Resource Cyclical Dynamics Focused on the Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment

As a practical means to upgrade urban sustainability, this paper focuses on resource cyclical systems concerned with the waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Korea. Borrowing System Dynamics concepts and approaches, it examines behavioral changes of WEEE dynamics to observe whether the existing management methods can be readjusted. The measurement is based upon both reuse and material and thermal recycle simulation works in the individual stage of WEEE discharge, collection, and treatment, going beyond the traditional recycle-only customs. This research estimates that the newly introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system would definitely exert a significant impact on the final stage of WEEE treatment, decreasing the final treatment volume in the first half of the research period. The trend, nonetheless, would be reversed in the second half, mainly owing to the additional waste volume originated from the local government and recycling center. Sensitivity analysis poses, among others, that the local government-supported reuse center should take charge of a pivotal role in the long run. The research also shows that sufficientand necessary conditions for the WEEE management and treatment should be given to the combined efforts, both from the private sectors and the public domains. Based on these research findings, the paper recommends that key stakeholders including the producer and the public organizations should devise how to jointly carry out specific agenda centered around partnership or network buildings.