Evaluating the reduction in green house gas emissions achieved by the implementation of the household appliance recycling in Japan

Nakano, Katsuyuki; Aoki, Ryôzô; Yagita, Hiroshi; Narita, Nobuhiko

doi:10.1065/lca2006.11.281

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (8) includes guidance on estimating emissions of fluorinated substitutes for ozone depleting substances; reporting requirements for non-Annex 1 countries including China are limited, and China's reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are solely aggregate production-based impacts. In Japan, Nakano et al (2007) 9 adopted the material flow analysis (MFA) approach to evaluate the global warming potential (GWP) reduction as a result of implementing the household appliance recycling. In our previous work (Zhao et al, 2011 7 ), the amount of residual ODS refrigerants from refrigerators in China was investigated, however the GWP and ODP impacts were not analyzed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chilling Prospect: Climate Change Effects of Mismanaged Refrigerants in China

Duan

Miller

Liu

et al. 2018

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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The global community has responded to the dual threats of ozone depletion and climate change from refrigerant emissions (e.g., chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs, and hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs) in refrigerators and air conditioners (RACs) by agreeing to phase out the production of the most damaging chemicals and replacing them with substitutes. Since these refrigerants are "banked" in products during their service life, they will continue to impact our environment for decades to come if they are released due to mismanagement at the end of life. Addressing such long-term impacts of refrigerants requires a dynamic understanding of the RACs' life cycle, which was largely overlooked in previous studies. Based on field surveys and a dynamic model, we reveal the lingering ozone depletion potential (ODP) and significant global warming potential (GWP) of scrap refrigerants in China, the world's largest producer (62%) and consumer (46%) of RACs in 2015, which comes almost entirely from air conditioners rather than refrigerators. If the use and waste management of RACs continue with the current trend, the total GWP of scrap refrigerants in China will peak by 2025 at a level of 135.2 ± 18.9 Mt COe (equal to approximately 1.2% ± 0.2% of China's total greenhouse gas emissions or the national total of either The Netherlands and Czech Republic in 2015). Our results imply an urgent need for improving the recycling and waste management of RACs in China.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chilling Prospect: Climate Change Effects of Mismanaged Refrigerants in China

Duan

Miller

Liu

et al. 2018

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…There are several evidences in the literature showing a trend in decreasing the use of refrigerant in cooling appliances (Nakano et al, 2007;EMERSON, 2010). However, several interviewed manufacturers observed that the amount of refrigerant can only be reduced to some limited extent as their mass strictly influence the energy efficiency of the appliances.…”

Section: Presence Of Refrigerants and Oilsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Analysis of end-of-life treatments of commercial refrigerating appliances: Bridging product and waste policies

Ardente

Pastor

Mathieux

et al. 2015

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

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Keywords:Waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) Energy using products (EuP) Ecodesign Recyclability a b s t r a c t This paper analyses the relationships between product design and end-of-life treatment, but also between product and waste policies, based on a relevant case study. Commercial refrigerating appliance is a suitable case study due to its recent inclusions in the scope of two important European pieces of legislation, the Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment Directive and the Ecodesign Directive. Commercial refrigerating appliances are business to business products with several peculiarities such as: customized design, high range of dimensions, content of complex electronic components and parts difficult to treat and recycle. The method used for the analysis: formalization, through literature review and survey of recycling plants, of treatments applied to the studied waste product; investigation of problems and difficulties in the recycling plants; identification of possible product-related improvement strategies; definition of workable product design options. For the analysis of actual recycling practices, data has been gathered through interviews with four European recyclers, and by consulting manufacturers and other experts of these products. Several potential design options to improve the recyclability of these products are identified and discussed, such as the design for dismantling of some key components, the restriction of some blowing agents and the labeling of insulation foams. The article finally shows how the enforcement of these design features, in particular through mandatory product policies such as the Ecodesign Directive, could facilitate their end-of-life treatment and hence ease the compliance with the waste legislation.

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“…25 Another positive outcome of such laws is the significant reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can be achieved through recycling and reusing appliances and their components. 26 Other studies have noted an increase in products made with plastics recycled from these efforts and major progress in environment-friendly design. 27 In 2003, the European Union followed Switzerland and Japan's lead in this area by establishing the European Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the associated Directive on the Restriction on the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS).…”

Section: Hazardous Wastesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment and Health in the Twenty‐First Century

Holdren

Tao

Carpenter

2008

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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There are major challenges facing the countries in the Pacific Basin. These include issues of hazardous waste management and the consequent adverse effects of hazardous wastes on human health, the potential disruption of our whole way of life as a consequence of global climate change, and the increasing problem on human health of air pollution and the effects of breathing polluted air. These issues and others were the focus of the 12th meeting of the Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health Sciences, held in Beijing in late 2007. This volume is a collection of papers presented at that meeting, and this introductory chapter provides some perspective on three of the major issues that are of concern in all of the countries in this region. This meeting provided an opportunity for Chinese scientists and those from other countries in the Pacific Basin to share perspectives and possible solutions with others from the international community, and these various approaches are reflected in these proceedings.

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Evaluating the reduction in green house gas emissions achieved by the implementation of the household appliance recycling in Japan

Cited by 22 publications

References 5 publications

Chilling Prospect: Climate Change Effects of Mismanaged Refrigerants in China

Chilling Prospect: Climate Change Effects of Mismanaged Refrigerants in China

Analysis of end-of-life treatments of commercial refrigerating appliances: Bridging product and waste policies

Environment and Health in the Twenty‐First Century

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