Sustainability assessment of best locations for waste printed circuit boards processing units: The Brazilian case

Evaluación de la sostenibilidad para la asignación de unidades de procesamiento de residuos de placas de circuito impreso: el caso brasileño

Abstract

Waste Printed Circuit Boards (WPCB) are sources of valuable elements. In most developing countries, the WPCBs of formal chains are exported to treatment overseas given the absence of proper recycling plants, transferring the high-added value to developed nations. This study proposed a method to identify the best locations to implement WPCB recycling facilities considering sustainability criteria. The method was applied to the Brazilian case and consisted of state and municipal levels analysis based on 11 indicators related to the three sustainability dimensions, logistics criteria and geoprocessing tools. The results suggested São Paulo state (SP) as the main pole for WPCB processing in Brazil, with an estimated potential of WPCB generation of almost 24 t/d, and São Caetano do Sul and Jundiaí as the main favourable WPCB recycling municipalities. This study demonstrated that sustainable logistics for WPCB value recovery in developing countries is possible and desirable for achieving more circular patterns.

Keywords:
E-waste; Waste Printed Circuit Boards; Recycling; Urban Mining; Developing countries