OPTIMISING WEEE FLOWS: A CASE STUDY OF A REVERSE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR MIXED SMALL ELECTRICAL WASTE

Abstract

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), is the one of the fastest growing waste streams in Europe with 12 million tonnes expected to be generated by 2020 (European Commission, 2018). In terms of unit numbers, small WEEE represents the largest fractions of WEEE arisings and the reuse/recycling return rates for small WEEE items (e.g. household appliances, mobile phones, computers, toys) are much lower than large WEEE (e.g. white goods and televisions). WEEE contains hazardous materials so diverting these away from landfill is environmentally beneficial, and there are also economic benefits associated with recovering and reusing components. As a result there has been growing interest in the Reverse Supply Chains (RSCs) of electronic goods and what value can be extracted from these unwanted items. Whilst there are many examples of electronic reverse supply chains in the literature, these typically focus on one specific product type. This paper presents an empirical case study of a RSC for the recovery of a mixed electrical product stream. The authors design a bespoke three tier collaborative RSC for the collection, transport and treatment of mixed household WEEE. The RSC is unique in that it is a collaboration between an electronics ReManufacturer (RM), and a Collecting Firm (CF) whose primary business is the national distribution of news publications. The live pilot implementation of the collaborative RSC allowed the researchers a rare opportunity to collect primary data into the potential value recovery of the mixed WEEE stream. From a practical perspective, the study is an example of how firms can collaborate to harness surplus logistics capacity to support environmental activities and potentially lead to business diversification opportunities. For academics, this paper would be a useful addition as unique, empirical case study.