Title
Product or waste? Importation and end-of-life processing of computers in Peru
Date Issued
01 August 2009
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Arizona State University
Abstract
This paper considers the importation of used personal computers (PCs) in Peru and domestic practices in their production, reuse, and end-of-life processing. The empirical pillars of this study are analysis of government data describing trade in used and new computers and surveys and interviews of computer sellers, refurbishers, and recyclers. The United States is the primary source of used PCs imported to Peru. Analysis of shipment value (asmeasuredbytrade statistics)shows that 87-88% of imported used computers had a price higher than the ideal recycle value of constituent materials. The official trade in end-of-life computers is thus driven by reuse as opposed to recycling. The domestic reverse supply chain of PCs is well developed with extensive collection, reuse, and recycling. Environmental problems identified include open burning of copper-bearing wires to remove insulation and landfilling of CRT glass. Distinct from informal recycling in China and India, printed circuit boards are usually not recycled domestically but exported to Europe for advanced recycling or to China for (presumably) informal recycling. It is notable that purely economic considerations lead to circuit boards being exported to Europe where environmental standards are stringent, presumably due to higher recovery of precious metals. © 2009 American Chemical Society.
Start page
6010
End page
6016
Volume
43
Issue
15
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería ambiental Economía
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-68049131604
PubMed ID
Source
Environmental Science and Technology
ISSN of the container
0013936X
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus