Page 56 - Implementation of ITU-T international standards for sustainable management of waste electrical and electronic equipment: The path to a circular economy in Costa Rica

Implementation of ITU-T international standards for sustainable management of waste
electrical and electronic equipment: The path to a circular economy in Costa Rica

the governing body for WEEE is. There is a high percentage of managers who are not
aware of the national regulation on WEEE management, or of the sanctions established
in national regulations for inappropriate WEEE management.
– Survey’s Section 3, Information on WEEE collection, provides an additional insight into
the collection activities performed by managers. They have several mechanisms to collect
the WEEE they process. Figure 28 shows that 100 per cent of them provide services to
private companies, with the second main activity being direct reception at recovery
centres. In contrast, they consider that the best results in terms of quantities collected
come from regular collection campaigns. However, a low percentage of them develop
such campaigns as a form of collection. Door-to-door collection and services to private
companies are the next mechanisms in order of importance that generate the best results
in terms of quantities collected.

Figure 28 - WEEE collection mechanisms implemented by surveyed WEEE managers

To supplement the assessment of the mechanisms with the best results in collecting WEEE,
a question on the main obstacles identified for the development of WEEE management was
included. Figure 29 shows that the two main obstacles identified by managers are consumer
awareness and commitment, as well as consumer knowledge on WEEE management. All of
them share the view that access to management services is not an obstacle for its realization.
According to 33 per cent of respondents, insufficient regulation and market size also hamper
the development of WEEE management. In the opinion of 44 per cent of respondents, high
management costs, as well as audit and monitoring, also hinder the development of the activity.

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