Recycling End-of-Life Electronic Equipment

Project Team

Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), Environment Canada and Industry Canada

Objective

To define the steps necessary to implement a national electronic waste recovery program, including options for a national roll-out; costs; roles for industry, municipalities and consumers; regulatory barriers; and greenhouse gas implications.

Description

In January 2002, ITAC (Information Technology Association of Canada) commissioned Enviros RIS to develop a Roadmap that would serve as an overview of a National Action Plan for End-of-Life Recovery of IT and Telecom Waste in Canada. The envisioned National Program would be a shared responsibility model (i.e., roles for municipalities, consumers and industry). This Roadmap, and the feedback that has been received on it, will provide the foundation for the development of a more detailed business plan and eventual roll-out of a National Program.

Resources

Keep up-to-date with the latest news about Canada’s electronic waste at Electronic Product Stewardship Canada.

Project Team

Legwork Environmental Inc.

Objectives

To define the regulatory environment governing the recycling of electronic waste in Canada in support of a parallel initiative by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) to design and implement a national electronics recycling program.

Description

This project provides a comprehensive review of the current regulatory environment for IT equipment and its components, as well as recyclable metals, at the federal, provincial/state and territorial level in Canada and the United States. Specific attention is paid to the rationale for including or exempting specific products or recyclable metals and to the identification of proposed legislation affecting recyclable products, components or metals that are not currently regulated. The project also identifies differences in the regulatory environment among Canadian provinces and territories, as well as regulatory differences that may exist between Canada and the United States.

Resources

Final Report

Project Team

Electronic Products Stewardship of Manitoba Inc. (EPSOM), Thomas Sill Foundation Inc., Province of Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, and many other in-kind contributors

Objectives

To establish a pilot recycling initiative for computers and other electronic equipment arising from the post-consumer sector within a regional area of Manitoba.

Description

Electronic Products Stewardship of Manitoba Inc. (EPSOM) was given a mandate to discover and implement effective means of collecting, reusing and recycling unwanted consumer electronics in the province of Manitoba. The project assessed, in practice, the feasibility of 7collection, testing for reusability, disassembly where warranted, recycling and recovery of computers and other electrical equipment. A “best practices” recycling manual was developed that has applicability to future recycling and recovery programs being initiated across Canada.

Resources

See Electronic Products Stewardship of Manitoba or Green Manitoba

Project Team

Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Industry Canada, Environment Canada

Objectives

To develop a preliminary national municipal position on what the municipal roles should be in the management of end-of-life electronic products.

Description

A comprehensive national framework for the management of electronic waste in Canada was developed in four steps: design and preparation, obtaining input from across Canada through a survey and teleconferences, holding a national workshop, and preparing a report on the preliminary national municipal position for possible approval by the FCM Board and subsequent consultations with other stakeholders.

Resources

Download the final report, entitled A National Consultation on the Management of Discarded Electronics, at the FCM Sustainable Communities Knowledge Network.

Project Team

Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour, Electronic Products Stewardship Canada, Resource Recovery Fund Board (RRFB) of Nova Scotia, Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (Newfoundland and Labrador), Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation, Prince Edward Island Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment, New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government

Objectives

• To assess the recycling capacity and infrastructure that currently exists both nationally and regionally.
• To examine options and opportunities for the creation of new facilities.
• To develop a business case that identifies the costs and technologies required for establishing a regional recycling facility.
• To identify all options regarding the potential for re-manufacturing of discarded electronics into new products for market.
• To determine what measures may be developed to create a communication mechanism between recyclers and manufacturers such that Design for the Environment and Design for Recycling initiatives may be incorporated into the initial manufacturing and final recycling process.

Description

Electronics Products Stewardship Canada (EPSC) was formed to create a national Extended Producer Responsibility Program. Provinces have indicated their readiness to move forward with the implementation of provincial programs that share common national principles for key elements of a recovery program. This study will provide the necessary analysis to support the development of an efficient national program, facilitate decision-making for the development of regional initiatives, and position Canada to develop new products and markets for discarded electronics. Finally, this study intends to ensure that more efficient product design and recycling emerges through the development of an international Design for the Environment and Design for Recycling committee with the global electronics industry.

Resources

Final report

Project Team

CFER Foundation and CFER de Bellechasse (urban) and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (rural), Hydro-Québec, Fédération des caisses Desjardins Federation, NovaPb, Robovic inc., RECYC-Québec, and Environment Canada/Quebec Region

Objective

The main goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate, in two geographical areas (urban and rural), innovative ways to recover, re-use, recycle and enhance computers complementing the federal Computers for Schools Program.

Description

Since 1990, Quebec’s business and waste recovery training centres - the CFERs (centres de formation en entreprise et récupération) - have developed and implemented recycling programs for different waste streams (paper, plastics, paints, wires, metal hardware from hydro and telecommunication distribution lines, etc.). CFER is a partner in the Computers for Schools Program and has recycled some of that equipment during a small trial.

This project involves the development and implementation of an end-of-life computer collection/dismantling/recycling program to be undertaken by two CFER facilities in Quebec. The project will include the development of a complete methodology for implementing an e-waste recycling program; study of the flows of computers from various sectors, including a detailed breakdown by weight of materials and origin; enhancement of the current CFER tracking system; and economic and GHG reduction analyses, to name a few. Students at the CFER facilities will be trained to properly and safely dismantle the equipment, and so will gain valuable skills training and work experience. The plan is to dismantle some 12 000 computers, representing roughly 235 tonnes of material.

Resources

Implementation guide and Final Report

Project Team

Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada, Public Works and Government Services (Office of Greening Government Operations), Industry Canada (Computers for Schools) and the RCMP.

Objectives 

A group of key Federal Departments formed a working group to explore ways of efficiently recycling federally generated EoL electronic equipment in an environmentally sound manner. Mechanisms that are under consideration are procurement instruments possibly supported by regulation with the intent of implementing an Extended Producer Responsibility regime with industry.

Description

This initiative is intended to complement not duplicate provincial programs and is exploring what federal policy changes are required in areas such as procurement, crown asset distribution and data security. Also under discussion, with input from industry sources, is the development of Environmentally Sound Management criteria for the processing of this EoL electronic equipment.  Once these issues have been addressed within the federal group then feedback will be sought from outside stakeholders. This is anticipated to take place sometime in the fall of 2007.

The Report

Please contact Recycling in Canada directly if you have any questions about this federal initiative.