Characteristics of wastes from electric and electronic equipment in Greece: results of a field survey

Abstract

The lifespan of electric and electronic equipment is becoming shorter and the amount of related waste is increasing. This study aimed to contribute to the knowledge about qualitative and quantitative characteristics of such wastes in Greece. Specifically, results are presented from a field survey, which took place in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, during the year 2002. The survey was conducted with suitable questionnaires in department stores and in households of various municipalities. Household appliances were grouped as follows: (A) large (refrigerator, freezer, washing machine, clothes dryer, electric cooker, microwave oven, electric heater), (B) small (vacuum cleaner, electric iron, hair dryer), (C) information technology and telecommunication equipment (PC, laptop, printer, phone) and (D) consumer equipment (radio, TV, video, DVD, console). The analysis indicated that the lifespan of all new goods is gradually reducing (apart from refrigerators, for which the lifespan was surprisingly found to be increasing) and provided linearized functions for predicting the lifespan, according to the year of manufacture, for certain large appliances.