Environmental life-cycle impacts and benefits of secondhand CRT TVs exported from Japan to the Philippines

The trade of secondhand electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) from developed to developing countries has become a growing environmental issue owing to concerns about improper recycling of these goods in developing countries. We followed a 40-foot cargo container of cathode-ray-tube color TVs exported from Japan to the Philippines in February 2008. We surveyed the number of TVs damaged in transport, as well as the number of malfunctioning TVs from this shipment. In addition, we present the results of interviews with 113 Filipino consumers who intended to buy secondhand EEE at nine secondhand EEE shops in Metro Manila. Exporter in Japan has collected used EEE through various sources: households, moving companies, hotels, and hospitals. When loading into a container, calculate the load rate which will be over 95% in order to prevent the physical damage of the products. At the time of cargo arrival, approximately 3% of imported products were damaged. Approximately half of imported TVs were malfunctioned; it needed further repairing besides reconditioning voltage and tuner. Based on questionnaire, we assumed that most of consumers in the Philippines prefer to buy secondhand EEE because of cheap price. Average usage years were predicted as 4-5 years. Environmental life-cycle impacts and benefits of Secondhand EEE trade are discussed. The lifetime in the importing country appeared to be the key factor to determining material intensity.