Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

SECTION C: ENGINEERING

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2015)

Electronic Waste Recycling Campaign at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18272/aci.v7i2.272
Submitted
January 22, 2016
Published
2015-12-30

Abstract

The increasing consumption of technological products may have serious implications due to the worldwide generation of abundant electronic devices that can become contaminating electronic waste or e-waste after their lifespan. This is due to the hazardous nature of some of their components. In Ecuador, despite the presence of some recycling companies and the governmental policies that attempt to establish an appropriate electronic waste management, much must still be done at public and private level in order to implement e-waste recycling and thus avoid the generation of these hazardous waste. In this study we present the results for the first Electronic Waste Recycling Campaign carried out at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, on which the university community and the civil society cooperated. A total of 1.89 t of e-waste were gathered and more than a half of these materials were intended for recycling or reuse within the country or internationally. The main electronic waste gathered included laptops, CRT monitors, keyboards, tablets, CPU, UPS for PC, mouse, PC speakers, wired for power and ICD monitors. Flow charts were made using VENSIM software, basing the calculation on one unit of each electronic waste. This recycling campaign is the first one organized by an Academic Institution in Ecuador and therefore provides useful information about the role that higher education institutions can play in such sustainable initiatives.

viewed = 3887 times

References

  1. Barreiro, E.; Winicki, M. 2010. "Los residuos electrónicos: Un desafío para la Sociedad del Conocimiento en América Latina y el Caribe: Gestión de residuos electrónicos". La visión del Plan CEIBAL en Uruguay. UNESCO Montevideo, Günther Cyranek, y Chile Plataforma RELAC SUR/IDRC Uca Silva.
  2. Qetinsaya Ozkir, V; Efendigil, T.; Demirel, T.; Qetin Demirel, N.; Deveci, M.; TopQu, B. 2015. "A three-stage methodology for initiating an effective management system for electronic waste in Turkey". Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 96: 61-70.
  3. Chen, A.; Dietrich, K. N.; Huo, X.; Ho, S. 2011. "Developmental Neurotoxicants in E-Waste: An Emerging Health Concern". Environmental Health Perspectives, 119 (4).
  4. Chibunna, J. B.; Siwar, C.; Mohamed, A. F.; Begum, R. A. 2013. "The role of university in E-waste recycling: Case of University Kebangsaan Malaysia". Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 8 (1): 59-64.
  5. Edumadze, J. K. E.; Tenkorang, E. Y.; Armah, F. A.; Luginaah, I.; Edumadze, G. E. 2013. "Electronic waste is a mess: Awareness and proenvironmental behavior among university students in Ghana". Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 12 (4): 224-234.
  6. EPA. 2013. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov.
  7. Ferrer-Balas, D.; Adachi, J.; Banas, S.; Davidson, C. I.; Hoshikoshi, A.; Mishra, A.; Ostwald, M. 2008. "An international comparative analysis of sustainability transformation across seven universities". International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 9 (3): 295-316.
  8. Khaliq, A.; Rhamdhani, M. A.; Brooks, G.; Masood, S. 2014. "Metal Extraction Processes for Electronic Waste and Existing Industrial Routes: A Review and Australian Perspective". Resources, 3: 152-179.
  9. Ladou, J.; Lovegrove, S. 2008. "Export of Electronics Equipment Waste". International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 14 (1): 1-10.
  10. Massey, K. A.; Eunsonb, J. 2010. "Electronic Wastelands: Decomposing Computers and Communities Around the World". UBCMJ, 2 (1).
  11. Merino, D. 2010. "Gestión De Desechos Electrónicos De Mayor Generación En La Ciudad De Loja". Proyecto final Ing. en Electrónica y Telecomunicaciones. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL): 1-90.
  12. Ministerio de Telecomunicaciones y Sociedad de la Información. 2014. "MINTEL participó con Campaña de Reciclaje de residuos electrónicos en la feria "˜Vivamos con valores 2014 Scouts Ecuador"™". http://www.telecomunicaciones.gob.ec/mintel-participo-con-campana-de-reciclaje-de-residuos-electronicos-en-la-feria-vivamos-con-valores-2014-scouts-ecuador/.
  13. Odhiambo, B. D. 2009. "Generation of e-waste in public universities: The need for sound environmental management of obsolete computers in Kenya". Waste Management, 29 (10): 2788-2790.
  14. Política Nacional Post Consumo de Equipos Eléctricos y Electrónicos. 2013. Acuerdo Ministerial N° 190. Registro Oficial No. 881.
  15. Qu, Y.; Zhu, Q.; Sarkis, J.; Geng, Y.; Zhong, Y. 2013. "A review of developing an e-wastes collection system in Dalian, China". Journal of Cleaner Production, 52: 176-184.
  16. Reliche, A. 2012. "Con licencia ambiental se abrió la primera planta de reciclaje de desechos electrónicos del país". Agencia pública de noticias del Ecuador y Suramérica. http://www.andes.info.ec/es/sociedad/.
  17. Robinson, B. H. 2009. "E-waste: an assessment of global production and environmental impacts". The Science of the Total Environment. 408 (2): 183U91.
  18. UNEP. 2005. "E-waste, the hidden side of IT equipment"™s manufacturing and use". Environmental Alert Bulletin, 5: 1-3.
  19. UNEP 2013. "Storage and disposal of mercury in Mexico and Panama". UNEP in Latin America and the Caribbean Newsletter, 6.
  20. USGS. 2001. "Obsolete Computers, "˜Gold Mine"™, or High-Tech Trash?". Resource Recovery from Recycling. USGS Fact Sheet FS-060-01: 1-4.
  21. Walters, A.; Santillo, D. 2008. "Evidence of environmental and health impacts of electronics recycling in China: an update". Greenpeace International, 4: 1-12.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

<< < 1 2