ISO 14001 3G Antenna

　　I. The Core Logic of ISO 14001 and 3G Antennas

　　Standard Applicable Scenarios

　　3G antennas include base station macro antennas (the primary focus for early wide-area coverage), indoor distributed antennas (for signal enhancement in shopping malls and subways), and terminal built-in antennas (for 3G module antennas in early smartphones and IoT devices). These antennas present unique environmental risks throughout their lifecycles: Aluminum alloy vibrator scrap, 3G RF module welding slag (containing lead and tin), and VOCs from spray coatings on small housings during production; soil disturbance from early base station excavation and packaging waste (foam and cardboard) from dense indoor antenna wiring during installation; and contamination from retired 3G base station antenna electronic modules (including old RF chips) and the mixing of terminal 3G antennas with household waste during end-of-life. ISO 14001, through a closed-loop "environmental factor identification - risk control - continuous improvement," covers key aspects such as metal resource recycling, VOCs management, electronic waste disposal, and retired equipment recycling, aligning environmental compliance with the full lifecycle management of 3G equipment.

　　Application of Core Clauses

　　4.3.1 Environmental Factors: Systematically identify environmental impacts throughout the entire process, such as VOC emissions from 3G terminal antenna injection molding, heavy metal leakage from welding slag, vegetation damage from early base station demolition, and electronic pollution from scrapped RF chips. Key environmental factors (such as metal recycling, VOC treatment, and disposal of retired 3G equipment) must be identified.

　　6.1 Environmental Risk Control: Develop specific measures for key environmental factors, such as classified recycling of 3G terminal antenna metal scrap and specialized disassembly and treatment of old base station antennas, to reduce the dual risks of resource loss and environmental pollution.

　　8.1 Operational Control: Standardize environmental practices at all stages, such as setting VOC emission limits for spraying and clarifying the disassembly process for retired 3G antennas, in compliance with GB 16297 "Comprehensive Emission Standards for Air Pollutants," the "Regulations on the Management of Recycling and Treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products," and GB/T 24256 "General Principles for Calculating Product Carbon Footprints."

　　10.2 Non-Compliance and Corrective Actions: Develop corrective plans for issues such as the mixed storage of 3G terminal antenna waste and excessive VOCs, such as adding a dedicated terminal antenna recycling line and upgrading early-stage spray painting equipment.

　　II. Key Environmental Control Points for the 3G Antenna Process

　　Production and Manufacturing

　　Core environmental risks include: 3G base station antenna aluminum alloy vibrator stamping waste (waste of resources), terminal antenna 3G RF module welding slag (contains lead/tin, hazardous waste), small housing injection molding VOCs, and surface spraying solvent-based paint emissions (common in early-stage processes). In accordance with ISO 14001 requirements, the control measures are as follows:

　　Metal Resource Recycling: Dedicated recycling areas for aluminum alloys and copper materials will be established, with separate storage areas for "base station antenna scrap" and "terminal antenna scrap" (terminal antenna scrap is of higher purity and can be reused first). We will collaborate with metal recycling companies to implement a closed-loop "crushing-smelting-recasting" recycling process, with a target recycling rate of ≥94%. We will also optimize the precision of the stamping dies for terminal antenna elements to keep the scrap rate below 4% (due to the smaller size of terminal antennas, the scrap rate is slightly higher than that of base station antennas), thereby reducing raw material consumption.

　　VOC and Hazardous Waste Management: Terminal antenna injection molding stations are equipped with a "small gas collection hood + activated carbon adsorption" system, while base station antenna spray painting stations are upgraded with a "water curtain cabinet + molecular sieve purification" system (retrofitting older, high-consumption equipment) to ensure VOC emission concentrations are ≤55mg/m³ (adapting to 3G antenna production scale and complying with GB 16297 requirements). Lead-free solder is used for welding, and welding slag is separated into "base station module welding slag" and "terminal module welding slag" in dedicated leak-proof containers. Metals are regularly extracted and harmlessly disposed of by qualified hazardous waste disposal units.

　　Plastic Reduction and Substitution: Recyclable PP material is preferred for terminal antenna housings (due to its small size and ease of recycling). Plastic scraps are crushed and mixed with new material (≤18%; terminal antenna housings require slightly higher material purity) for the production of small accessories such as antenna mounting clips. Older solvent-based paints are gradually phased out in favor of water-based paints (VOC content ≤130g/L) to reduce pollution during the spray painting process.

　　On-site Installation

　　Major environmental risks include: soil compaction from excavation of early 3G base station antennas (towers/ground deployments), accumulation of packaging waste (foam cushioning materials/cardboard) from the installation of large numbers of indoor distributed antennas, and cable waste from the wiring process (mixed plastic sheathing and metal core). Control measures include:

　　Ecological Protection: Conduct ecological assessments before retrofitting or installing new base stations, avoiding areas around revegetated old base stations. Complete soil backfill within 72 hours of excavation for ground-based base stations (early base stations may experience repeated soil disturbance, requiring enhanced compaction testing). Soil should be sown with local, weather-resistant grass seeds (such as Bermuda grass) to ensure a vegetation recovery rate of ≥88%. For rooftop base stations, lay a thickened waterproof and anti-seepage cushion to prevent rainwater from carrying contaminants from rusting equipment.

　　Waste Separation and Recycling: The installation team will be provided with dedicated recycling bags based on "base station installation/indoor installation" (indoor installation requires additional paper recycling bags, as terminal antenna packaging primarily uses cardboard). Recyclable materials such as foam and cardboard will be transported back to the company for disposal by a recycling agency. Cable waste will be separated into its plastic sheath and metal core. Small amounts of cable waste generated during indoor installation can be temporarily stored on-site for centralized recycling. It must not be mixed with household waste or disposed of carelessly in ceiling or floor crevices.

　　Maintenance and Disposal Phase

　　Core environmental risks include: metal components (diodes/brackets) of retired 3G base station antennas being mixed with 3G RF modules; old terminal 3G antennas (such as those in obsolete mobile phones) being mixed with household waste; and electrolyte leakage from old batteries replaced during maintenance (some backup batteries for early base station antennas). Strict compliance with the "Regulations on the Management of the Recycling and Treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products" is required. Control measures are as follows:

　　Modular disassembly and recycling: A dedicated disassembly process for retired 3G base station antennas and old terminal 3G antennas has been established. Base station antennas are first separated from their metal brackets and 3G radio frequency modules. After rust removal and inspection, the metal brackets are reused for old base station maintenance, while those that are not reusable are returned to the furnace for smelting. After the terminal 3G antennas are disassembled from the old equipment, the metal oscillator and radio frequency chip are separated. The chips are then sent to a specialized company for low-temperature pyrolysis to extract precious metals (gold/silver) and process heavy metals. Due to the complex structure of early 3G base station antennas, specialized disassembly tools are provided to improve disassembly efficiency.

　　Disposal of used parts and batteries: Non-degradable plastic casings (such as early base station antenna protective casings) are shredded and converted into recycled plastic pellets for use in the production of non-load-bearing structural components (such as storage pallets). Spare batteries (nickel-metal hydride/early lithium batteries) used for maintenance and replacement are stored separately in explosion-proof temporary storage cabinets, labeled "3G Base Station Scrap Batteries" and connected to qualified companies for cascaded utilization (such as for small energy storage devices) or disassembly and recycling (lithium recovery rate ≥ 88%, recycling technology for early batteries is slightly limited).

　　III. Enterprise Certification Practices and Results

　　Practical Results

　　After obtaining ISO 14001 certification, some 3G antenna production and recycling companies established a full-process environmental management system: Their metal scrap recycling rate increased from 78% to 94%, reducing metal resource consumption by approximately 38 tons annually (including recycling of retired base station antennas). VOC emissions were stabilized below 48mg/m³, and no environmental penalties were incurred after the retrofit of their earlier spray painting equipment. By reusing terminal antenna scraps and replacing them with water-based paints, they reduced their annual use of non-degradable plastics by approximately 25 tons and solvent-based paints by approximately 12 tons. They also implemented a dedicated recycling program for retired 3G base station antennas, recycling and processing approximately 5,000 old antennas annually, achieving a resource reuse rate of 82%. They also secured orders from telecom operators for the disposal of retired equipment, increasing their order conversion rate by 14%-18%, reducing solid waste disposal costs by 16%, and saving approximately 120,000 yuan in annual operating costs.

　　Common Non-Compliances

　　Long-standing spray painting equipment was not modified, resulting in excessive VOC emissions (a violation of ISO 14001 Section 8.1, and failure to adapt to 3G antenna production process upgrades);

　　Old terminal 3G antennas were mixed with household waste (a violation of Section 6.1, "Resource Recycling Control," and failure to establish a dedicated terminal antenna recycling process);

　　Decommissioned 3G base station antenna RF modules were mixed with general solid waste (a lack of the corrective mechanism in Section 10.2, and failure to establish disassembly standards for early equipment structures);

　　Soil compaction was not tested after early base station installation (a violation of ecological protection requirements, and failure to implement Section 8.1, "On-site Environmental Restoration Verification").

　　IV. Implementation Recommendations

　　Quantitative Optimization of Environmental Factors: Utilizing the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) method, focus on quantifying the carbon footprint and resource consumption of retired 3G antennas from the "removal - transportation - disassembly - recycling" stage (this stage has a significant impact during the 3G antenna phase-out period). Prioritize optimizing high-impact steps (such as disassembly of old modules) and set phased targets (annual carbon emission reduction of 8% and increasing the recycling volume of retired 3G antennas to 6,000 sets/year).

　　Digital Environmental Monitoring: Build a monitoring system adapted to the dual scenarios of 3G antenna production and recycling, providing 24/7 monitoring of VOC concentrations in the spray painting workshop, the volume of retired antennas recycled, and the soil compaction of base station installations. Any abnormal data will be automatically alerted to environmental management personnel to ensure timely rectification.

　　Green Supply Chain Collaboration: Incorporate ISO 14001 requirements into upstream and downstream collaboration for 3G antennas, prioritizing suppliers that can provide lead-free solder and water-based paints. Sign "Old Terminal 3G Antenna Recycling Agreements" with electronic waste recyclers, add recycling points at mobile phone repair centers, and expand terminal antenna recycling coverage.

　　Strengthening Retired Equipment Disposal Capabilities: Develop a "Guideline for Retired 3G Base Station Antenna Removal and Recycling," clarifying ecologically friendly procedures for old base station dismantling (e.g., avoiding secondary excavation) and modular disassembly standards (marking key disassembly points for early equipment structures). Equip recycling teams with portable disassembly tools and soil testing equipment to minimize secondary environmental disturbances during the dismantling process.

　　Technological Innovation and Cost Reduction: Develop green retrofit technologies for early 3G antennas, such as retrofitting old spray painting equipment with small VOCs treatment modules (reducing retrofit costs). Explore technologies for refurbishing and reusing metal brackets for retired 3G base station antennas to extend resource recycling cycles and reduce new material consumption.