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Characterization of monitor recycling in Seattle, Washington

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Abstract

With the rapid growth of electronic waste (e-waste), policies that aim to effectively manage this waste stream have been introduced globally in recent years. Seattle, Washington, has been on the forefront of introducing policies to divert e-waste from the landfills and maximize recycling. With the introduction of the Take-it-Back-Network, a solid recycling infrastructure has existed in the Greater Seattle region since 2003. In 2009, the E-Cycle Washington program took into effect and now allows recyclers to offer free recycling of certain e-waste to households and small entities. Although policies to divert e-waste from the landfill to reuse and recycling is effective, there is also a need to analyze the current regional recycling infrastructure’s capacity to handle changing equipment and material quantities. This study aims to characterize the Seattle regional e-waste management capacity, with a focus on retired monitors as an example of a changing e-waste technology. We investigated waste computer monitor recycling in the Greater Seattle region, which includes the counties of King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap. Interviews were conducted on 20 collectors, 1 handler, and 2 processors to collect information on their business models, computer monitor management processes, and collection/processing quantities. Using this information, we summarize the material flows of end-of-life (EOL) cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors in the region, both from the qualitative and quantitative perspective.

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Acknowledgments

The research team acknowledges the support by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Material Use: Science, Engineering and Society (MUSES) Program, under Award No. 0628190. Special thanks are due to Lisa Sepanski of the King County (WA) Solid Waste Division, Craig Lorch of Total Reclaim and one anonymous recycler. The authors would also like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments in preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Box 352600, Seattle, WA, 98195-2600, USA

    Seung-Jin Lee & Joyce Cooper

  2. SBW Consulting, Inc., 2820 Northup Way, Suite 230, Bellevue, WA, 98004, USA

    Gina Hicks

Authors
  1. Seung-Jin Lee
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  2. Joyce Cooper
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  3. Gina Hicks
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seung-Jin Lee.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Collectors phone interview questions

  1. 1.

    Is this a minority or women-owned business? If yes, which? —

  2. 2.

    What percentage of employees are minority and/or woman? —%

  3. 3.

    What services do you offer and approximately what percentage of sales is each?

    1. i.

      Thrift store or organization —

    2. ii.

      Landfill —

    3. iii.

      Recycling facility —

    4. iv.

      Reuse facility —

    5. v.

      Refuse or recycling hauler —

    6. vi.

      Transfer station —

    7. vii.

      Retail store —

    8. viii.

      Scrap metal dealer —

    9. ix.

      Other. Please specify —

  4. 4.

    What is the number of employees, average wage, and skill requirements for those involved in retired monitor (computers + TVs) management?

Drivers: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Forklift operators: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Sales: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Administration: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Others: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

  1. 5.

    If you pick up part of your retired monitors, describe your fleet in terms of # of trucks:

    1. i.

      US Class 8 (heavy) truck, diesel —

    2. ii.

      US Class 6 (medium) truck, diesel —

    3. iii.

      US Class 6 (medium) truck, gasoline —

    4. iv.

      US Class 1 (light) truck, gasoline —

    5. v.

      Other —

  2. 6.

    What is the quantity of retired computer monitors you receive (weight or units)?

CRTS ——; LCDs ——

  1. 7.

    For question 6, what is the time frame (per month, per year)? ——

  2. 8.

    Do you charge a fee when receiving retired computer monitors? Alternatively, do you pay your clients? And how much?

CRT, Clients pay $ — Collector pays $—

LCD, Clients pay $ — Collector pays $—

  1. 9.

    What is the percentage of retired computer monitors you receive from households versus businesses (weight or units)?

Households —% Business —%

  1. 10.

    What percentage of your inventory is through (weight or units):

    1. i.

      Drop-off —%

    2. ii.

      Pick-up services —%

    3. iii.

      Municipal programs/Special events —%

    4. iv.

      From manufacturers —%

    5. v.

      Retailers (Staples, Office Depot, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.) —%

    6. vi.

      Mail-in —%

  2. 11.

    What percentage of your inventory is:

    1. i.

      Reused as monitors —%

    2. ii.

      Sent to handlers or processors for recycling —%

    3. iii.

      Landfilled —%

    4. iv.

      Incinerated —%

    5. v.

      Exported —%

  3. 12.

    In question 11, if item ii is not zero, which handlers or processors do you send to?

Appendix 2: Handlers and processors on-site interview questions

  1. 1.

    Is this a minority or women-owned business? If yes, which? —

  2. 2.

    What fraction of employees are minority and/or woman? —%

  3. 3.

    How many employees does the business have? —

  4. 4.

    What services do you offer and approximately what percentage of revenue is each (if there is an overlap, numbers may not add up to 100)?

    1. i.

      Thrift store or organization —

    2. ii.

      Landfill —

    3. iii.

      Recycling facility —

    4. iv.

      Reuse facility —

    5. v.

      Refuse or recycling hauler —

    6. vi.

      Transfer station —

    7. vii.

      Retail store —

    8. viii.

      Scrap metal dealer —

    9. ix.

      Other. Please specify —

  5. 5.

    What is the number of employees, average wage, and skill requirements for those involved in retired monitor (computers + TVs) management (if there is an overlap of roles, numbers may not add up to total number of employees)?

Drivers: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Forklift operators: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Manual separators: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Equipment operators: No. of Employees ___ Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Sales: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Administration: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

Others: No. of Employees — Average Wage ($/h) —Skill/Edu Requirement —

  1. 6.

    If you pick up part of your retired monitors, describe your fleet in terms of # of trucks:

    1. i.

      US Class 8 (heavy) truck, diesel —

    2. ii.

      US Class 6 (medium) truck, diesel —

    3. iii.

      US Class 6 (medium) truck, gasoline —

    4. iv.

      US Class 1 (light) truck, gasoline —

    5. v.

      Other vehicles —

  2. 7.

    What is the quantity of retired computer monitors you receive (weight or units)?

CRTS —; LCDs —

  1. 8.

    For question 6, what is the time frame (per month, per quarter, etc.)? —

  2. 9.

    Do you charge a fee when receiving retired computer monitors? Or alternatively, do you pay your clients? And how much?

CRT, Clients pay $ —; Collector pays $—; LCD, Clients pay $ —; Collector pays $ —

  1. 10.

    What is the percentage of retired computer monitors you receive from households versus businesses (weight or units)?

Households —% Business —%

  1. 11.

    What percentage of the collected monitors is received through (weight or units):

    1. i.

      Drop-offs —%

    2. ii.

      Pick-up services —%

    3. iii.

      Municipal programs/Special events —%

    4. iv.

      From manufacturers —%

    5. v.

      Retailers (Staples, Office Depot, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.) —%

    6. vi.

      Mail-in —%

  2. 12.

    What percentage of the collected monitors is:

    1. i.

      Remanufactured/resold/reused as refurbished monitors/TVs —%

    2. ii.

      Demanufactured to reuse/resell individual parts & subassemblies —%

    3. iii.

      Handled (manually separated for further recycling) —%

    4. iv.

      Processed (shredded and grinded) or sent to processors —%

    5. v.

      Landfilled —%

    6. vi.

      Incinerated —%

    7. vii.

      Exported —%

  3. 13.

    In question 11, if item v is not zero, which processors do you send to and how much do you pay them?

  4. 14.

    CRT materials destination and eventual use

    Material

    Quantity (estimated weight per monitor)

    Destination (outcome: to reuse, recycle, energy generation, landfill, other (specify))

    Destination (location: city, state, or country)

    Final use of material (if reused or recycled)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  5. 15.

    LCD materials destination and eventual use

Material

Quantity (estimated weight per monitor)

Destination (outcome: to reuse, recycle, energy generation, landfill, other (specify))

Destination (location: city, state, or country)

Final use of material (if reused or recycled)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lee, SJ., Cooper, J. & Hicks, G. Characterization of monitor recycling in Seattle, Washington. Reg Environ Change 10, 349–369 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-009-0106-8

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