The document discusses e-waste (discarded electronic equipment) which contains toxic substances that are often buried in landfills. It estimates that 1.4 million metric tons of e-waste are discarded annually in Brazil, with 10% from information and communication technology. E-waste is classified into different categories based on the types of electronic products. It poses risks to human health due to hazardous elements like lead, mercury, and others. The CEDIR project at USP works to properly dispose of and recycle e-waste through collection, dismantling, separation, and sending materials to partners for decharacterization and recycling. It also trains wastepickers to increase recycling and their incomes while promoting social inclusion and environmental

1. June 2019
CEDIR
Center for Disposal and Reuse of
Informatics Residuals
Tereza Cristina Carvalho
terezacarvalho@usp.br

2. E-waste
• It consists of discarded electro-electronic
equipment.
• It contains toxic and harmful substances, often
buried in landfills.
• IDC estimates that 1.4 million WEEE annually are
discarded in Brazil, with 10% being in the ICT area.
• Part of the world garbage is exported to developing
countries, where people work under inadequate
and unregulated conditions.

3. WEEE Classifications
• Brown Line - Tv / monitor TV, plasma / LCD TV /
monitor, DVD / VHS, audio products;
• Green Line - desktops, notebooks, printers, cell
phones;
• White Line - refrigerators, refrigerators and
freezers, stoves, washer, air-conditioning;
• Blue Line - blenders, blenders, electric irons and
drills.
The productive chain of WEEE is composed by:

4. E-waste Risks
• Hazardous elements
• Lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, copper, beryllium,
barium, chromium, nickel, zinc, silver and gold.
• Many of these elements are printed circuit boards
and electrical parts such as computer chips,
monitors and wiring.
• These elements pose risks to human health.

5. USP ACTIONS

6. GREEN SEAL
• Green Seal awarded to Green Systems
• Inexistence of Lead.
• Energy Saving.
• All sustainable components, including
packaging.
• Alignment with ISO 14.001 and ISO
9.001 standards.
• Adherence to ROHS (Restriction of
Certain Hazardous Substances).
• Adherence to EPEAT (Electronic
Product Environmental Assessment
Tool)

7. CEDIR

8. CEDIR
USP Community &
Society
E-waste Reception
Delivery to
Social
Projects
Screening
Yes
Can be reused?
No
Finished
the life-cycle
Yes No
Social
Projects
Collection & Screening
Dismantling
Components
Separation
Compacting
& Packing
Weighting
Send to Partners
Decharacterization
Weighing the
whole material
Raw Material
to Industry
Recyclers
Categorization
Recycling

9. Wasterpickers Training

10. Wastepickers Training
Economics
Higher income to
waste-pickers.
Recycling
Entrepreneurship
Incubator
Social
Social Inclusionof
Waste-pickers
Creation of
manpower to
recycling industry
Environmental
Correct e-waste
treatment.
Reduction of
landfill use.

12. Wastepickers Training
RESULTS
• Revenue generated from the e-waste treatment: R$ 173.236,11
• 900% increase in the value of electronic waste sold by
cooperatives
• 270 trained wastepickers, 80 cooperatives (2,700 watepickers
benefited)
• 8 cooperatives structured as recycling points for electronics
• 20 collection campaigns (14.5 tons collected)
• 7 replications of methodology at universities in Brazil (ES, MG,
PE, RS, SC, SE)

13. Wastepickers Training
RESULTS
Before After

14. Awards
April 2009
Mário Covas Award 2008 - Honorable Mention -
Category: Innovation - Green Seal and CEDIR
Projects
April 2010
Mário Covas Award 2009 - Category: Innovation -
CEDIR Project
Dec 2010
InfoExame Award - Category: Green Initiative -
CEDIR Project
April 2012
Mário Covas Award 2011 - Category: Innovation -
Eco-Eletro Project
June 2013
Von Martius Award - Category: Sustainability and
Technology

15. Final considerations
• Waste has increasingly been considered as a
value.
• Growth of the formal and informal waste
industry.
• Importance of wastepicker inclusion in the e-
waste reverse chain.
• Circular Economy
• Waste can be ...
• Reused, remanufactured or recycled.

16. Remanufacturing
Reuse
Recycling
> Return on
Investment
Final considerations