Article 1(a) of Directive 75/442/EEC “Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment” (WEEE) indicates that waste including all components, sub-assemblies and consumables that are part of a product at the time of its discarding. WEEE can be divided into 10 categories, including large household appliances, small household appliances, IT and telecommunications equipment, consumer equipment, lighting equipment, electrical and electronic tools (excepting large-scale stationary industrial tools), toys, leisure and sports equipment, medical devices (excepting all implanted and infected products), monitoring and control instruments and automatic dispensers (Deng, 2008).

This diversity of WEEE causes the structure and components to be very complex. Various substances such as precious metals or plastics are present in the waste stream. It would achieve comprehensive reutilization and also help solve the resource scarcity situation if well-managed. However, the dismantling activities might also cause harm to the operators’ health and surrounding environment if disposed improperly (Deng, 2008).

Case of scrap computer, the techniques (procedure/process) and equipments design was introduced in this section. A semi-automatic dismantling line with a standard process was constructed with relevant to the characteristic of computers’ packaging. Meanwhile, a manual dismantling line, point to point, for small parts (printed circuit board assembly, hard disc and such) disassembled from control unit and screen and Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL) from LCD was designed. See fig. 2. At present, these technologies and know-how are at pilot stage.