Recycling process planning for the End-of-Life management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment

CIRP Annals ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rahimifard ◽  
M.S. Abu Bakar ◽  
D.J. Williams
Author(s):  
M S Abu Bakar ◽  
S Rahimifard

The significant environmental cost associated with management of products at the end-of-life has resulted in the emergence of ‘producer responsibility’ legislations to encourage increase in recovery and recycling practices. In the case of electrical and electronic equipment, one such legislation, namely the ‘Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive’, requires manufacturers to assume financial and legal liability for recovery and recycling of their products at the end-of-life. The current recycling applications of electrical and electronic waste are often developed on ad hoc basis and mainly attributable to the hidden economic value within used products. However, owing to stricter regulations on end-of-life product recycling, it is now essential to evaluate the recycling costs and environmental benefits of reclaimed products and materials as well as the selection of appropriate recycling strategy. The present paper describes the initial investigation in the realization of a computer-aided recycling process planner for electrical and electronic products. The assertion made is that such a systematic approach to producing bespoke eco-efficient recycling process plans for individual products will significantly improve the value recovery from recycling activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10443
Author(s):  
Filippo Corsini ◽  
Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti ◽  
Marco Frey

Nowadays, management of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and the related waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is a growing concern around the world and clearly an open issue to tackle in order to move towards a more circular economy. The goal of this review paper is to analyze and summarize research conducted exploring behaviors connected with purchases, extension of useful life, and management of end of life of electrical and electronic equipment. The results highlight several research exploring the determinants of WEEE recycling behavior, also in relation with different practices (e.g., online recycling); on the other hand other typologies of behaviors are less analyzed in the literature (e.g., purchase of used EEE products, donation of EEE products, participation in WEEE takeback activities established by firm operating in this sector, etc.). Moreover, the results suggest that the theoretical model adopted in many studies reveals its usefulness to predict the determinist of such circular consumer’s behavior in relation to the purchase, extension of life, and end of life management of electrical and electronic products; however, in many cases, additional variables are needed to fully explain the behavior.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1124
Author(s):  
Leon Mishnaevsky Mishnaevsky

Various scenarios of end-of-life management of wind turbine blades are reviewed. “Reactive” strategies, designed to deal with already available, ageing turbines, installed in the 2000s, are discussed, among them, maintenance and repair, reuse, refurbishment and recycling. The main results and challenges of “pro-active strategies”, designed to ensure recyclability of new generations of wind turbines, are discussed. Among the main directions, the wind turbine blades with thermoplastic and recyclable thermoset composite matrices, as well as wood, bamboo and natural fiber-based composites were reviewed. It is argued that repair and reuse of wind turbine blades, and extension of the blade life has currently a number of advantages over other approaches. While new recyclable materials have been tested in laboratories, or in some cases on small or medium blades, there are remaining technological challenges for their utilization in large wind turbine blades.


2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 3503-3508 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Kopacek ◽  
B. Kopacek
Keyword(s):  

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Dunmade

A stapler is a mechanical device used to join two or more sheets of paper together by driving a thin metal staple through the sheets. They are widely used in schools, offices, business, government and homes. The anticipated large quantity of waste that is disposed of annually present great risk of environmental pollution and opportunities for economically viable resource recycling. This study evaluates potential environmental impacts of a Stapling machine and its end-of-life management opportunities. Environmental lifecycle assessment (LCA) process was used for the evaluation. The assessment was implemented with the aid of SimaPro software version 7.3.3.Results of the analyses revealed that climate change and eutrophication are the significant potential environmental impacts. Each Stapler has 1.265130 kg CO2-eq in Global Warming Potential and 0.113067 max kg O2-eq as its Eutrophication Potential. Further examination also showed that most of the impacts are from material selection, product distribution, and end-of-life management of the stapling machine. This study provides insights on potential environmental impacts of stapling machines and potential opportunities for improvements in their end-of-life management.


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