Household waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) inventory and management model recommendation study for Turkey

One of the most important problems in the developing world's is the management of waste electrical and electronic wastes (WEEE) management. By help of the growing population, as well as the rapid progress of technology, the types and quantities of electrical and electronic waste increased/continues to increase. Coordinated and efficient process of the collection, transportation and recycling issues, emphasizing a focused sensitivity need to household WEEE, are in the main topic of the scientific world and developed countries. Because, management of these wastes by considering the environmental benefit contributes to nature and creates economic value. It is known that there are deficiencies in the management of electrical and electronic waste in Turkey. With this thesis study, current situations in household WEEE management in Turkey have been researched and assessed in order to find an answer to question; "What should be a more sustainable WEEE management system in terms of environmental and economic aspects?". In addition to the research carried out during the multidimensional analysis of the current WEEE management system in Turkey, interviews with the manufacturers, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization officials and Authorized Organizations have contributed to detect deficiencies of the existing system. Due to the lack of an official inventory of WEEE quantities available in Turkey, a household WEEE inventory study was created for Turkey and short to medium term projections (the year between 2016 and 2031) were made for the household WEEE quantities to be generated in Turkey. Estimated population of Turkey is 92.750.0011 for the year 2036 according to the calculations made by cohort-component method. This estimation is consistent with the population projection of Turkish Statistical Institute between 2013-2075. As an important input of the household WEEE inventory study, population projections were made for Turkey and provinces until the year of 2036 according to the Cohort-component method. The Cohort-component method is a modern population projection study, unlike classical statistical projections, migration, age range, gender, and fertility data is also included in the model. Within the context of inventory study, an economic classification of the provinces has been made in order to provide a more healthy assessment in terms of identifying the number of household waste groups. As a result of economic classification, provinces of Turkey has been divided into 3 categories, "Developed cities", "Developing cities" and "Least developed cities" according to Turkish Statistical Institute data. As a result of the household WEEE inventory study, it is estimated that 676.000 tons of domestic WEEE are generated in Turkey in 2016 and this value is expected to reach 720,000 tons in the year 2021. In 2016, ~543,000 tons of the total household WEEE consist of large household items, including refrigerators and washing machines. It was calculated that household WEEE production amounts is 9,80 kg/person-year in developed cities, 7,16 kg/person-year in developing cities, and 4,33 kg/person-year in less developed cities. Within the scope of inventory results, household WEEE quantities in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Bursa, Konya and Antalya were estimated to be approximately 390,000 tons in 2016. This situation means that approximately 50% of the household WEEE produced in Turkey in 2016 is formed by 7 metropolitan cities. As a result of household WEEE inventory and deficiencies in the current WEEE management system; recommendations have been presented related to WEEE collection and transportation system, manufacturers' obligations, process of collection centers, the need for WEEE recycling plants, the duties of the municipalities, consumers' responsibilities in order to be integrated on into the management system and financing of WEEE management. Two options have been investigated for financing the proposed household WEEE management system. The first option is a model where municipalities can finance their own resources, funds (development banks) and international funds. The other option is the way of financing through public-private partnership model. As a result, the contribution of the recommended household WEEE management system to the Turkish economy is emphasized. The proposal of the housewold WEEE management model has been made by taking into consideration international best practices, national / EU legislations and, more significantly, the social habits of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey. WEEE management system suggestions emphasized in thesis study are basically classified as follows: -Domestic WEEE collection and transportation system recommendations, -Proposals on the efficiency of waste collection center, -Assessing the need of WEEE recycling centers, -Proposals for EEE producer responsibilities, -Proposals for the liabilities of the Municipalities, -Suggestions on the integration of consumers into the WEEE management system, -Identification of an applicable financial model. Turkey has been divided into 5 administrative regions in order to provide an effective household WEEE management in thesis study. While these regions were created, the situation of the existing WEEE management system, processing plants and waste amounts expected to occur were taken into account. As a result of the lack of existing WEEE recycling facilities in Turkey, the importance of the establishment of 4 integrated WEEE processing facilities (for Ankara, Adana, Erzurum and Diyarbakır) in capacities suitable for the probable WEEE quantities, which were calculated by the projections in thesis, has been assessed. According to WEEE management model provided in thesis study, there is no need an extra integrated WEEE recycling plant for the Marmara and Aegean region because of the existence of high-capacity facilities. Financial analysis of the new facilities has been also evaluated. Capacity and investment cost information for these facilities, which are foreseen to serve for regional household WEEE management, are shown below: -Ankara Integrated WEEE Recycling Plant with 100,000 tons capacity – approximate investment cost: $17.500.000 -Adana Integrated WEEE Recycling Plant with 100,000 tons – approximate investment cost: $17.500.000 -Erzurum Integrated WEEE Recycling Plant with 40.000 tons capacity – approximate investment cost: $7.500.000 -Diyarbakır Integrated WEEE Recycling Plant with 20,000 tons– approximate investment cost: $4 million. According to the facility capacities and costs given above, it is estimated that the initial investment budget for the household WEEE regional management model will be approximately 47 million USD totally in order to meet the needs of integrated recycling facilities only. It is believed that this thesis study will contribute to the needs of Turkey by providing solutions to the existing problems regarding household WEEE management in short term. Within the context of recommended management model, it was aimed that household WEEE of Turkey could be managed in accordance with the environmental regulations and contributed to Turkish economy. In this aspect, the proposals within the scope of the thesis study are in compliance with with the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs).