Miljøprojekt, 881 – Integration af bortskaffelse i design og konstruktion af elektronikprodukter – Bilag 2: eksempler på bortskaffelsesvenligt design

Integration af bortskaffelse i design og konstruktion af elektronikprodukter

Bilag 2: eksempler på bortskaffelsesvenligt design

Eco-Design Guidelines:

End-of-Life

The disposal stage is also called "end-of-life". Even if every environmental concern has been taken through the previous stages, much can change during end-of-life. If the product has not been, or cannot be recycled, the resource consumption is much higher, and the resulting waste is also higher.

Disassembly

In order to obtain as pure fractions as possible, the disassembly must be easy. The following table gives some advice concerning design for disassembly.

Recommendations concerning construction and/or joining	Reasons for the recommendations
• Parts which need to be removed on disposal (e.g. batteries, mercury contacts and LCD displays shall be identifiable and removal must be easy	• Avoidance of mixing hazardous substances with the rest of the product
• Use joining methods that ease disassembly: •The easiest disassembly method is breaking of the parts. Incorporating "weak" spots in the construction can facilitate this. •Use as few screws as possible. Join by "clicking" whenever possible. •Use the same kind of screws to avoid tool change. •Avoid joining that needs special tools. •Make sure that screws can be accessed from one side in order to avoid turning the equipment. • Make drawings or instructions concerning disassembly accessible e.g. via internet. The drawings must contain information concerning parts with hazardous substances and parts with high recycling potential. • Parts with high recycling potential must be easy to remove (e.g. cooling plates, coils and transformers). This can be done by placing them along the edge of the board to ease breakage.	• Reduces time consumption on disposal and reduces the costs for disposal • An advantage in case of service or upgrading • Demand according to EU-directive: Waste from Electric and Electronic Equipment.
• Avoid mixing of different types of materials, e.g. •Pressfits of non-compatible metals in iron or aluminium •Painting or coating of plastics (because of EMC) •Metal inserts in plastics •Joining of non-compatible plastics • Avoid moulding-in components	• Certain combinations of metals will reduce the recyclability • It is an environmental advantage to avoid chemical surface plating • Recycling of thermoplastics is reduced, if the plastics are contaminated
• Plastics weighing >25 grams should be identified with ISO 11469 plastic code to ease recycling identification • Flame retardants contained in plastic parts should be identified	• Makes correct sorting possible • Requirement in several eco-labelling schemes • Requirement according to EU and some national regulations
• Easy access to parts, which can be re-used and removed without damage. • Incorporation of timer in parts, which are relevant to replace during the lifetime of the product, or direct re-use.	• Less need for new parts • Special interest for maintenance and take-back.

End-of-life values

End of life value could be expressed as the costs versus gains in the recycling industry from processing the product.

The gains from recycling are e.g.:

the scrap value of the parts sent to metals recycling in a melting process (coming from the contents of gold, silver, palladium, copper, steel, lead etc.)
the value of directly recyclable parts (pure fractions of plastic, iron, stainless steel, copper etc.)
the combustion value from incineration of plastics, wood, cardboard etc.

The costs associated with recycling are e.g.:

labour costs from disassembly, sorting, refurbishing etc.
disposal costs for the fractions going to special treatment because of toxicity
disposal costs for the fraction going to landfill

By means of the Environmental Calculator III it is possible to calculate these and other values.

/El-Integration Rapport NJB 03-11-04/