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Managing the Environmental Life Cycle of Electronics
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
By Dongkai Shangguan
Two years ago, I organized a panel discussion at APEX on “Electronics Recycling and End-of-Life Management.” Several panelists agreed to speak at the forum. To my disappointment, attendance was poor as most conference attendees were at the lead-free session.
Indeed, lead-free has been an overwhelming issue for the industry. After more than 10 years of work, with one year to go before the European Union (EU) RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) legislation takes effect, the industry is on its way to implementation. It is undeniable that many challenges, both technical and non-technical, remain for lead-free solder and environmental compliance.
The EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment (WEEE) legislation should not be ignored. The implementation of WEEE, in parallel to RoHS, will have significant impact on the electronics industry. WEEE covers “equipment dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields and equipment for generation, transfer, and measurement,” including “components, sub-assemblies and consumables, which are part of the product at the time of discarding.” This is broad in scope. Producers are responsible for the take-back and disposition of products, including collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal. On average, no less than 70-75% (by weight) per appliance must be “recovered,” including no less than 50-65% through re-use and recycling. The financial impact on the industry is estimated to be several billions of dollars a year.
Recycling and environmentally responsible end-of-life (EOL) management are considered the ultimate solution to the environmental concerns posed by the increasing volume of waste electrical and electronics equipment (EEE). At the same time, increased recognition of the potential economic value of the “cradle-to-cradle” approach to product EOL management provides additional impetus to accelerate efforts in this business arena, by fully exploiting the “total economic life cycle” of EEE products. OEMs, EMS companies, recycling companies, consumers and national/local governments all hold important roles in this process.
The proactive, intelligent and economical management of the EEE environmental life cycle is a complex and challenging endeavor. It involves environmental considerations at every stage of the product life cycle, including design, manufacturing, use and EOL. There have been advancements in some of these areas in recent years, particularly in environmentally benign manufacturing. However, it is fair to say that the industry still is in its infancy in the comprehensive management of the EEE’s total environmental life cycle.
Researchers and practitioners worldwide have made efforts to develop methodologies, technologies and infrastructure for managing the total environmental life cycle of EEE. These efforts have been sporadic thus far, and a more comprehensive approach is needed urgently. Both fundamental research and practical considerations should be included to serve the needs of practitioners (including engineering functions and business leaders) in the electronics industry for product development, manufacturing and end-of-life management. Work is needed primarily in these areas:
- Design methodology and tools for environmental compliance, disassembly and recycling.
- Lean design methodology.
- Design methodology for minimal environmental burden during product use.
- Environmentally benign manufacturing technologies, infrastructure and best practices.
- Methodologies and business models for the re-use and re-purposing of components and sub-assemblies.
- Materials recycling infrastructure and acceptance of recycled materials.
- Life-cycle analysis methodology.
- Infrastructure development for product end-of-life management.
It is believed that the capability in these areas, toward a comprehensive and integrated solution to the total environmental life cycle of electronics products, will provide competitive advantages for players in the industry worldwide.
Dongkai Shangguan, Ph.D., director of advanced process technology, Flextronics Corporate Technology Group, may be contacted at (408) 428-1336; e-mail: dongkai.shangguan@flextronics.com.