Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in a Regional Circular Economy Scenario

This study analyses the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management system of the Campania region, assessing the input and output material flows to and from the system and the environmental impacts of the recovery of the materials and components of WEEE after their first-step separation in a treatment plant located outside the region. The LCA midpoint and endpoint prelim-inary results demonstrate the environmental impacts of the collection and treatment of the R1 and R2 WEEE categories. The comparison of the environmental impacts for the recovered materials with the highest share (e.g. iron in R1 and mixed iron and steel in R2) shows that the recovery of secondary materials from WEEE generates lower environmental impacts than the production of the primary materials. This study confirms the importance of evaluating the environmental impacts of the European WEEE management system to better understand the social and just implications of the circular economy model.