Resíduos de equipamentos e suprimentos de informática em uma instituição de ensino: proposta de manual de gerenciamento

Abstract

A considerable volume of solid waste is generated daily in large educational institutions and waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is present and has characteristics that impact health and the environment when not managed properly. The general objective of this work was to analyze the management of WEEE from the IT sector of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN). The methodology was carried out in two cycles, the first being a survey of the legislation regarding WEEE in public administration and bibliographical research through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on the management practices adopted in educational institutions for WEEE of information technology and the difficulties encountered. In the second cycle, field research was carried out using instruments for collecting primary data, on-site visits and interviews with managers in the area, with semi-structured questions to identify knowledge about the topic, existing critical points and opportunities for managing this waste at IFRN. As a result of the bibliographical research, it was verified the existence of Laws, Decrees and normative Instructions that deal with the processes of asset management in institutions, related to WEEE and its disposal. Regarding WEEE management in educational institutions, the use of regulations was verified in a large part of the institutions and the main deficiencies were the scarcity of human resources involved with the process, lack of control of materials for reuse or recycling, deficiency in storage locations and temporary conditioning and lack of knowledge of the topic of a large number of students and employees. In IFRN practices, internal regulations were identified for asset write-off and disposal of EEE and a system with information that enabled the amounts of WEEE generated. The system allows classification by category and status of the EEE at the time of discharge. In the period from 2007 to 2022, among the WEEE generated at IFRN, those in the areas of information technology corresponded to 45.85% of the total, with the vast majority being UPSs, electronic circuit boards, computers and peripherals. Weaknesses were identified in the knowledge of WEEE and reverse logistics by a large number of employees in the sector, as well as the damage that this waste can cause to the environment and health when handled or disposed of inappropriately. Regarding WEEE management practices, there was a need to adapt to legislation in the process of disposing of goods and materials in public authorities, and adjustments to the computerized system that enables the generation of indicators for the parts reuse rate, equipments reuse rate and WEEE generation rate, thus demonstrating the internal opportunity for reusing parts, reusing EEE in teaching, research and extension projects, as well as forwarding WEEE to recycling companies and appropriate disposal. Finally, this diagnosis allowed the elaboration of a technical product of this research, which will be a manual for managing electronic waste from the IFRN IT sector.