The EX900 sorting unit, manufactured by Exsor GmbH, is a completely new development in the field of fully automatic, sensor-aided metal sorting. It can accurately recognise and sort out electrically-conducting materials, has a throughput of up to 60 tons per hour for slag and has an intelligent automation concept with freely selectable sorting and metal programs. Thanks to the PROFIBUS automation concept it is possible to control, monitor and visualise all assembly groups and subsystems universally and modularly, while the system can be extended almost infinitely.

The Chinese steel sector is recovering from the recession, at least for the time being. Since hitting rock bottom in mid-November 2008, prices have significantly recovered, the warehouses have reduced their excess stock, and companies are hoping that the government’s infrastructure programme will help them overcome the crisis, reports the ‘Asien Kurier’ in its March edition. The steel recycling sector will also benefit from the upswing.

In future, energy and resource efficiency, as well as principles of closed loop recycling management will set the political agenda more than short-term economic growth. Germany is more than just a role model -- it will also be attractive as a supplier of raw materials for the Middle Kingdom.

Shredding is the common end-of-life treatment in Europe for dismantled car wrecks. It produces the so-called Automotive Shredded Residue (ASR), usually disposed of in landfill. This paper summarizes the outcome of a study carried out by Politecnico di Milano and LEAP with the support of Actelios SpA on the prospects of a technology based on sequential gasification and combustion of this specific waste stream.

This work concerns the characterization of Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR) samples coming from three industrial tests, each performed on 250 – 300 t of End of Life Vehicles (ELVs) in two different shredding plants. ASR samples underwent the following analyses: distribution of the different components (rubber, foam rubber, plastic, textile, metals and wires, glass and other materials) and their physical and chemical characterization (metals, water and oil contents, particlesize distribution, lower heating value - LHV, leaching test according to UNI 10802 procedure).

Sewage pumps are among the main electromechanical equipment of the sewage and wastewater management facilities around Europe for over 30 years. Their operational life is around 15-20 years and a significant number of these equipments are non-operating. The need for the replacement of these pumps leads to an increased number of them which should be disposed off in the forthcoming years.

Low voltage (LV) high-breaking-capacity fuse links (NH) are used in LV installations protecting mainly the LV electricity distribution networks and in a significant amount of LV electrical equipment used in industrial, commercial and residential facilities and infrastructures. The WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) for “Waste of electrical and electronic equipment” is the main related legislation and even though it concerns electrical and electronic equipment, it does not include electric fuses.

Polyblends based on mixtures of Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer with Polycarbonate (PC) and aw well as of ABS with High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), were prepared and studied, as a means to obtain data relevant to the performance of mixtures deriving from the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The above mixtures were treated in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder and the obtained samples were tested in terms of their structural, thermal and mechanical properties.

The recycling of waste towards valuable materials and their utilization into metal-based composites represents an important field of study. The composite industry nowadays prioritizes environmental improvements as much as other composite properties. In the present research, Ni powder was produced from the recycling of metallic waste, a low cost and largely available material, by an attractive hydrometallurgical recovery process.

The paper examines Greek households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for recycling electronic waste, in particular obsolete IT equipment. More specifically, it presents the results of a telephone survey, which was conducted in Attica Region. The survey highlights the importance of recycling convenience and provides answers to critical pieces of information in order to implement effective recycling policies for e-waste.

End of life vehicles is a new problem arrived in E.E. Many studies have shown that automobile manufacturing has increased last 20 years, with economic and environmental effects. The majority and these studies have shown new modes how to create environmental friendly cars with more and more parts that can be recycled. The basic aim of this study is to provide information toward the two approaches regarding recycling of end life vehicles. It brings out a brief of the European Directive (2000/53/E.E) and present nowadays targets with a future look to 2015 targets comprehending environmental and economic impacts. Finally, it shows up how to use recover material and as well recycle-reuse them.

The project was carried out from November 2006 to May 2008 (30 months) and aimed at implementing four EC Directives in the field of Waste Oil, Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Terphenyls, End-of-Life Vehicles, and Used Batteries and Accumulators as well as at implementing the Commission Decision on a List of Wastes which constitutes the indispensable differentiation between hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. Although the directives deal with very different issues, the link between them as a superior goal was the spirit of sustainable waste management and producer responsibility. The project was funded by the European Union.

The Catalan Association of municipalities for door to door selective waste collection published the Municipal handbook on door to door separate waste collection in Catalonia. This initiative has received the support of several regional administrations.

E-waste is an emerging problem owing to the hazardous materials associated with it. Electrical and electronic waste materials contains thousands of toxics metals e.g. lead and cadmium in the circuit board, lead oxide and cadmium in monitor Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs), mercury in switches and flat screen monitors, cadmium in computer batteries, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in capacitors and transformers, and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards. Besides the toxic materials associated with each component of the computer, insulation of certain parts like plastic casings cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) releases highly toxic gases.