Austrian Society for Systems Engineering and Automation

Business-to-business waste electrical and electronic equipment systems are not reported under current European Union regulations. This paper examines the independent, unreported, industrial networks for the collection and treatment of such waste in the UK, Austria, Germany, Romania and Spain. Methods used are semistructured interviews and surveys of relevant literature. The results show that treatment options are highly driven by the end market for the resulting product. Reuse rarely occurs in Austria and Spain, but is common in the UK and prevalent in Germany. The flow of equipment through different recovery/disposal routes cannot be estimated. It is concluded that a solution needs to be developed to avoid negative sustainability impacts, but which does not place such a burden on the industry that it makes the practice unattractive.