Environmental Regulations on Waste Electrical Equipment Industry: The Production Chain to the Final Consumer

Abstract

The relevance of the electronics industry requires its transition to sustainable production patterns, as defined by the European directives WEEE, RoHS, and the National Policy on Solid Waste. In 2010, the group began a national project whose purpose is to support sustainability with a focus on the triple bottom line Brazilian electronics industry. The implementation of these proposals began with the implementation of a pilot project with nine companies of electromedical equipment, chosen because they are technology intensive, and require exporters suit environmental regulations. This paper aims to present the main results obtained in the studies with these nine companies in the period Apr/2011 Mar/2012 regarding the suitability of its products, processes, management systems and supply chains. The study was divided into three stages: an assessment to identify general aspects of each organization, a thorough assessment to understand the characteristics of each organization ahead of the general characteristics of the group analyzed and a detailed diagnosis, performed individually during visits in companies. The main findings were that the waste management and reverse logistics associated are still incipient, the products still have dangerous substances and supply chain is still very poorly prepared for the challenges. The level of employment of employees and costs associated with the adequacy of its products and processes, constitute the two biggest problems for companies fit the relevant environmental legislation.