Victorian e-waste material flow analysis
Context and objectives
In August 2021, Sustainability Victoria engaged Randell Environmental Consulting in association with Blue Environment to complete an electronic waste (e-waste) material flow analysis (MFA). The MFA was separated into 3 parts.
The first part focused on Victorian photovoltaic panel (PV) systems. The final part focuses on Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) units and Solar Hot Water Systems (SHWS) and will be published later.
The second part of the work, presented below, focused on the e-waste categories indicated in the E-Product Stewardship in Australia Report released by the Australian Government.
These 8 categories are:
- Temperature exchange equipment
- TV and computing equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Large household appliances
- Other large equipment
- Other small equipment
- Mobile phones
- Solar PV and battery storage.
The Victorian MFA analysed a total of 60 e-waste types that are grouped by the above 8 categories.
This MFA also builds on the model initially developed for Sustainability Victoria in 2015 before the Victorian e-waste landfill ban commenced 1 July 2019.
Report findings
E-product consumption
Please note that e-product consumption includes imported e-products and there is a risk of ‘double counting’ by adding assumed additional tonnages from local manufacture.
- In 2021, around one million tonnes of e-products are estimated to have been consumed in Australia. The best estimate projection of Australian e-product consumption in 2035 is about 1,400,000 tonnes. This represents a 2.3% compound annual growth rate in consumption, by weight, from 2021 to 2035.
E-waste end-of-life materials
Please note that each e-waste type allows for the trading of second-hand goods (e-products reuse), hoarding by the consumer, and some e-waste reuse.
- In 2021, around 650,000 tonnes of e-wastes are estimated to have been generated in Australia. The best estimate projection of e-waste in 2035 is about 930,000 tonnes. This represents a 2.6% compound annual growth rate in waste generation by weight from 2021 to 2035.
Victorian e-waste generation
- The trends in Australian e-waste generation apply equally to Victoria. Overall, Victorian e-waste generation is projected to increase at 2.7% year on year from 2021 to 2035.
- In 2021, an estimated 170,000 tonnes of e-waste were generated in Victoria.
- Mobile phones e-waste is on the decline and Solar PV and battery storage e-waste generation tonnages are predicted to increase the most with a 15% annual growth rate.
- TV and computing, lighting, and other small equipment are all projected to increase more slowly at less than 1% per annum.
- In 2021, the dominant e-waste generation tonnages were Other small equipment (at 34%), followed by Temperature exchange equipment (22%), TV and computing equipment (18%), and large household appliances (12%).
- In 2035, tonnages of Other small equipment and Temperature exchange equipment are each projected to be 25%, TV and computing equipment falls to 14%, Large household appliances increases to 16% and Solar PV and battery storage jumps to 10% from just 2% in 2021.
E-waste end-of-life management
- Overall, around 150,000 tonnes of e-wastes are estimated to have been sent for processing in Victoria with 75% sent to metal recyclers and 25% sent to e-waste reprocessors. The tonnages sent for processing represents 86% of e-waste managed in Victoria in 2021.
- The main distinction between e-waste reprocessors and metal recyclers is that e-waste reprocessors break down e-waste to materials or specific components that can be sold into local or international markets, while the metal recyclers shred e-waste and focus on ferrous and non-ferrous metal recovery resulting in higher residual losses than e-waste reprocessors aiming to recycle all material types.
- E-waste reprocessors predominantly process TV and computing equipment, other small equipment and lighting whereas metal recyclers have focused on temperature exchange equipment and small heavy equipment such as microwaves, e-lawn mowers, tools and large household appliances.
- Around 86% of e-waste generated in tonnages were sent to recovery pathways. Around 13% of e-waste generation was sent directly to landfill in Victoria and around 1% was illegally dumped in Victoria.
- However, only around 102,000 tonnes of the e-waste sent for recovery were processed into recyclate for downstream markets and around 45,000 tonnes of the e-wastes sent for processing were landfilled as processing residuals.
- This results in a net recycling rate of 60% of the e-wastes managed in Victoria. There was an estimated 26% difference between what was recovered for processing and what was processed into a recyclate for downstream markets. The net recycling rate is impacted by the kind of processing that is applied and the materials that are targeted.
- Overall, the tonnages sent for processing are high and will continue to increase, however, the net recycling rate for e-waste will remain at around the 60% mark unless more of the non-metal fractions of e-waste are recycled.
End markets for materials recovered
- Ferrous and non-ferrous metals have the most stable offtake market with some metals smelted onshore and the majority of both sent offshore for smelting.
- PCBs are predominantly sent offshore mostly to Japan and South Korea as Australia currently has no capacity to process them for metals content at a commercial scale.
- The most challenging output materials are non-leaded glass (lack of local markets) and plastics traditionally sent offshore. With the Australian Government export ban on plastics, and lack of local processing this has resulted in material stockpiling and eventually sent to landfill.
- E-waste plastic is also estimated to be around 65% Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) which has brominated flame retardants (BFRs). BFRs are considered a hazardous waste which is an additional barrier to process e-plastics with other plastics and a barrier for future export triggering restrictions and permitting requirements.
- Unless there is a market solution found for those materials there won't be an increase in the recycling rate of e-waste
Overall findings
Consumption of electronic product is only on the rise. In considering the future of e-waste processing and product stewardship scheme design for e-wastes, understanding the importance of the role the metals recycling industry plays is critical.
Industry have indicated that in 2021 the estimates e-waste reprocessors installed capacity was around 25,000 tonnes per year and commissioning planned capacity would increase capacity to around 50,000 tonnes per year by 2025.
If, for example, all e-waste was required to be processed by the e-waste reprocessing industry (certified to AS 5377) there would need to be an increase in processing capacity of around 110,000 tonnes per year in Victoria alone.
To increase recycling rate investing in infrastructure and developing markets for non-metal fraction of e-waste, such as glass and plastics, will be key.
