Page 94 - 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

Decree 41052, 2018) includes most of the measures and binds their compliance to specific
national regulations on each subject. The executive decrees (ED) referred to in this regulation
are mentioned at the bottom of Figure 62.

Control of air pollution, dust and particulates, slag management, and laundry are not covered.
This means there is an opportunity to improve relevant regulations. It is important to note
that if the slag contains hazardous substances, the hazardous waste decree must be applied;
otherwise, it can be disposed of as ordinary waste in a landfill.

The fact that national regulations integrate all these measures does not guarantee that all
WEEE managers implement them. The Ministry of Health conducts visits to verify regulatory
compliance. Normally, a first inspection visit to issue the operating health permit necessary
to develop this kind of activity is carried out. It is mandatory to be registered as an authorized
manager with the Ministry of Health. A potential improvement to this process is the development
of a guide or checklist for this first visit to review all regulatory requirements related to take
back centres for waste recovery that manage WEEE. A proposal is made in Annex 3, Checklist
proposal.

Managers of micro and small types of waste may not be familiar with regulations contents, and
they may also have limitations due to their academic level and technical knowledge. This is a
clear disadvantage for SME-type waste managers. Managers of large types of waste are likely to
contract professionals who are aware of concepts related to hazardous-substance handling and
related safety and environmental measures, as well as having the financial resources needed.

Ministerial Directive DM-CB-8016-2016 Technical Guide for Integral Management of Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment can be adapted to include all the measures provided in
the various regulations in a simple and easy-to-follow manner to be applied by managers.

Simultaneously, the Ministry of Health should develop a strategy to accompany the SME type
of waste manager in implementing measures for WEEE sustainable management. This strategy
should include basic training on the various topics covering environmental and occupational
health and safety measures. It should also include a plan to implement the environmental
management system required by Executive Decree 41052.

4.2 Evaluation of the results of the survey for managers on aspects
related to Recommendation ITU-T L.1032

Section 4 of the survey for managers (see section 3.5.1.2 Survey for WEEE managers) has a
single question. Managers were asked which recovery and extraction processes they carry out
in their day-to-day operations. Only five managers responded to this question. Answers are
summarized in Figure 63.

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