Supply Chain Management of E-Waste for End-of-Life Electronic Products with Reverse Logistics

Abstract

Sustainable development and environmental pollution have become valuable stimulating factors for the resource recovery of end-of-life products through reverse logistics. E-waste is considered in reverse logistics. Electronic waste is solely responsible for environmental hazards and contains valuable raw materials that can be recycled/repaired, so reverse logistics is essential to minimizing their inappropriate disposal. This paper presents the mathematical model for multi-electronic products, considering multi-manufacturers and multi-retailers. After the end-of-life product, the reverse logistics network collects the e-waste in return processors where testing, sorting, and disassembling are carried out and then sent to the repair and recycling units. Components that are not repaired/recycled are shipped to the secondary manufacturer as raw materials. An electronic product’s reverse supply chain is employed to incorporate the idea of e-waste nullification. The fixed point iteration technique is used to solve the proposed model. A numerical example is analyzed to demonstrate the model’s efficacy where the total cost is minimized. The model’s validity and usefulness in reducing e-waste are validated through managerial insights into the model and sensitivity analysis of the key factors. The proposed policy suggests that the e-waste nullification strategy might be a useful apparatus for managers in ensuring long-term sustainability.