Page 58 - 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

flows and balances, which are presented in section 3.6 “Evaluation of the material flows in
Costa Rica”.

3.6 Evaluation of the material flows in Costa Rica

As indicated in Recommendation ITU-T L.1031, the purpose of mass flows assessment is to
describe, quantify and analyse the flows of WEEE with graphic representations and to describe
how they circulate between actors.

Material flows for Costa Rica were developed as detailed below, taking into consideration
national information, current statistics, stakeholder relationships, and information obtained from
surveys. For further methodological details on the study, please refer to the comprehensive
material flows analysis.

3 6 1 Study system: scope, considerations, and limiting factors

Figure 31 shows the system used to study the flows of the eleven selected tracers. It comprises
three EEE value chain steps (import and trading, consumption, and WEEE management) that
take place at the national level. Each step is made up of one or more processes where materials
are recovered, used, discarded, or managed. Figure 31 represents the processes by rectangles:
these are identified by the letter “P” followed by a number, as described in Table 1.

Table 1 - Description of codes used in the material flows study system
EEE import and Consumption/use of EEE
commercialization and WEEE generation WEEE management

Left-hand side in Figure 31 Centre in Figure 31 Right-hand side in Figure 31

P1 – Trading Companies P1 - Trading Companies P6 - WEEE managers
Importers and Private Sector Importers and Private Sector P7 - Other destinations
P2 – Non-importing retailers P3 - Public sector
P4 – Households
P5 - Other

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