Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE Sector
The increased diversity and complexity of plastics used in modern devices, such as electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), can have negative impacts on their recyclability. Today, the main economic driver for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling stems from metal recovery. WE...
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doaj-3aad90c382dd44bd879dcbeca7cefde22021-04-01T23:09:19ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502021-04-01133923392310.3390/su13073923Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE SectorAnton Berwald0Gergana Dimitrova1Thijs Feenstra2Joop Onnekink3Harm Peters4Gianni Vyncke5Kim Ragaert6Environmental & Reliability Engineering, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM, 13355 Berlin, GermanyEnvironmental & Reliability Engineering, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM, 13355 Berlin, GermanyPezy Group Groningen, 9723 TV Groningen, The NetherlandsPezy Group Groningen, 9723 TV Groningen, The NetherlandsPezy Group Groningen, 9723 TV Groningen, The NetherlandsCenter for Polymer & Material Technologies, Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, Ghent University, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumCenter for Polymer & Material Technologies, Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, Ghent University, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, BelgiumThe increased diversity and complexity of plastics used in modern devices, such as electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), can have negative impacts on their recyclability. Today, the main economic driver for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling stems from metal recovery. WEEE plastics recycling, on the other hand, still represents a major challenge. Strategies like design ‘for’, but also the much younger concept of design ‘from’ recycling play a key role in closing the material loops within a circular economy. While these strategies are usually analysed separately, this brief report harmonises them in comprehensive Design for Circularity guidelines, established in a multi-stakeholder collaboration with industry leaders from the entire WEEE value chain. The guidelines were developed at the product and part levels. They are divided in five categories: (1) avoidance of hazardous substances; (2) enabling easy access and removal of hazardous or polluting parts; (3) use of recyclable materials; (4) use of material combinations and connections allowing easy liberation; (5) use of recycled materials. These guidelines are the first harmonised set to be released for the EEE industry. They can readily serve decision-makers from different levels, including product designers and manufacturers as well as policymakers.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3923plasticsrecyclingWEEEdesign guidelinesdesign for recyclingdesign from recycling |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Anton Berwald Gergana Dimitrova Thijs Feenstra Joop Onnekink Harm Peters Gianni Vyncke Kim Ragaert |
spellingShingle |
Anton Berwald Gergana Dimitrova Thijs Feenstra Joop Onnekink Harm Peters Gianni Vyncke Kim Ragaert Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE Sector Sustainability plastics recycling WEEE design guidelines design for recycling design from recycling |
author_facet |
Anton Berwald Gergana Dimitrova Thijs Feenstra Joop Onnekink Harm Peters Gianni Vyncke Kim Ragaert |
author_sort |
Anton Berwald |
title |
Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE Sector |
title_short |
Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE Sector |
title_full |
Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE Sector |
title_fullStr |
Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE Sector |
title_full_unstemmed |
Design for Circularity Guidelines for the EEE Sector |
title_sort |
design for circularity guidelines for the eee sector |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
The increased diversity and complexity of plastics used in modern devices, such as electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), can have negative impacts on their recyclability. Today, the main economic driver for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling stems from metal recovery. WEEE plastics recycling, on the other hand, still represents a major challenge. Strategies like design ‘for’, but also the much younger concept of design ‘from’ recycling play a key role in closing the material loops within a circular economy. While these strategies are usually analysed separately, this brief report harmonises them in comprehensive Design for Circularity guidelines, established in a multi-stakeholder collaboration with industry leaders from the entire WEEE value chain. The guidelines were developed at the product and part levels. They are divided in five categories: (1) avoidance of hazardous substances; (2) enabling easy access and removal of hazardous or polluting parts; (3) use of recyclable materials; (4) use of material combinations and connections allowing easy liberation; (5) use of recycled materials. These guidelines are the first harmonised set to be released for the EEE industry. They can readily serve decision-makers from different levels, including product designers and manufacturers as well as policymakers. |
topic |
plastics recycling WEEE design guidelines design for recycling design from recycling |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3923 |
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