Full Conference Agenda
Conference pass gives you access to all 4 conference tracks, the exhibition hall, and all post-event proceedings
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E-Waste & WEEE Recycling
DAY 1: Wednesday 28 June 2023
09:00 am – 11:55 am
Opening Keynote Presentations
09:05 am – 09:30 am
Latest global, regional facts and projections on e-waste
Kees will present the latest global overview over e-waste quantities, e-waste management status, and transboundary movement. Zoom into the latest projections in Asia and the potential of a circular economy.
09:30 am – 09:55 am
Interim Findings Arising From Cutting Edge Research and Innovation Projects
The WEEE Forum are involved in a number of EU grant-funded projects regarding resource efficiency, CRM, future availability of secondary raw materials, digital product passports, battery separation, product information systems and circular digital devices. The presentation will be a moment to disseminate the interim findings arising from these projects.
10:20 am – 10:50 am
Coffee Break
10:50 am – 11:15 am
World First Technology used in UK Sustainable Gold Refinery
11:15 am – 11:55 am
Panel Discussion: Europe’s Critical Raw Materials’ Act: what’s the role of recycling?
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
11:55 am – 13:15 pm
Lunch Break
13:15 pm – 17:15 pm
Transboundary Movements and Responsible E-waste Management
13:15 pm – 13:30 pm
Emerging EPR type policies in North America region and how does it compare with EU legislation
Europe was in the past a pioneer and probably will stay a global leader in developing the extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies. However, other regions globally started to actively rethink the waste management at home: one very active region is recently Canada and the United States. Multiple new policies are being developed on the state/provinces levels ranging from classical producer extended responsibility, state financed collection and treatment systems and instruments such as right to repair for broken equipment. However, the legislation can vary immensely in the region, and high legislators’ activity blurs the picture on actual regulatory requirements. This will create new obligations for producers in regard to extended producer responsibility policies. Our presentation will provide an inside into existing regulatory requirements resulting from selected existing legislation in Canada and the United State. Comparison of those to the European WEEE Directive will provide a feeling on differences and similarities.
13:40 pm – 14:05 pm
A global standard for the sustainable management of e-waste
Many countries have placed obligations on manufacturers to ensure that their products are properly recycled and disposed once they reach the end of their useful life. Yet, extended producer responsibility has not been made obligatory all over the world. The new international IEC standard aims to facilitate the systematic, sustainable management of e-waste. Among its objectives, it seeks to reduce the amount of e-waste sent for disposal through reuse and recovery, prevent the inappropriate disposal of e-waste and restrict operators who do not comply with the standard or comparable requirements from receiving e-waste shipments.
14:05 pm – 14:55 pm
Panel Discussion: Illegal Shipments: Basel Code changes and Regulations and the impact on the e-waste industry
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
14:55 pm – 15:15 pm
Coffee Break
15:25 pm – 15:50 pm
How can the transboundary movement of e-waste enable higher value recovery of materials via reverse logistics - opportunities and solutions for companies and governments
The presentation aims to illustrate the economic opportunity of material extraction from e-waste, aided by efficient implementation of transboundary regulations and efficient RRR technologies, and the potential environmental and social impacts through efficient reverse logistics. It also aims to set the foundation for collaborative actions that can be developed by public and private sectors to manage e-waste efficiently while extracting maximum value in economic growth and development.
15:50 pm – 16:15 pm
The regulation of raw material supply chains within the EU
The presentation will give a high-level overview of the impact of recent EU policy and lawmaking on critical raw material supply chains. It will touch on the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the Batteries Regulation, the Conflict Minerals Regulation, and the Critical Raw Materials Act. It will also look at the recent development of ESG standards and best practices in the context of raw material supply chains.
16:15 pm – 17:00 pm
Panel Discussion: Challenges for e-waste management in the Global South
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
This expert panel organised by the StEP Initative at the E-Waste World Conference and Expo in Frankfurt conference will explore key aspects of e-waste management in South-East Asia, with a focus on Laos. The panelists, Souphaphone Soudachanh, Vanessa Gray, and Bernd Kopacek, will provide valuable insights into the current state of e-waste management, the role of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, and the significance of hydrometallurgical recycling technology in countries with advanced informal recycling sectors.
By bringing together these esteemed panelists, the conference aims to foster an insightful discussion on advancing e-waste management in South-East Asia. Attendees can expect to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of e-waste management, explore effective strategies to increase collection rates through EPR schemes, and explore the transformative potential of hydrometallurgical recycling technology in shaping the recycling landscape in the Global South.
E-Waste & WEEE Recycling
DAY 2: Thursday 29 June 2023
09:00 am – 10:05 am
Circularity of the Energy transition
09:00 am
Opening Remarks
09:05 am – 09:30 am
Circular Economy, E-waste and the Energy Transition
Reaching net-zero goals is a massive undertaking, requiring an urgent systems-wide change in how we live and work. Making the needed changes at speed to support the energy transition is possible – provided we build a more circular economy. Strategies including greater recycling, use of recycled materials, and design for second life and disassembly will all underpin the energy transition. We will also have to prepare for a new huge stream of e-waste.
09:30 am – 10:05 am
Panel Discussion: The impact of the Energy transition
PANELLISTS
10:05 am – 10:30 am
Coffee Break
10:30 am – 13:00 pm
The road to recovery
10:30 am – 10:55 am
The Role of the Basel Convention in promoting circular economy and e-waste recycling
Electronic devices and electrical equipment, from fridges and washing machines to smartphones and other electronic gadgets define modern life in the 21st century, thus making E-waste one of the fastest-growing waste streams. Each year, more than 50 million tonnes of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) are produced with only about 17% being formally recycled. The presentation will highlight how the Basel Convention is adapting to respond to this challenge by further promoting circular economy with the recently adopted Basel Convention e-waste amendments, which ensure that all transboundary movements of e-wastes, whether hazardous or not, are subject to the prior informed consent of the importing state and any state of transit.
10:55 am – 11:20 am
Squaring the circle? WEEE recycling between Circular Economy and Zero Pollution
High reuse rates for recycled raw materials are increasingly conflicting with the complete and permanent elimination of certain substances from the product cycle (zero pollution). In this context, there is a particular lack of a clear hierarchy of objectives and a coordinated framework of legislation, standardization and demand management. This presentation will examine some of the key issues WEEE recyclers are facing under current legislation.
11:20 am – 11:45 am
Accelerating Decarbonisation: Recycling Critical Metals
As global demand for gold and other valuable metals continues to rise, local governments are no longer able to rely on carbon-intensive and outdated technology to keep up with demand and preserve the planet. Electronic waste and other discarded technologies are the world’s fastest growing waste streams and offer untapped sources to valuable metals. Not only is there an ecological imperative for this, but it is also economically viable for our local cities. Come along to hear from serial biotech entrepreneur Dr Will Barker, who has had a successful career in science commercialisation, and has most recently founded cleantech company Mint Innovation in 2016 (www.mint.bio). Mint Innovation has recently launched the world’s first commercial scale biorefinery in Australia, using a natural, low-carbon process to recycle over 3,000 tonnes of local electronic waste back into valuable metals, including gold, copper, palladium, tin and silver. Dr Will Barker will share opportunities and challenges facing the rapidly growing global sector of ‘waste to value’ as they look to expand into Europe and tackle other harmful waste streams, such as lithium ion batteries.
11:45 am – 12:10 pm
Cost efficient material recovery strategies for E-Waste (WEEE)
12:10 pm – 13:00 pm
Battery Fires in E-waste: Issues, Risks and Good Practice Solutions
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
13:00 pm – 14:00 pm
Lunch Break
14:00 pm – 15:30 pm
Plastics Recycling & Material Separation From E-Waste
14:00 pm – 14:40 pm
Panel Discussion: Boosting e-waste plastics’ recycling: is there any silver bullet?
MODERATOR
PANELLISTS
14:40 pm – 15:05 pm
Recycling WEEE Plastics – advanced separation techniques and mandatory recycling targets
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) contains roughly 20 % plastics. Only a relatively small fraction of WEEE plastics is currently recycled, as a high number of different polymers as well as restricted substances (e.g. brominated flame retardants) and fillers hamper sorting and recycling. In the recent research project KUREA, the German Environment Agency and its contractors Ramboll and Fraunhofer IVV investigated advanced separation technologies and developed recycling strategies for WEEE plastics. The study assessed and tested recycling options which can be implemented using advanced off-the-shelf separation technology. In a lab-scale experiment, filled PP was separated from shredder residues from household appliances and was processed to obtain usable recyclates. Optionally fillers could be removed using solvent-based recycling techniques. In a second experiment, the efficiency of sensor-based sorting using XRT and LIF spectroscopy was tested using mixed plastics from small WEEE. This technology allowed for recycling of PS, ABS and PC/ABS fractions, traditionally lost to high bromine fractions in density separation. For wide implementation of these recycling strategies and to increase recycling capacity, the German Environment Agency recommends to establish publicly funded investment programmes and to introduce mandatory recycling targets for WEEE plastics as well as mandatory recycled content targets for post-consumer plastics in EEE placed on the European market.
