Printed circuit board recycling in Australia

Paper


Parsons, David. 2007. "Printed circuit board recycling in Australia." Achieving Business Benefits from Managing Life Cycle Impacts (2006). Melbourne, Australia 22 - 24 Nov 2006 Melbourne, Australia.
Paper/Presentation Title

Printed circuit board recycling in Australia

Presentation TypePaper
Authors
AuthorParsons, David
Journal or Proceedings TitleProceedings of the 5th Australian Conference on Life Cycle Assessment
Number of Pages11
Year2007
Place of PublicationMelbourne, Australia
ISBN0975723111
Conference/EventAchieving Business Benefits from Managing Life Cycle Impacts (2006)
Event Details
Achieving Business Benefits from Managing Life Cycle Impacts (2006)
Event Date
22 to end of 24 Nov 2006
Event Location
Melbourne, Australia
Abstract

Electronic printed circuit boards (PCBs) are complex assemblies which embody numerous materials and which require quite large quantities of energy and other materials to manufacture. They also include significant quantities of metals such as lead, copper and nickel some of which are toxic to life and all of which are valuable resources. Large volumes of printed circuit boards are imported into Australia every year in television receivers, computers etc. and these must eventually be disposed of. Recovery of the valuable materials and their diversion from landfill where leaching of toxic materials may occur, is an expensive process because of the complexity of the product and the relatively small quantities present on each printed circuit board.

This paper uses an LCA approach to examine the value of recycling various grades of PCB. It compares various scenarios from complete landfill to recycling of most metallic components for a range of different PCBs from complex (such as in computer boards) to more simple (such as found on computer CRT monitors) and includes the shipping of PCBs overseas for processing. The study suggests that recycling is very worthwhile from the point of view of material recovery but only marginally worthwhile on other measures. It also reveals that the logistics of collection arrangements are critical and must avoid dedicated vehicle trips to deliver small quantities of end-of-life product.

Keywordsprinted circuit boards; recycling; landfill; life cycle assessment
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020400508. Infrastructure engineering and asset management
401102. Environmentally sustainable engineering
410499. Environmental management not elsewhere classified
Byline AffiliationsDepartment of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9xy1w/printed-circuit-board-recycling-in-australia

Download files


Submitted Version
PCB_Recycling_OctFinal_2006.doc
File access level: Anyone

  • 6167
    total views
  • 3374
    total downloads
  • 8
    views this month
  • 4
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Advancing a farmer decision support tool for agronomic decisions on rainfed and irrigated wheat cropping in Tasmania
Phelan, David C., Harrison, Matthew T., McLean, Greg, Cox, Howard, Pembleton, Keith G., Dean, Geoff J., Parsons, David, do Amaral Richter, Maria E., Pengilley, Georgie, Hinton, Sue J. and Mohammed, Caroline L.. 2018. "Advancing a farmer decision support tool for agronomic decisions on rainfed and irrigated wheat cropping in Tasmania." Agricultural Systems. 167, pp. 113-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.09.003
Home heating in temperate Australia
Parsons, David. 2010. "Home heating in temperate Australia ." International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 15 (8), pp. 785-793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-010-0184-3
Effects of replacing incandescent lamps with energy saving compact fluroescent lamps
Sharma, R., Parsons, D. and Sippell, B.. 2009. "Effects of replacing incandescent lamps with energy saving compact fluroescent lamps." Zahedi, Ahmad (ed.) 47th Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society (Solar09). Townsville, Australia 29 Sep - 02 Oct 2009 Townsville, Australia.
The environmental impact of engineering education in Australia
Parsons, David. 2009. "The environmental impact of engineering education in Australia." International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 14 (2), pp. 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-008-0045-5
Is there an alternative to exams? Examination stress in engineering courses
Parsons, David. 2008. "Is there an alternative to exams? Examination stress in engineering courses." International Journal of Engineering Education. 24 (6), pp. 1111-1118.
The environmental impact of compact fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps for Australian conditions
Parsons, David. 2006. "The environmental impact of compact fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps for Australian conditions." The Environmental Engineer. 7 (2), pp. 8-14.
Is the internet good for our environment?
Parsons, David. 2006. "Is the internet good for our environment? " Electroline.
Analysing the environmental costs in electronics
Parsons, David. 2006. "Analysing the environmental costs in electronics." Electroline.
The environmental impact of disposable versus re-chargeable batteries for consumer use
Parsons, David. 2007. "The environmental impact of disposable versus re-chargeable batteries for consumer use." International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 12 (3), pp. 197-203. https://doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.08.270
Semiconductors and the environment
Parsons, David. 2005. "Semiconductors and the environment." What's New in Electronics. 25 (6), pp. 12-13.
Rechargeables have the edge - environmentally
Parsons, David. 2005. "Rechargeables have the edge - environmentally." What's New in Electronics. 25 (5), pp. 40-41.
Encouraging learning through external engineering assessment
Parsons, D.. 2007. "Encouraging learning through external engineering assessment." Australasian Journal of Engineering Education. 13 (2), pp. 21-30.
End-of-life cathode ray tubes: a life cycle assessment for Australia
Parsons, David. 2007. "End-of-life cathode ray tubes: a life cycle assessment for Australia." The Environmental Engineer. 8 (4), pp. 7-13.
The environmental impact of electronics and its incorporation into the curriculum
Parsons, David. 2006. "The environmental impact of electronics and its incorporation into the curriculum." 17th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2006). Auckland, New Zealand 10 - 13 Dec 2006 Auckland, New Zealand.