2nd International Conference on Civil and Environmental Engineering,
8 – 10 May 2017, Cappadocia, Nevşehir
The priority of the legislations on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEE) is the prevention of WEEE generation and to reduce their disposal through the reuse, recycling and, and recovery so as to contribute to the efficient use of resources and the retrieval of valuable secondary raw materials. Because of the hazardous components they contain, e-waste can cause environmental and human health threats if they are not properly managed. If they are managed properly, they can be valuable raw material sources, since they contain valuable metals such as copper, silver, gold, palladium and recyclable components such as plastics and metals. Currently, there are 61 licensed e-waste management facilities in Turkey. In this study, we focused on e-waste recycling/recovery methods applied in Turkey. Field trips were made to a specific facility to investigate the materials mostly being recovered in Turkey. Additionally the e-waste generation rates of Turkish citizens of a sample size of 100 were investigated by applying a questionnaire. E-waste generation potential per person has been found as 8.14 kg/year. The questions of the questionnaire were to investigate the behaviors in the use, replacement, and management of electrical and electronical equipment. The findings showed the behavior pattern of people’s towards generation and management of e-waste. For instance, it was found that when the mobile phones become e-waste just because the owners do not want to use them, people do not prefer throwing them away but keep at home instead. Before establishing an e-waste collection strategy, it is important to know how the e-waste will be managed in the country.