORP.• SHANTOU SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE, ZHUCHI REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT CORP.• SHAOGUAN SMELTERY• SHENYANG LIMING FORGING AND CASTING INDUSTRIAL COMPANY• SHENYANG NONFERROUS METALS WORKS• SHENZHEN JINYUE ALUMINIUM PRODUCT CO. LTD.• THE BEIJING ZHONG KE NEW TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT OF CHEMICAL METALLURGY COMPANG• TIANJIN METAL MATERIALS WEST STATION STORE COMPANY• URUMCHI ALUMINIUM PLANT• WAFANGDIAN MATERIAL REGENERATING, UTILIZING CO.• WUXI COUNTY WELDING MATERIAL MANUFACTORY• WUXI SMELTERY• YANTAI INSTITUTE OF MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY• YELLOW RIVER ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY COMPANY LIMITED• YUNNAN ALUMINIUM PLANTZHEJIANG HENGSHAN FERROALLY FACTORY
Chinese secondary non-ferrous smelters, cont.
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
Recycling or Disposal Jobs / Ton1 ton = about 50 picture tubes
0200400600800
1000120014001600
Jobs /1,000tons
Disposal
Exporting
Recycling
Repair
Most employment fromrepair and reuse; Next most employmentis from correct processing
ElectroniCycle, Inc.
PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 P: 802-382-8500
More Perspectives
• Www.ban.org• www.unctad.org• www.mineralpolicy.org• www.mpi.org.au• www.retroworks.com • www.electronicycle.com
