Chapters authored
Renovation and Reuse of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in the Direction of Eco-Design
Nowadays there is a higher need of strict and broader legislation in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling industry to reduce environmental effects of WEEE. Environmental challenges include pollution, exhaustion of natural resources, waste management and reduction of landfills. High speed in technological development in many sectors puts many products in great challenge of obsoleting almost immediately after their purchase. In particular, this is the fate for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). They are forever-improving and incorporate state of the art innovations. This provide many benefits; however, at the same time, its expansion results in rapidly growing waste stream of WEEE. WEEE contains a combination of all these situations, including for example, batteries, plastics of quality, precious metals and toxic soldering metals. The reuse and renovation of WEEE are therefore very critical because of its significant ecological environmental impacts. Sustainable development is not a static situation, but a state of dynamic balance between human and environmental system. The current chapter explores sustainability planning and strategies such as eco-design, and design for dismantling and recycling, and what they mean for electronic products. It examines the incentives, methods and tools for sustainable electronic product design, with particular emphasis on reuse, recycling, selection of sustainable materials and processes, and lack of resources.
Part of the book: Product Design