Analysis and evaluation a WEEE management system in Italy: a simulation study

This paper presents a simulation study to evaluate the current performance of a waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management system in the north of Italy. The model takes into account several actors of the real WEEE supply network and allows to analyze different alternative scenarios for the functioning of the same network. The behavior of a real treatment plant has been simulated considering the incoming flow of waste material and all the outflows of recycled goods. The analysis is focused on two specific WEEE categories treated in the plant, which have been chosen as the most dangerous categories for the human health and the environment. Some key performance indicators (KPIs) have been defined and used to assess the performance of the current WEEE network and compare it with some alternative configurations. As it grounds on a real scenario, the model is expected to provide interesting proposals for future actions about the WEEE management in Italy.