The return of waste electrical and electronic equipment in reverse logistic and impact of recycling economy

Due to the rapid technological developments and increasing needs experienced today, we have been facing a new type of waste which is called "electrical and electronic waste". The term includes all of the items which have usage areas at home, in office and industry or which have completed their useful life or which are not used anymore due to other technical problems and their impossibility of repairment such as televisions, mobile phones, telephones, refrigerators, washing machines, computers and etc. These items contain many harmful components such as, mercury, cadmium, selenium and plastic in particular, that are harmful both for environmental and for human health. In this study, how electrical and electronic waste should be collected with a minimum rate of damage to human and environmental health, how the harmful components are processed within the recycling systems, and the necessity of processing of waste electrical and electronic items are investigated not only by taking the European Union Standards but also National Legal Regulations into consideration. Furthermore, within the scope of this study, the rationality question of the recycling of these items is examined based on the one-year tonnage of electrical and electronic waste of Istanbul. During this examination, a licensed recycling facility had been observed for two years and collected data's were processed as one year, furthermore the workflow diagrams and process layouts gained from the facility that were used. Key words: Legal Regulations, WEEE Management, Electrical-Electronic Waste, Recycling.