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Economic Feasibility Study of E-Waste Recycling Facility in Egypt

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 EVERGREEN Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences & Green Asia Strategy, Vol. 05, Issue 02, pp.26-35, June 2018

Economic Feasibility Study of E-Waste Recycling Facility in

Egypt
Tarek M. Mostafa1,*, Dina S. Sarhan2
1
Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan
2
Dar Al-Handasah, Dar Group, Egypt
*
E-mail: tarek_mostafa@kyudai.jp

(Received February 22, 2018; accepted June 4, 2018).

On a global scale, the high consumption of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) leads to
mounting volumes of e-waste. The e-waste problem in Egypt is not very well assessed, so a feasibility
study for an e-waste dismantling facility in Cairo is introduced in this research. This feasibility study
aims to provide a guide to set up an economically viable e-waste recycling business by calculating
the main costs and revenues of the recycling system taking into account the environmental standards.
The profit and loss predictions showed that the facility would gain revenues of USD 708,659 after a
5-year of operation.

Keywords: Egypt, E-waste, E-Waste streams, Feasibility study, Recycling facility, WEEE.

1. Introduction Furthermore, according to the volume, the waste in

each category is classified into; economic value, effect on
Nowadays the technological advancements led to high
the environment and public health if they are not properly
use of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) which
recycled.
caused those devices a lifetime reduction especially the IT
ones because of the fast changes in the abilities and Balde, C. P. et al. estimated that the total amount of e-
features, therefore expediting the process of creation and waste generated globally in 2014 was 41.8 million metric
accumulation of e-waste. E-waste is a term used for such tons (Mt). It is forecasted to increase to 50 Mt of e-waste
type of items of EEE and its parts that have been discarded in 2018. This e-waste is comprised of 1.0 Mt of lamps, 6.3
by its owner as waste without the intent of re-use. It is also Mt of screens, 3.0 Mt of small IT, 12.8 Mt of small
referred to as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic equipment, 11.8 Mt of large equipment and 7.0 Mt of
Equipment), electronic waste or e-scrap in different temperature exchange equipment. With such colossus
regions. E-waste includes any household or business amounts of waste, recycling of e-waste became
products with circuitry or electrical components with indispensable.
power or battery supply [1]. According to the United The economic, environmental, public health and data
Nations (UN), the WEEE can be classified into six security are considered the driving forces behind recycling
categories as follows: e-waste. Electronic devices contain up to 60 different
• Temperature exchange equipment such as elements, many of which are valuable, such as precious
refrigerators and air conditioners. and special metals, and some of which are hazardous [2].
• Screens, monitors for instance televisions, monitors, In 2014, Egypt recorded the highest e-waste generation
laptops, notebooks, and tablets. in Africa with absolute quantity (0.37 Mt) in relative
• Lamps. quantity of 4.3 Kilogram/Inhabitant (kg/inh.) [1]. The
• Large equipment; like washing machines, clothes current e-waste recycling system which is dominated by
dryers, dishwashing machines, electric stoves, large informal activities has negative socio-economic and
printing machines, copying equipment and environmental impacts [3] such as:
photovoltaic panels. • Child labor
• Small equipment which includes vacuum cleaners, • Individual disposal of all e-waste types in public
microwaves, ventilation equipment, toasters, electric spaces, or with municipal waste that are later destined
kettles, electric shavers, scales, calculators, radio sets, to open uncontrolled dumpsites.
video cameras, electrical and electronic toys, small • Burning of e-waste which releases toxic gases.
electrical and electronic tools, small medical devices, The present study discusses an e-waste treatment
small monitoring and control instruments). facility in Egypt estimated by the following schemes:
• Small Information Technology (IT) and • The financial balance for e-waste dismantling
telecommunication equipment. For example; mobile calculated within the feasibility study should be
phones, Global Positioning System (GPS), pocket extended to a five-year business plan including profit
calculators, routers, personal computers, printers, and loss forecast calculation. Estimated revenues and
telephones). costs should be based on realistic assumptions

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 EVERGREEN Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences & Green Asia Strategy, Vol. 05, Issue 02, pp.26-35, June 2018

concerning input of e-waste from different streams, profit and loss scenarios for the planned facility in Cairo
process calculation and downstream options. have been calculated by modifying certain framework
• The complete business plan should give interested conditions.
entrepreneurs the ability to introduce the idea for
getting a loan or investors to get the required 3. Egypt’s E-waste Current situation and
investments and the initial requirements for the Mass Flow
operation phase.
• According to the profit and loss calculation, the According to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public
written business plan should provide information Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt hosts a
concerning space requirements, and required number population of 92.5 million [9]. More than 43% of the
of employees, equipment, etc. population dwell in urban cities [3]. The population
• Furthermore, this business plan should be designed growth recorded in 2015 is approximately 2.4%. With this
for future schemed projects by utilizing the key growth the use of the electrical and electronic devices
figures of time, prices and costs and adapting regional becomes an essential part of the lifestyle of the society.
framework conditions. Adoption of ICT in Egypt is raised to 97.79 million
The rest of the paper is arranged as follows. Section 2 mobile phone service subscribers registered by Dec 2016,
covers the used methodology. Section 3 briefly introduces growing at an annual rate of 4.02%, while internet users
the current situation and the e-waste mass flow in Egypt. have reached 30 million as shown in Table 1 [10].
Other indicators show the high penetration of other
The main assumptions for the feasibility study will be
electrical appliances as well. Nearly all (98.8%) Egyptians
covered in Section 4. In section 5, different sources of
have a working television in their home, while 37.9% of
costs and revenues will be covered. The profit and cost
Egyptians have a radio [11]. Furthermore, the local
forecast are shown in section 6. Conclusions are drawn in production of 782,000 air conditioners is recorded in a
section 7. single year, mostly destined to the local market. In 2014
Egypt imported US$12.1bn machines. The Telephones
2. Methodology and mobile sets represent 7.2% of the amount of total
The instant business plan is composed of two main imported machines with US$865mn import value while
the amount of computer imported was $331mn, which was
parts:
3.1 % of total imported amounts this category [12].
• A strategic analysis based on the inventories [3]-[5]
Detailed statistics about amounts is mention in [5]. The
and the feasibility study [6]-[8].
present study focuses mainly on Personal Computers
• A calculation of a profit and loss forecast based on
(PCs), Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors, Liquid Crystal
assumed mass flows and expected revenues and costs Display (LCD) monitors, telephones and mobile phones,
For the business plan, a calculation tool that is as they fall under the scope of the Green Information and
developed within the Solving the E-waste Problem (StEP) Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy.
network (Task-Force 4 Recycling) in cooperation with Nevertheless, most considerations for initiating a
Center of Excellence Electronics & Environment recycling system can be extended to other appliances.
Subsidiary iPoint-Systems (KERP), The Dismantling- E-waste creators are grouped into households, the
and Recycling-Center (D.R.Z) and Swiss Federal private sector including large, small and medium
Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology enterprises, and the governmental sector. In general, all
(EMPA), has been further developed into an Excel-based consumers followed a behavior of generation and
business plan calculation tool. stockpiling; WEEE is purchased, used, and then
With the business plan calculation tool, it is possible to stockpiled. The stockpile duration ranges from 1 to 2 years
calculate the financial performance for the first five years depending on which group the consumers belong to.
of operation based on the production of wide range of Most of households prefer to sell their demoded EEE to
appliance groups. Furthermore, local relevant cost factors second-hand dealers followed by scrap dealers while the
like average salaries, purchase prices, fuel prices, etc., are remaining household does dispose with municipal waste.
included. Based on the general data provided and Private sector enterprise behavior in disposing of their
considering the chosen modeling parameters (dismantling outdated EEE varies by level. Large enterprises carry
depth and dismantling efficiency), the tool calculates the public auction periodically but not on a regular basis, it is
following results: carried out to avoid accumulating of disposed equipment
• Required staff, investments and equipment; while ensuring they keep up with the most up-to-date new
• Required working hours; equipment in use. Large enterprises especially the ones in
• Expected revenues and operational costs; IT sector disposes the electronic waste with formal WEEE
• An entire profit and loss forecast; recyclers, as WEEE recyclers can provide a certificate of
• Required additional income stream (e.g. through an safe electronic waste disposal, which require to be
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) financing presented to governmental environmental and tax
mechanism, recycling fees, etc.). inspectors. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
By utilizing the business plan calculation tool, different generally sell their electronic waste by auction or dispose

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 Economic Feasibility Study of E-Waste Recycling Facility in Egypt

of it with other waste streams. Governmental sector processes/industries. They also perform primary recycling
disposes of their electronic waste in public auction. of different commodities such as plastics. Moreover, they
Generally, the fate of this electronic equipment when it segregate WEEE parts that are functioning for EEE repair
reaches the end of its useful life is unknown [5]. and maintenance ships. They collect from merchants or
There is no formal legislation to manage and enforce “drop off” points as previously explained. WEEE
WEEE management in Egypt. Electronic waste is majorly recyclers collect from dismantlers the segregated parts
dealt with by the informal sector. After extracting the such as plastic cases, electric boards, glasses, etc. to export
recyclable streams, it is generally either burned or thrown some streams (e.g. Printed Circuit boards (PCB)) and
into landfills/dump sites in slums such as Manshiet Nasser, recycle other streams (e.g. glass) as a feedstock for other
Mokattam or Dewei’a. Over time, harmful emissions start industries, some WEEE recyclers directly collect the raw
to affect the people who are living near those landfills. In WEEE stock from collectors without the need to go
the absence of formal and serious national programs for through dismantlers.
WEEE management, along with the shrinkage cost of The informal recycling system suffers from many
buying new technologies especially mobile phones and issues such as child labor and improper dismantling
personal computers, and the surge in perceptive practices such as hammer smash of CRT displays front
obsolescence according to the modern technologies glass.
acquainted in the market, it is anticipated that more WEEE In the following part the amounts, mass flow and the
will be disposed in such dumpsites/landfills and unknown growth rate of the devices under the scope of this study
destiny. will be covered depending on references [3]-[5], and
According to the report [5] and interview with one of interviews with stakeholders from the Ministry of
the stakeholders in the Ministry of Environment [13], Environment [13] and industry [15].
there are two types of collectors who serve the informal The average lifetime of a mobile phone, telephone set,
sector. The First type is “Merchants”: they collect desktop computer, laptop and PC monitor (CRT and LCD)
electronic waste in bulk, they basically depend on the is 2, 10, 10, 10 and 10 years respectively. In addition, the
auctions carried out by the governmental and private majority of consumers behave average storage of 2 years
sector auctions. There are no settled dates for the auctions; before disposal of the EEE.
they take place whenever there are adequate quantities of Table 2 shows the mass flow of EEE/WEEE based on
WEEE. Merchants exhibit their products in their owned 2015 installed base of tracers. The governmental sector
spaces and trade it with other stakeholders. they usually and enterprise’s obsolete electronic equipment are mostly
do not apply any processes on the collected WEEE, they disposed in auctions. The largest electronic waste
are just dealers who buy and sell WEEE, most of the time generated is by enterprises (amounting ≈58% of total
they trade it to WEEE dismantlers or recyclers. The electronic waste), followed by households (amounting
second type is “Sar’eha (literally mean scavengers) or ≈23% of total electronic waste) and governmental sector
Robabekia men”: they are an organized group of workers. (amounting ≈19% of total electronic waste). The mass
The two words collectively refer to drifters who roam flow is 66,203.8 tons/year. The largest amount of mass
around buying depleted items from people. Meanwhile, flow is generated by the enterprises, followed by
they are peddlers who sell wares to waste buyers who households then governmental sector. Post dismantling of
bargain specific waste items. By end of each working day, tracers, extracted commodities as plastics, iron, etc. are
the Sar’eha/Robabekia workers drop off all the parts and processed and reinstalled in the market as feedstock for
quantities that they collected to specific “drop off” points/ other industries. Currently, only around 1,584.0 tons/year
shops, each “drop off” point/shop has between 10-15 of electronic waste is being collected from the total
Sar’eha/Robabekia workers to deal with. The person in generated electronic waste mass flow, which only
charge of this drop off points/shops reimburses them represents 2.4% of the total generated waste. For the
financially depending on the type and quantity of selected tracers, the stock of equipment/inh. and stock of
collected items. equipment/household is around 8.3 kg and 34.69 kg
The informal dismantlers are the workers who deal with respectively. Meanwhile, the waste mass /year/inh. is
dismantling and segregating the WEEE parts for other around 0.72 kg.
dealers to use for exporting or as a feedstock for other
Indicator Unit Dec. 2015 Nov. 2016 Dec. 2016 Monthly Growth Rate (% ) Annual Growth Rate (% )
Mobile Subscription Million Subscription 94 97 98 - 4
Mobile Penetration * % 107.41 109.45 109.73 1.91 2.32
Internet Users Million Users - - 33.70 - -
Internet Penetration * % - - 41.20 - -

Table 1 Mobile Subscription and Penetration Indicators [10].

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 EVERGREEN Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences & Green Asia Strategy, Vol. 05, Issue 02, pp.26-35, June 2018

Table 2 Mass Flow Chart.[5]

WEEE Mass
consequently affecting the annual sales; Difficulty in
Stock forecasting the change in the number of enterprises
Tracer Flow
[tons] [% ] [tons/year] and public-sector structures; New technologies
Mobile 9,402 5 2,351 development and penetration.
Telephone 6,240 3 520 • The overall input has been estimated to start at 2500
Desktop PC 82,916 42 6,910
t/a in the first year, then slowly increase by 3.14%
every year up to 2829.1 t/a after 5 years of operation.
Laptop PC 13,543 7 1,354
Households • The assumptions concerning the composition of
CRT Monitor 69,675 35 5,806 collected e-waste during the first 5 years are listed in
Table 3. The expected input divided per appliance
LCD Monitor 16,139 8 1,345 group can be seen in Figure 1.
Subtotal 197,914 100 18,286 • The prices that have to be paid to the suppliers of e-
Telephone 24,242 4 2,020 waste (i.e. informal collectors, households,
companies, authorities) are summarized in Table 4.
Desktop PC 262,577 48 21,881
• The Facility will serve the greater Cairo area. It will
Laptop PC 84,905 16 8,491 be localized in 6th October industrial zone which
Enterprises characterized by several advantages such as cheap
CRT Monitor 74,795 14 6,233
rent prices, fully facilitated, close to downtown,
LCD Monitor 99,726 18 8,311 which reduces the transportation costs, and it is
accessible from different roads that connect the
Subtotal 546,244 100 46,936 industrial zone to different harbors like Alexandria
Telephone 959 8 80 port, Suez port and Port Said port. In addition to,
Desktop PC 5,581 48 465 being near to large consumers, like the universities
Laptop PC 846 7 85 and Smart Village which contains many high-tech
Governmental
CRT Monitor 2,384 21 199 office buildings, that increase the amounts of the e-
Sector
waste that flow to the recycling facility.
LCD Monitor 1,855 16 155 • The Facility will be installed as a public-private
partnership. The estate and building for plant
Subtotal 11,624 100 983
operation are provided by the government. The plant
Mobile 9,402 1 2,351
layout will be adapted according to the conditions of
Telephone 31,441 4 2,620
the provided building. No construction costs are
Desktop PC 351,073 47 29,256
necessary. It was further assumed that the estate and
Laptop PC 99 13 9,929
All Actors
building can be rented for about 2 USD/m² per year.
CRT Monitor 146,854 19 12,238 • The facility has its own trucks.
• The dismantling level in the facility is assumed in-
LCD Monitor 117,720 16 9,810 depth dismantling where appliances are dismantled
Total 656,589 100 66,204 up to a point at which further separation into pure
materials is impossible without mechanical shredding.
• CRT glass will be disposed in Egypt in an
4. Assumed Framework Conditions environmentally-sound manner.
To produce a realistic and accurate profit and loss
calculation, framework conditions should be placed.
These conditions are also important for the procurement
phase to check that the project is being developed in
accordance with the original framework conditions. If a
change is necessary, it is also used to manage the change.
Accordingly, the following settings have been assumed as
achievable framework conditions for the business plan
calculation:
• The period of operation is 5 years. The main reasons
beyond choosing this number are as follows: Lack of
sufficient data on the future penetration rates of the
selected tracer; The country's economy as the central
bank may allow the Egyptian pound to fall further Figure 1 Input of WEEE [tons/year].
into depreciation, which could place additional
upward pressure on the price of electronic imports,

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 Economic Feasibility Study of E-Waste Recycling Facility in Egypt

Table 3 Expected input composition of collected e-waste.

Mobile Telephone Desktop PC Laptop PC CRT Monitor LCD Monitor Total

Weight (Kg) 0 1 10 3 17 5 36
Percentage (% ) 1 4 47 13 19 16 100
Year 1 Tons 30 105 1,163 328 485 390 2,500
Unit 100,000 108,247 122,368 116,964 28,529 78,000 554,110
Year 2 Tons 31 108 1,199 338 500 402 2,579
Unit 103,140 111,646 126,211 120,637 29,425 80,449 571,509
Year 3 Tons 32 112 1,237 348 516 415 2,659
Unit 106,379 115,152 130,174 124,425 30,349 82,975 589,454
Year 4 Tons 33 115 1,275 359 532 428 2,743
Unit 109,719 118,768 134,261 128,332 31,302 85,581 607,963
Year 5 Tons 34 119 1,316 371 549 441 2,829
Unit 113,164 122,497 138,477 132,362 32,285 88,268 627,053

Table 4 Assumed purchase prices for the different input Items. Table 5 Assumed basic data concerning staff composition
and working hours.
WEEE Price from Price from Prices Now Prices Now
Stream [8] USD/Unit [8] USD/ton USD/Unit USD/ton Employees Quantity Calculation bases
Mobile 0.96 3200 2.25 7500 General Manager 1
Telephone 0.5 515.4639175 1 1030.927835 per 25 dismantling
Department manager
Desktop PC 5.6 589.4736842 12 1263.157895 1 workers
Laptop PC 3 1071.428571 6 2142.857143 Sales manager 0
CRT Skilled workers 10% of all wokers
2.22 130.5882353 3 176.4705882 Unskilled workers 90% of all wokers
Monitor
LCD Administrative Staff 10% of total staff
1.2 240 2 400 Security 0
Monitor
Included in skilled
Drivers
1 workers
5. Investments, Equipment and Costs Included in unskilled
Co-Drivers
5.1 Human Resources 1 workers
Non-wage Labor Costs 5%
The dimensioning of the facility concerning human Salaries/a 12
resources is based on the data listed in Table 5. In general, Working hours per week 10
it is assumed that one general manager will be needed to working days per week 6
manage the company. Concerning department managers, Average sick leave per worker 5%
it is assumed that one department manager can coordinate Official Holidays per year 10
up to 25 workers. It is assumed that 10% of all workers Holiday Entitlement per year 2 weeks
are skilled workers and 10% of all required human Working days per year 275
Annual working hours 2750
resources are administrative staff. According to this
information and additional assumptions, the average
working hours per employee was estimated to be almost Table 6 Selected staff composition.
2,750 hours per year. Together with managing and
administrative staff, the facility will need a staff of 86 to Employees Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
General
97 persons during the initial five years of operation (Table Manager
1 1 1 1 1
6). Salaries listed in Table 7 have to be paid to different Department
3 4 4 4 4
staff levels. Workers and administrative staff get between Manager
Skilled
USD 155 and USD 180 per month, the salaries for 8 8 8 9 9
Workers
department manager and sales manager can be assumed to Unskilled
66 68 70 72 74
be USD 220 per month and USD 500 for the general workers
manager. Based on the selected staff composition (Table Administrative
8 8 8 9 9
Staff
7) between USD 177,282 and USD 199,899 per year are Total 86 89 91 95 97
the expenses for staff costs during the first five years of
operation.

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 EVERGREEN Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences & Green Asia Strategy, Vol. 05, Issue 02, pp.26-35, June 2018

Table 7 Staff costs [USD/year].

Staff costs per year

Employees Salary [USD/month]
Year 1 [USD/year] Year 2[USD/year] Year 3[USD/year] Year 4[USD/year] Year 5[USD/year]
General Manager -500 -6300 -6300 -6300 -6300 -6300
Department manager -220 -8316 -11088 -11088 -11088 -11088
Skilled workers -180 -18144 -18144 -18144 -20412 -20412
Unskilled workers -155 -128898 -132804 -136710 -140616 -144522
Administrative Staff -155 -15624 -15624 -15624 -17577 -17577
Total -177282 -183960 -187866 -195993 -199899

5.2 Infrastructure and Equipment Table 9 Specific space requirements and acquisition costs for
5.2.1 Space infrastructure and equipment.
Table 8 gives an overview of the required spaces for the
whole dismantling facility. These spaces have been Costs Life Required Required Calculation
Items
[USD/unit] span Space [m2 ] Quantity bases
calculated based on the results concerning staff
composition (Table 6) and the specific space requirements WEEE-receiving
25 20 1
total per
that will be mentioned in the following subsection. Costs and sorting area facility

of 25 USD/m² per year have been considered to be Administrative per

Working Place -500 15 15 1 administrative
charged on the total indoor area of 11905 m². The (PC, table, chair) staff member
considerations result in rental costs of USD 297,625 per Recreation and per total staff
year. 25 2.5
sanitary rooms member
Dismantling per
Table 8 Required space for the dismantling facility. Working station -200 10 20 1 dismantling
Required Infrastructure [m2] (table, chair) worker
Open Area 2829 CRT-treatment total per
-10000 25 40 1
Administrative Department 210 unit facility
Recreation and sanitary rooms 291 total per
Cable stripper -3000 25 25 1
Dismantling Working Stations 5706 facility
total per
Weee-receiving area 20 Plastic Shredder -10000 25 40 1
facility
Area for further treatment 20 per 1000 t/a
Storage 2829 Lift truck -10000 20 6 0
input
Hall total 9076 per 1000 t/a
Truck -17000 20 20 1
Real Estate 11905 input
Container (for total per
-2000 25 20
transport) facility
5.2.2 Equipment per
Working tools -200 1 1 dismantling
According to the assumptions concerning input and worker
processing, the equipment listed in Table 9 is required to HSE (shoes,
run the dismantling facility. Table 9 further contains -120 1 1 per worker
helm, gloves, etc.)
specific acquisition costs for the required items [8] [14]. per total staff
Ventilator -50 10 1
Average indicated lifespan is based on experiences in member
European dismantling facilities. The current business plan per 100 t/a
Collection box -50 15 10
input
is based on equipment investment requirements of about per 100 t/a
Palette -5 10 5
USD 70,000. The highest investment amount for required input
equipment with a lifespan of more than one year is spent per 2000 t/a
Scale -1200 20 1
input
for the trucks and the CRT-treatment. Required expenses
Pallet truck
for equipment with a lifespan of less than one year vary (internal -150 20 2
per 1000 t/a
input
between nearly USD 25,000 per year to USD 28,000 per transport)
year. Table 10 shows the annual required equipment
quantity and costs.

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 Economic Feasibility Study of E-Waste Recycling Facility in Egypt

Table 10: Calculation of costs for needed equipment per year [USD/a].
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Required Required Required Required Required
Items Cost [$] Cost [$] Cost [$] Cost [$] Cost [$]
Quantity Quantity Quantity Quantity Quantity

Administrative Working
12 -6,000 1 -500 0 1 -500 0 0
Place (PC, table, chair)
0
Dismantling Working
74 -14,800 2 -400 2 -400 3 -600 2 -400
station (table, chair)
CRT-treatment unit 1 -10,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cable stripper 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Plastic Shredder 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Truck 2 -20,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Working tools 74 -14,800 76 -15,200 78 -15,600 81 -16,200 83 -16,600
HSE (shoes, helm, gloves,
86 -10,320 89 -10,680 91 -10,920 95 -11,400 97 -11,640
etc.)
Ventilator 74 -3,700 2 -100 2 -100 3 -150 2 -100
Collection box 250 -12,500 8 -400 8 -400 8 -400 9 -450
Palette 125 -625 4 -20 4 -20 4 -20 4 -20
Scale 1 -1,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pallet truck (internal
5 -750 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
transport)
Total -94,695 -27,300 -27,440 -29,270 -29,210
– Dismantling and Recycling Centre in Vienna/ Austria
5.3 Purchase Costs and Revenues (40 kWh/m². a). According to prices of USD 0.07 per kWh
According to the assumed input quantities listed in having to be paid for electricity in Egypt, expenses will be
Table 3 and the purchase prices for e-waste devices listed USD 37,000 per year.
in Table 4, the following purchase costs have to be
considered within the business plan (Table 11) [5] [15]. 5.7 Cleaning, Maintenance and Repair (CMR)
The calculation of expected revenues and disposal costs Infrastructure
have been based on the assumptions listed in Table 13 Expenses for cleaning, maintenance and repair (CMR)
[16]-[22]. The main share of revenues comes from the of infrastructure have been calculated using the
commercialization of fractions. According to the expected experiences of the D.R.Z again. 1 USD/m² per year was
input sales, revenues will be almost USD 3,899,334 the specific value used for the calculation, which leads to
during the first year of operation, then grow up to almost expenses of about USD 9000 per year for CMR
USD 4,412,489 after five years of operation (Table 12). infrastructure.
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are the largest revenue
source followed by Processors. 5.8 Business Liability Insurance and Tax
Business expenses for liability insurance and taxes have
5.4 Depreciation been estimated to be USD 3000 per year.
5.4.1 Depreciation of Infrastructure
As the estate and building are rented according to the 6. Profit and Loss Forecast
business plan, it is assumed that no depreciation costs for The profit and loss forecast, listed in Table 15 shows
the estate and building are to be accounted for. the expected revenues and costs for the initial five years
of operation. According to the assumed input and
5.4.2 Depreciation of Equipment and Vehicles framework conditions, revenues are fed by the sales of
Depreciation costs (Table 13) within the first five years output fractions. For e-waste input quantities of about
of operation are between USD 13,915 to USD 16,381 2500 t/a, revenues of more than USD 3,800,000 can be
depending on the required equipment and the expected achieved. 70% of these revenues are cut short by purchase
lifespan for each item listed in Table 10. and external transport costs. Operational costs are USD
638,217 in the first year of operation, reduced to USD
5.5 Administration Costs 597,816 after five years of operation. The highest share of
operational costs (54%-59%) has to be spent on
Expenses for administration have been estimated as infrastructural costs. Staff costs are the second highest
listed in Table 14. contributor on the operational costs list, ranging from 27%
up to 33%. Costs for equipment and depreciation are of
5.6 Electricity Costs minor importance compared to other cost factors. The
Expenses for electricity have been based on the specific estimated share of less than 1% of all operational costs for
electricity consumption in the dismantling facility D.R.Z administration can give a rough scale for expenses that
have to be provided for the business administration.

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 EVERGREEN Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences & Green Asia Strategy, Vol. 05, Issue 02, pp.26-35, June 2018

Furthermore, administration costs will depend a lot on the the calculated administration costs are travel costs.
need for negotiations with purchasers of output fractions
in neighboring countries and overseas, as almost half of

Table 11 Expected Purchase Costs for WEEE [USD/a].

Appliance Group Year 1 [USD/year] Year 2 [USD/year] Year 3 [USD/year] Year 4 [USD/year] Year 5 [USD/year]

Mobile -200,000 -206,320 -212,720 -219,440 -226,320

Telephone -108,247 -111,668 -115,132 -118,769 -122,493
Desktop PC -1,468,421 -1,514,823 -1,561,813 -1,611,152 -1,661,665
Laptop PC -701,786 -723,962 -746,419 -769,999 -794,141
CRT Monitor -85,588 -88,293 -91,032 -93,907 -96,852
LCD Monitor -156,000 -160,930 -165,922 -171,163 -176,530
Total -2,720,042 -2,805,996 -2,893,038 -2,984,430 -3,078,001

Table 12 Expected Sales Revenues and Disposal Costs.

Price/Costs [USD] per ton
Price/Costs Required Type of Transport Costs
Output fractions Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
[USD/ton] Transport [USD/ton]
Aluminium 2238 Local Transport -11 275,196 283,892 292,808 301,945 311,412
Iron/Steel 389 Local Transport -11 350,609 361,688 373,048 384,688 396,749
Copper 7063 Local Transport -11 160,398 165,466 170,663 175,988 181,506
Neodym Magnet 7000 Local Transport -11 12,703 13,104 13,515 13,937 14,374
Bronze/Brass 3400 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
Stainless Steel 300 Local Transport -11 2,644 2,727 2,813 2,901 2,992
Plastics 900 Local Transport -11 402,837 415,567 428,619 441,993 455,850
Wood 0 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
Cable with plugs 1200 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
Cable without plugs 2000 Local Transport -11 213,773 220,528 227,454 234,551 241,905
Processors 70000 Oversease Shipment -410 483,129 498,395 514,049 530,089 546,708
HDD with PWB 1000 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
HDD without PWB 700 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
Power supply 400 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
Drivers 440 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
Printed Wired Board Q1 10000 Local Transport -11 1,841,123 1,899,302 1,958,954 2,020,080 2,083,414
Printed Wired Board Q2 3000 Oversease Shipment -410 39,659 40,913 42,198 43,514 44,879
Printed Wired Board Q3 1000 Oversease Shipment -410 25,107 25,901 36,714 27,548 28,412
Mobile Phones without
0 Oversease Shipment -410 0
battries 0 0 0 0
Motors / Inductors /
500 Local Transport -11 23,084
Transformers 23,814 24,562 25,328 26,122
Deflection coil 1200 Local Transport -11 25,950 26,770 27,611 28,472 29,365
Getterpill - electrogun -1000 Oversease Shipment -410 -684 -705 -728 -750 -774
Mixed scrap 350 Local Transport -11 39,303 40,545 41,818 43,123 44,475
Glass 20 Local Transport -11 414 427 441 454 469
Residual waste 10 Local Transport -11 -13 -14 -14 -15 -15
Battries 1200 Oversease Shipment -410 48,806 50,348 51,930 53,550 55,229
Capacitors 1000 Oversease Shipment -410 7,322 7,553 7,791 8,034 8,285
LCD-displays -1000 Regional Transport -30 -52,728 -54,394 -56,103 -57,853 -59,667
Fluorescent Tubes 0 Local Transport -11 -16 -17 -18 -18 -19
Printer Cartirages 0 Local Transport -11 0 0 0 0 0
CRT tubes -300 Regional Transport -30 0 0 0 0 0
CRT-glass 20 Local Transport -11 2,086 2,152 2,220 2,289 2,361
Phosphor-powder -1000 Oversease Shipment -410 -1,368 -1,411 -1,455 -1,501 -1,548
Total per year 3,899,334 4,022,551 4,158,890 4,278,347 4,412,484

Note: Type of Transport: Local (0-50 km), Regional (50-500km), Overseas Shipment (to a foreign country).

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 Economic Feasibility Study of E-Waste Recycling Facility in Egypt

Table 13 Calculation of depreciation costs for equipment [USD/a]. Table 14 Estimated administration costs per year
[USD/a].
Depreciation Administration Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Expenses [USD] [USD] [USD] [USD] [USD]
Items
[USD] [USD] [USD] [USD] [USD]
Travel Costs -2500 -2500 -2500 -2500 -2500
Administrative Working Place
-1,200 -125 0 -250 0
(PC, table, chair)
Office Supplies,
Dismantling Working station
-2,960 -100 -133 -300 -400 Postal and Bank -500 -500 -500 -500 -500
(table, chair) Charges
CRT-treatment unit -2,000 0 0 0 0
Cable stripper 0 0 0 0 0 Telecommunicaton/
-300 -300 -300 -300 -300
Plastic Shredder 0 0 0 0 0 Internet
Truck -4,000 0 0 0 0
Working tools 0 0 0 0 0 Consulting Services -500 -500 -500 -500 -500
HSE (shoes, helm, gloves, etc.) 0 0 0 0 0
Marketing and
Ventilator -740 -25 -33 -75 -100 -500 -500 -500 -500 -500
Public Relations
Collection box -2,500 -100 -133 -200 -450
Palette -125 -5 -7 -10 -20
Permissions and
Scale -240 0 0 0 0 -500 -500 -500 -500 -500
Quality Management
Pallet truck (internal transport) -150 0 0 0 0
Total -13,915 -14,270 -14,577 -15,412 -16,382 Total -4800 -4800 -4800 -4800 -4800

Table 15 Profit and Loss Forecast [USD/a].

Year 1 Year 2 Year 4

Year 3 [USD] Year 5 [USD]
[USD] [USD] [USD]
Funds 0 0 0 0 0
Remuneration Take-Back-System 0 0 0 0 0
WEEE Purchase Costs Including External
-2,744,792 -2,831,523 -2,919,367 -3,011,585 -3,106,009
Transport Costs
Sales Revenues and Costs 3,899,334 4,022,551 4,158,890 4,278,347 4,412,484
Net Revenues 1,154,542 1,191,028 1,239,523 1,266,762 1,306,475

Management -14,616 -17,388 -17,388 -17,388 -17,388

Administration -15,624 -15,624 -15,624 -17,577 -17,577
Workers -147,042 -150,948 -154,854 -161,028 -164,934
Total Staff Costs -177,282 -183,960 -187,866 -195,993 -199,899
Rental Costs -297,625 -297,625 -297,625 -297,625 -297,625
Electricity -37,000 -37,000 -37,000 -37,000 -37,000
CMR Infrastructure -9,000 -9,000 -9,000 -9,000 -9,000
Business Liability Insurance and Tax -3,000 -3,000 -3,000 -3,000 -3,000
Total Infrastructure Costs -346,625 -346,625 -346,625 -346,625 -346,625
Total Equipment -94,695 -27,300 -27,440 -29,270 -29,210
Motor Vehicle Insurance and Tax -700 -700 -700 -700 -700
CMR Vehicles -200 -200 -200 -200 -200
Total Transport Costs -900 -900 -900 -900 -900
Total Administration Costs -4,800 -4,800 -4,800 -4,800 -4,800
Depreciation Infrastructure 0 0 0 0 0
Depreciation Equipment and Vehicles -13,915 -14,270 -14,577 -15,412 -16,382
Total Depreciation -13,915 -14,270 -14,577 -15,412 -16,382
Total Costs -638,217 -577,855 -582,208 -593,000 -597,816

Operating Result 516,325 613,173 657,316 673,762 708,659

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 EVERGREEN Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences & Green Asia Strategy, Vol. 05, Issue 02, pp.26-35, June 2018

7. Conclusion 6) F. Blaser & M. Schluep “Current Situation and

Economic Feasibility of e-Waste Recycling in
In this paper, a feasibility study for a proposed e-waste Morocco,” Swiss Federal Institute for Materials
recycling facility in Egypt has been introduced. Under Science and Technology (Empa) St.Gallen,
some achievable framework conditions, positive Switzerland 2011.
operating results and net income can be achieved. The 7) F. Blaser & M. Schluep “Economic Feasibility of e-
dismantling facility can yield a profit of about USD Waste Treatment in Tanzania,” Swiss Federal
516,325 to 708,659 per year. The intrinsic values of Institute for Materials Science and Technology
appliances like PCs or FPD monitors/TVs are even able to (Empa) St.Gallen, Switzerland 2012.
finance recycling costs for devices like CRTs. 8) M. Spitzbart & M. Schluep “E-Waste Treatment
The calculations of the introduced feasibility study Facility in Uganda Business Plan,” Swiss Federal
show that the recycling facility can be implemented and Institute for Materials Science and Technology
operated without the need for additional funds such as (Empa) St.Gallen, Switzerland, Dismantling- and
loans or grants if the estate and building for the facility are Recycling-Centre (D.R.Z.), Austria 2014.
provided by the government with lower rent expenses. 9) Thenewkhalij (in Arabic). [Online]. Available:
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framework conditions. Communication and Information Technology,
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