The management of Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
The management of solid waste in the world - especially WEEE associated with the so called, e-waste, has been based in an attempt to reduce the problem of increasing generation through standardization of recycling processes and standardization of laws of each country [9]. There is a return potential (financial and marketing, for example) to producers of WEEE, but the fact is that the form of management of such waste is still strongly influenced by the current legislation, especially when it comes to RL [10]. In fact, an issue that stands out is: the importance of WEEE management would be the potential environmental impacts or the additional gains with recycling?
The WEEE are composed of plastic, glass, electronic components and various types of highly toxic heavy metals, resulting in two risks:
a) Contamination of consumers using obsolete equipment at home and the people involved with the collection, sorting and recycling of products;
b) Environmental contamination, because even in landfills, the contact of heavy metals with water contaminates the leachate. Penetrating into the soil, this material may contaminate groundwater or bioaccumulate in living organisms.