Análise quali-quantitativa da geração e descarte de resíduos eletroeletrônicos na Universidade Federal do Pampa

Abstract

Since the end of the 1970s, the electronics industry has been growing and developing to increasingly meet the technological demand and provide a better quality of life for the consumer population. However, the disposal of these products did not follow the same pattern, where it is often done incorrectly and, consequently, ends up causing environmental damage and human health. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is classified as hazardous according to the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards, since its composition can contain various harmful and toxic substances. In this context, Higher Education Institutions are major generators of electronic waste, and in many cases, they may have difficulties in managing this waste, as well as in identifying the amount and different types of classification thereof. Thus, the present work analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively the information on the generation and disposal of electronic waste in the period from 2015 to 2022, in the ten campuses and Rectory of the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA). Through the data obtained, it was found that the institution discarded 3,433 WEEE, in which the São Borja campus discarded the largest amount. In 2020, there was no disposal, however, in 2022 there was the largest amount of equipment discarded, with an increase of approximately 293% compared to the previous year. It was observed that most campuses did not discard WEEE every year, and based on the number of students, professors and technical-administrative staff on each campus, it was possible to establish a relationship between them and the amount of waste discarded. However, this relationship does not occur in all campuses, in which some that had a greater number of individuals had a relatively smaller amount of discarded waste, while others with a smaller number of people registered a more significant amount of discards. Through the classification of the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development, WEEE was classified into four categories, noting that the green line category had the highest number of items with 71.3% of the total, and the white line had the lowest amount, with 0.8%. The analysis of the typology of the items was carried out only with those that had the highest amounts of discarded WEEE on all campuses and the Rectory, due to the large amount found. Most of the equipment was predominantly from the IT area and/or commonly used in offices, such as monitors, stabilizers, geophones, office phones, microcomputers, financial calculators and fans. It was not possible to determine whether UNIPAMPA is adopting environmentally correct disposal practices for discarded equipment, due to the adopted disposal processes and the lack of information about the final destination of this waste. Therefore, UNIPAMPA can adopt some measures to reduce the disposal of WEEE, extend the useful life of electrical and electronic equipment, and also contribute to a more responsible management of this waste.