Assessment of direction changes in waste electrical and electronic equipment management in Poland

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 31; no. 35; pp. 48773 - 48783
• Main Authors: Przydatek, Grzegorz, Kanownik, Włodzimierz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-07-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Circular economy; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic growth; Ecotoxicology; Electronic equipment; Electronic Waste; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; GDP; Gross Domestic Product; Household wastes; Poland; Recycling; Short Research and Discussion; Short Research and Discussion Article; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Waste Management - methods; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Poland; Waste management; e-waste; Collection; Recycling; Recovery; Statistics
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-34227-4

A growing amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) indicates the need to verify the effectiveness of its management both nationally and globally. An analysis of the WEEE economy in Poland conducted over 5 years confirmed a 16.64% increase in the mass of collected equipment. The maximum annual mass of electrical and electronic equipment introduced to the market during this period was 607,240 Mg, with the average value exceeding 500,000 Mg. The WEEE category with the largest collected mass was waste code 20 01 36, which exceeded 235,000 Mg, whilst the highest waste weight accumulation rate of 45.98 kg per capita was recorded in one of the smallest voivodeships in Poland. This result showed the diversity of WEEE accumulation on a national scale. Overall, a noticeable increase in the WEEE accumulation rate has occurred as Poland’s gross domestic product has increased, despite a decreasing population. An analysis based on the waste accumulation indicators, including socioeconomic factors, confirmed the need to develop forms of WEEE recovery and recycling to transition to a circular economy and promote the synergy of activities amongst all players in WEEE management.