Environmental regulations on the management of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE) have been strengthened in many developed countries. Improper management and disposal of such waste, especially in informal sectors, may pose serious threats to the environment and human health. In Korea, there are very few available statistical data regarding distribution flow and treatment of WEEE in informal sectors (i.e., unreported private collection and recycling facilities). In order to provide additional measures related to proper management of WEEE, there is an urgent need for a quantitative material flow study on the amount of the waste found in the sectors. This can be achieved by conducting a statistical analysis of the flow of WEEE in the sectors and by drawing significant results and implications of such analysis. In this study, the relevant data were collected from literature review and a number of field site visits to informal private collection and recycling sites with survey in Daejoen Metropolitan City. Statistical analysis of the survey related to the distribution of WEEE in informal sectors was conducted to determine the quantitative flow of WEEE in the sectors. According to the results of this study, 3.38 kg/person/year were introduced into informal sectors in 2013, while 2.48 kg/ person/year was recycled in formal sectors in 2012. This study implies that there are significant amounts of WEEE that are present and processed in the sectors, which are not regulated by government. Small private collectors of WEEE in informal sectors received approximately 60.6 unit/month on average. The results of this statistical study indicate that there are no significant differences among the factors such as the amount of treatment, the number of employee, and the degree of dismantle process. However, there is significant difference among the WEEE category large home appliance, small-sized home appliance, and audio-video equipment. Further study may be warranted to focus the flow of WEEE in informal sectors in more large scale in order to accurately determine the final destination and disposal of such waste in the environment.

Global increase in the demand for the new Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) results in the rapid increase of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (or electronic waste). Significant efforts on developing diverse WEEE recycling policy and programs such as extended producer responsibility (EPR), WEEE directive, and the restriction of the use of hazardous substances (RoHS) directive are being made by many developed nations. This study focuses on determining priority among proposed WEEE recycling policy research projects by a number of experts from academia, institutions and recycling industry using quality function deployment (QFD) method to better manage and recycle WEEE in Korea. In order to develop effective WEEE recycling policy, a total of 12 different WEEE recycling policy research projects were proposed by a total of 11 experts related WEEE recycling. Reliability and validity evaluation of the proposed projects were conducted, along with SPSS statistical software. By using the QFD method, a survey regarding potential problems, suggestions, and difficulties at several WEEE recycling facilities were conducted and evaluated. Evaluation of the proposed projects was made by house of quality (HOQ). In this study, proposed research projects with higher importance index include WEEE collection system, development of WEEE recycling guideline, and establishment of WEEE generation/collection/recycling national database. The QFD method employed in this study can be effectively used as a decision-making process tool in WEEE recycling policy and road map.