Transition of WEEE to the Circular Economy

The proposed activities will address a number of key questions: a) What is the current fate of the resources in WEEE? b) How is WEEE going to change between now and beyond 2020? c) How can the management of WEEE be transformed by 2020 so that key resources are extracted and remain part of a circular economy? (d) What would be the optimum resource recovery system for WEEE beyond 2020, and what research is required to make this viable? (e) How will increased resource efficiency and energy savings benefit society and reduce environmental impact? The answers to these questions require the production of a detailed knowledge base to build inter-disciplinary research plans to inform future research involving appropriate partners. The key underlying activities include: (i) A Launch event at which keynote presentations will be given to set the context and rationale for the proposed research, to agree the scope of work, to define the criteria against which priority decisions will be made, and to ratify the approach to be adopted and the allocation of responsibilities; (ii) Evidence gathering and (iii) Data interpretation through desk-based research of primary, secondary and technical literature, personal communication, stakeholder interviews, case study visits to producers and handlers of WEEE, OEM's etc; development and application of mind mapping tools as a basis for informed scientific decisions at policy, regulatory and operational levels in terms of overall vision, impact relationships and stakeholder engagement, and to identify clusters of common interest. Inherently, there is a need to understand the current composition, volume and fate of WEEE, the technologies, processes and systems, existing and under development for the recovery of key value components from WEEE, and the environmental and health impacts of end-of-life treatment methods and benefits through reduced use of virgin materials; (iv) Themed Workshops to be held at ICL focusing on the 5 key research questions will involve brainstorming sessions (making use of virtual meetings, as appropriate) with all partners to prioritise key value component streams of strategic importance to the economy and natural ecosystems; investigate potential routes/process technologies that maximise the return of components of WEEE to the commercial cycle; determine the scope for reuse, remanufacture, and recycling of resources from WEEE, alone or combined with other appropriate waste streams to maximise benefits and deliver integrated synergistic solutions; and identify any gaps in expertise that will need to be resourced to take the project to the next stage. A proven "cascade" methodology for the distillation of challenge ideas and emerging issues to refine further key focus areas and timely research priorities will be applied; (v) Proposal preparation towards achieving the step-change in material recovery processes from WEEE that will deliver holistic social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits.

TransWEEE is an application for a Catalyst Grant designed to set up a partnership of experts with the aim of developing major research grant applications to achieve a paradigm shift towards zero waste from electrical and electronic equipment at end of life. The impact of the partnership will be to deliver a holistic approach to optimise the research requirements for management of WEEE beyond 2020. The impacts that would arise from the overall programme following the successful completion of the Catalyst Grant are summarised here. Major benefits would be expected to accrue to the UK waste and EEE industries in terms of: (i) the delivery of improved and novel methodologies and technologies for the treatment and management of WEEE for use in the UK and export worldwide, including the export of technologies to permit the safe handling of WEEE in developing countries; (ii) opportunities for the development of innovative manufacturing processes, including design for the environment in the UK and the EU; (iii) job creation in the waste and manufacturing industries; (iv) reduction in consumption of and requirements for virgin materials that will also deliver a general environmental benefit in resource conservation and reduced environmental impact resulting from primary production; (v) return of strategic metals to the commercial cycle thus protecting material security; (vi) sustaining consumer demand for EEE or alternative products by maximising the return of materials to the circular economy; (vii) reduction in the quantity of residual waste destined for final disposal; and (viii) mechanisms for influencing behaviour change to maximise consumer participation in emerging systems for EEE and WEEE management, and provision for social inclusion in the benefits.