The recycling of waste towards valuable materials and their utilization into metal-based composites represents an important field of study. The composite industry nowadays prioritizes environmental improvements as much as other composite properties. In the present research, Ni powder was produced from the recycling of metallic waste, a low cost and largely available material, by an attractive hydrometallurgical recovery process.

The paper examines Greek households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for recycling electronic waste, in particular obsolete IT equipment. More specifically, it presents the results of a telephone survey, which was conducted in Attica Region. The survey highlights the importance of recycling convenience and provides answers to critical pieces of information in order to implement effective recycling policies for e-waste.

End of life vehicles is a new problem arrived in E.E. Many studies have shown that automobile manufacturing has increased last 20 years, with economic and environmental effects. The majority and these studies have shown new modes how to create environmental friendly cars with more and more parts that can be recycled. The basic aim of this study is to provide information toward the two approaches regarding recycling of end life vehicles. It brings out a brief of the European Directive (2000/53/E.E) and present nowadays targets with a future look to 2015 targets comprehending environmental and economic impacts. Finally, it shows up how to use recover material and as well recycle-reuse them.

The project was carried out from November 2006 to May 2008 (30 months) and aimed at implementing four EC Directives in the field of Waste Oil, Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Terphenyls, End-of-Life Vehicles, and Used Batteries and Accumulators as well as at implementing the Commission Decision on a List of Wastes which constitutes the indispensable differentiation between hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. Although the directives deal with very different issues, the link between them as a superior goal was the spirit of sustainable waste management and producer responsibility. The project was funded by the European Union.

The Catalan Association of municipalities for door to door selective waste collection published the Municipal handbook on door to door separate waste collection in Catalonia. This initiative has received the support of several regional administrations.

E-waste is an emerging problem owing to the hazardous materials associated with it. Electrical and electronic waste materials contains thousands of toxics metals e.g. lead and cadmium in the circuit board, lead oxide and cadmium in monitor Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs), mercury in switches and flat screen monitors, cadmium in computer batteries, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in capacitors and transformers, and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards. Besides the toxic materials associated with each component of the computer, insulation of certain parts like plastic casings cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) releases highly toxic gases.

Until recently, there was no facility in Mozambique for the safe disposal of hazardous waste. In 1999 the Ministry for Environmental Co-ordination (MICOA) of the Government of Mozambique commissioned various studies to investigate and quantify the problem of hazardous waste generation in Mozambique. These studies used empirical methods based on population figures, gross domestic product and numbers of chemical industries versus other industries. However, the hazardous waste figures produced were unreasonably high and in 2001 MICOA commissioned a waste survey regarding all potential hazardous waste producing industries in southern Mozambique.

The electronic industry is the world’s largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry (Radha, 2002; DIT, 2003). During the last decade, it has assumed the role of providing a forceful leverage to the socio - economic and technological growth of a developing society. The consequence of its consumer oriented growth combined with rapid product obsolescence and technological advances are a new environmental challenge - the growing menace of “Electronics Waste” or “e waste” that consists of obsolete electronic devices. It is an emerging problem as well as a business opportunity of increasing significance, given the volumes of e-waste being generated and the content of both toxic and valuable materials in them. The fraction including iron, copper, aluminium, gold and other metals in e-waste is over 60%, while plastics account for about 30% and the hazardous pollutants comprise only about 2.70% (Widmer et al., 2005).

Nowadays Electrical and Electronic Equipments (EEE) occupy relevant place both in every day’s life and in working and productive activities. This category includes equipments which operate by electric currents or electromagnetic fields: large and small household appliances; telecommunications and information technology equipments; consumer equipments; lighting equipments; electrical and electronic tools; toys, leisure and sports equipments; medical devices; monitoring and control instruments; automatic dispensers. Their production needs a huge amount of raw materials, whose extraction and transformation represent an important source of environmental damage.

Although recycling and recovery of ELV components are increasing the growing number of vehicles will give a further rise of ASR generated for years to come. Since the mid-1990’s there is, however, increased concern on how to handle this waste material and in European Countries that follow EU legislation and directives, important changes are being enforced by three directives: Directive 2000/53/EC on End-of-Life Vehicles, Directive 2000/76/EC on the Incineration of Waste and Directive 1999/31/EC on the Landfill of Waste. Some implications of these are limitations on what types of waste may be landfilled or incinerated (for example, car tyres may not be landfilled any longer within EU Member States), and especially on how ASR may be treated.

Surface treatment of stainless steel products comprises annealing followed by pickling. An oxide layer over a chromium-depleted layer is formed during the annealing, and these two layers are removed by pickling with acids. The most commonly used pickling acids at AB SMT are nitric acid (HNO3), hydrofluoric acid (HF), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and phosphoric acid (H3PO4). After pickling, the steel products are washed with water. The used pickling acids and the wastewater contain large amounts of valuable metal ions. The liquids are sent to the waste water treatment plant where they are neutralized with lime. The free metal ions precipitate and metal hydroxide sludge is generated, together with the formation of CaF2.

Municipal waste generation in Germany has remained more or less constant during the last ten years. In 2004 an amount of 587 kg of municipal waste per inhabitant was produced and 13.88 million tons of municipal wastes were incinerated in Germany. Since the deposition of organic rich waste is largely restricted in Germany since June 2005, lager amounts of bottom ashes from MSWI have to be expected. During the process of municipal waste incineration 25-33% of the original mass of municipal waste accumulates normally as bottom ash.

Concern over growing volumes of post-consumer waste and associated environmental and health related problems has prompted significant developments in environmental policies in many countries. Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is of particular relevance both in developed countries and in several rapidly industrializing developing countries. First, Electrical and Electronic Equipments (EEE) production needs a huge amount of raw materials, whose extraction and transformation represent an important source of environmental damage.

The European “Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment [WEEE]” provides that WEEE should be collected separately in all member states. Electric and electronical devices have to be recovered in a range of 50 % by weight up to 80 % by weight according to the category they belong to. Furthermore, WEEE treatment shall include the removal of all fluids and a selective treatment of several components as a minimum requirement. According to the “Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment” [ROHS], member states have to ensure that new electric and electronic devices do not contain heavy metals like mercury, cadmium lead other hazardous substances like PBB, PBDE and hexavalent chromium. This provision will be in effect from July 1st 2006.

Waste minimisation implies the application of procedures such as waste prevention or the reuse of waste products. From a practical point of view it is rather difficult to implement large scale reuse of products which have to be managed in order to create an economically and ecologicallyfeasible system. Thus, the real challenge is to receive a sufficient quantity of products in good condition from the user, to minimise financial issues and efforts in order to maximise reusable output. (Session A2: Waste management strategies)

The EU WEEE Directive is one of the new waste management policies. It sets numerical targets for recycling and obliges the producers of WEEE to finance recycling costs. Earlier, in April 2001, Japan enforced its WEEE Recycling Act, and the experiences of the first five years should serve as a useful reference for policymakers and stakeholders in other countries as well as in Japan. Its annex states that Japan must consider revising the Recycling Act in 2006, and there has been much discussion on the revision. (Session A3: Impact of regulations and legislations)