Electrical and electronic equipment recovery and recycling in Turkey

Discarded electrical and electronic equipment contains valuable materials, low value parts, and hazardous substances. There is a growing concern regarding the management of end-of-use equipment owing to the environmental concerns associated with discarding used devices. Electronic waste or scrap consumes valuable landfill space and may ultimately contaminate groundwater sources. In addition, replacing discarded components with new components typically consumes valuable virgin material resources. With the advent of the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive, used electrical and electronic products are now being recovered in Turkey as a European Union (EU) candidate country, and several companies in Turkey have begun to recover latent value through disassembly and reuse/recycling of materials and components. To remain competitive, these companies must implement economical and environmentally responsible recovery processes. There are a number of research challenges associated with product recovery. This paper describes the current product recovery infrastructure in Turkey, and discusses future trends and drivers for successful product take-back. Copyright © 2005 by ASME