Eco-credit system to incentivise the recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment based on a thermodynamic approach Online publication date: Tue, 18-May-2021
by Alicia Valero; Ricardo Magdalena; Guiomar Calvo; Sonia Ascaso; Fernando Círez; Abel Ortego
International Journal of Exergy (IJEX), Vol. 35, No. 1, 2021
Abstract: The use of electric and electronic equipment has been increasing dramatically in the last years and entails an important amount of waste containing many valuable metals which could constitute an important source of raw materials if appropriately recycled. In this paper, an expression has been developed to value waste of electric and electronic equipment that are sent by users to an appropriate recycling plant. The user obtains in turn eco-credits, which can be later exchanged through different incentives. The eco-credit expression is based on the raw material content of the given device, assessed through an indicator called thermodynamic rarity, which rates minerals according to their scarcity in the crust and the energy required to mine and refine them. Additionally, the state of the device, lifetime and recyclability of the materials are considered in the equation. The expression has been applied as a case study to a working tablet and an LED lamp.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Exergy (IJEX):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook