Abstract
The growing production of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) requires close loop management to protect the environment and save resources. Repair and reuse can extend the product’s life span. However, debates on the differences seen in resource consumption linked to the different ways of repairing devices have received a limited amount of attention. This article demonstrates quantification of the resource consumption (cradle-to-gate) of five types of appliances on a component level based on life-cycle assessment within the framework of the product-material-footprint. The data for this assessment is based on the dismantling of these products, weighing their components, and determining their material composition. The results show that the resource relevance of all devices is dominated by a few individual components. For example, for flat-screen monitors, 5 out of 17 components per device account for more than 90% of resource consumption (abiotic total material requirement). Hence, repairing devices while using new spare parts is not always the most resource-efficient way of handling WEEE. The results of this investigation suggest that the resource consumption in repairs should be taken into account at different levels, e.g., regulatory, with regard to eco-design requirements, or for informational purposes with a view to the consideration of the repair and reuse practices.
Highlights
Waste from electrical and electronic (WEEE) equipment contains many valuable metals and other substances [1], while using equipment for a long time saves resources and protects the environment
If appliances are repaired and, for example, defective components with high resource relevance are replaced with new spare parts, the primary material consumption for the repair can be relatively close to the resource consumption for the production of a new appliance
In this paper, based on the life-cycle inventory data of five selected appliances, the resource consumption from raw material extraction to production and packaging is calculated per component using the life-cycle assessment method
Summary
Waste from electrical and electronic (WEEE) equipment contains many valuable metals and other substances [1], while using equipment for a long time saves resources and protects the environment. The production of more than 12 million tons of waste per year in Europe [2], significantly demonstrates that the potential to protect resources is not being utilised. Reusing a product extends its life span and minimises the use of resources which are required in the product life cycle [5,6]. This close loop management allows the product’s economic value to be preserved for as long as possible [7].
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