Towards efficient end-of-life processes of electrical and electronic waste with passive RF communication

Deploying item-level radio-frequency identification (RFID) to recycling operations will foster the implementation of innovative sorting and management methodologies at a recycling operator's site and therefore decrease the environmental impacts of end-of-life processes. This paper focuses on end-of-life processes of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and demonstrates the technical feasibility of an increased recovery performance with a concomitant reduction of total energy consumption at a recycling operator's site. Today, the handling and recycling of high volumes of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) at recycling facilities is still very time-consuming and cost-intensive. In transmitting adequate information on the composition of appliances with an appropriate RFID system, first, the identification and sorting will be automated, and second, the dismantling processes will be assisted by information of how the device should be treated optimally. This paper discusses the technical feasibility of RFID technology in the context of WEEE recycling, based on preliminary results of a test installation at a pilot plant.