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Implementation of the WEEE-directive — economic effects and improvement potentials for reuse and recycling in Germany

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Abstract

Reducing the quantity of waste for disposal and saving natural resources were main drivers for the introduction of the European Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE-directive). This policy focused on an extension of the producer responsibility (EPR) to the end-of-life-phase of their products. Because of the EPR concept, the national transposition of the WEEE-directive, especially the German transposition in the law ElektroG, caused changes in the organisation and material flows that are sometimes not in line with the aim of the directive, which is to enforce the waste management premise “avoidance prior recycling prior disposal”. Thus, the objective of this contribution is to analyse and compare the situation before and after implementation of the ElektroG in Germany, and deduce improvement potentials. Therefore, a co-operation of a municipality and a nearby disassembly company in Germany is analysed and evaluated, taking into account material flows and costs before/after implementation of the ElektroG, as well as degrees of freedom. Based on this analysis, recommendations are deduced for political decision makers and actors of the WEEE treatment system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Automotive Management and Industrial Production, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Katharinenstrasse 3, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany

    Grit Walther, Jenny Steinborn & Thomas Stefan Spengler

  2. Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19 B, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany

    Tobias Luger & Christoph Herrmann

Authors
  1. Grit Walther
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  2. Jenny Steinborn
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  3. Thomas Stefan Spengler
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  4. Tobias Luger
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  5. Christoph Herrmann
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Grit Walther or Tobias Luger.

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Walther, G., Steinborn, J., Spengler, T.S. et al. Implementation of the WEEE-directive — economic effects and improvement potentials for reuse and recycling in Germany. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 47, 461–474 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-009-2243-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-009-2243-0

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