Material flow analysis for management of waste TVs from households in urban areas of Vietnam

Electronic waste has become one of the fastest growing waste streams in Vietnam, of which adequate information on its size and its flows is very crucial to efficiently manage it and prevent associated environmental problems. To obtain such information, Material Flow Analysis (MFA) was used to quantify and systematically analyze the flow of obsolete TVs from households in urban areas in Vietnam. The results showed a gradual increase of obsolete TVs during the period 1966-2035. Further investigation showed that 66% of the total obsolete TVs in 2012 was directly reused or reused after repair/refurbishing, 3% was domestically recycled or open burned to recover valuable materials, 9% was illegally exported and the rest of 22% was open dumped. Substance flow analysis showed that 75% of total base metals (i.e., Cu, Al, Fe/steel) contained in obsolete TVs was reused or recycled; the rest (25%) was exported or emitted, representing the loss of materials for the Vietnamese economy. For precious metals (i.e., Au, Ag, Pd), plastic and glass, a larger material leaching was noticed. About 34% was illegally exported (in case of precious metals and plastics) or open dumped (in case of glass). The analysis also revealed the heavy involvement of the informal sector in the TV waste management system, making it more complicated, difficult to control and resulting in potential risks to the environment and human health. Based on the above analysis, an integrated management system was proposed to manage the secondary material source and prevent potential harmful effects.