Background The amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) generated within Europe increases by 2.5-2.7% a year and reached 10 million tonnes by 2008. This type of waste presents major environmental risks when sent to landfill because of the numerous hazardous substances it usually contains. This problem was addressed by two EC directives fostering efficient and proper disposal of this type of waste. One sets minimum collection and recovery rates for WEEE (2002/96/EC on WEEE), the other sets maximum limits for content of hazardous substances in waste (2002/95/EC on Restriction of Hazardous Substances). The collection target of 4kg per person per year has been easily reached in almost all EU Member States, but the material recovery targets have proved more challenging. Efficient disposal of small electrical and electronic items continues to be particularly troublesome. All countries recognise that clean separation and, more importantly, final recovery of the plastic portion of these items - almost exclusively thermoplastics - is paramount to achieving the agreed recovery rate. However, no suitable and economically viable disposal route other than incineration has yet been identified. Objectives The WEEELIBS project aims to use laser technology (LIBS) to analyse waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to enable it to be sorted and separated so that suitable materials can be reclaimed for recycling. Several existing WEEE treatment companies will perform sorting demonstrations to validate the efficiency of the new system. The project will set out to show that laser technology - spectral analysis following laser-generated plasma excitation - is an excellent technique for separating materials in those small electronic parts, thin wire and thin-plating materials, where existing techniques are not effective. WEEE initially will be manually dismantled initially according to appropriate industrial conditions, the system developed by the project will then separate the plastic materials according to their charge. The project aims to show that plastics from WEEE can be separated into homogeneous polymer parts, thereby allowing them to be used as valuable feedstock chemicals for fuels or new materials. The possibility of identifying and isolating hazardous substances contained in the polymers during the WEEELIBS process, will ensure that materials resulting from these recycled wastes will comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive and REACH (Regulation on Chemicals and their safe use). An evaluation of the costs of the new process will consider additional labour costs involved and the added value from the sale of the sorted polymers. Expected results Creation of a WEEELIBS demonstrator with estimated sorting capacity of 500 tonnes/operator/yr; Demonstration that it is possible to separate the polymers present in WEEE in industrial conditions according to their charges (Ca, Ti, Ba, Si and Mg elements); Four demonstrations will result in 200 tonnes of WEEE being processed and in the isolation of 40 tonnes of sorted polymers; All RoHS substances - Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr(VI) and brominated compounds ? will be shown to be identified; and The project will produce a cost evaluation of the new process.