Page 80 - Implementation of ITU-T international standards for sustainable management of waste electrical and electronic equipment: The path to a circular economy in Costa Rica

Implementation of ITU-T international standards for sustainable management of waste
electrical and electronic equipment: The path to a circular economy in Costa Rica

Based on the survey, it could be determined that only laptops and desktops are repaired
for second-hand sales in the country. Quantities reported for each tracer are in the order of
hundreds of units, significantly lower than the imports of new equipment of this kind, which
reach almost 364,000 laptop units and 76,000 PCs.

Figure 51 presents ownership data, in units, of televisions, PCs, and cell phones in Costa Rican
households gathered from the ENAHO. Based on these data and the unit weight of each
appliance, the tonnage of each type was estimated.

Figure 51 Estimated inventory of EEE in use in households

Comparing imports with household inventories, a ratio of 26.9 per cent for TVs, 31.7 per cent
for cell phones, and 9.9 per cent for PCs can be seen. This reflects the fast turnover or short
useful lives of EEE, particularly cell phones and TVs. This behaviour requires large volumes of
imports to be maintained, in order to keep the level of EEE in use.

3 6 3 Future material flows: period 2020 – 2030

Figure 52 shows the projected WEEE flows, in tonnes, for the period 2020–2030. Refrigerators,
washing machines, and flat-panel TVs dominate the expected WEEE generation for this period
in terms of mass. The lowest generated level is for CRT TVs and CRT monitors, which show a
decreasing trend.

Figure 53 draws the ratio between the generated WEEE projected for 2020 and the imported
EEE for that year. In the case of CRT TVs and monitors, it is evident that waste generation
far exceeds the equipment imports for consumption. This suggests that obsolete or unused
inventory stored by consumers is coming out. For the remaining appliances, observed rates
are close to 100 per cent, which suggests a rapid turnover or inventory replacement due to
short useful lives.

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