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E-waste Management: Coping with End-of-life
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
By Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor
Over the coming months and years, your vast array of personal, consumer electronic devices i-This and i-That will eventually come to the end of their product life cycles and go from i- to e-. E-waste, e-pollution, e-scrap and e-recycling are the buzz words entering the lexicons of the electronics industry and international communities looking for methods to reduce the electronic impact on the earth at end-of-life. SMT surveyed non-profits, companies, and trade associations to sort out the current trends and movements within the electronics recycling realm, and the economic, production, and environmental aspects involved with preparing for an assembly's life after end-of-life.
E-waste is generated by discarded, defunct, or unusable computers, cell phones, gaming consoles, monitors, televisions, audio equipment, printers, and other specialized or consumer devices. Intensive new product cycling and short life expectancy for "throw away" devices in some of these sectors generates e-waste at a much faster rate than even a few years ago. With more mechanical or human tasks handed over to robotics and computers (consider the robotic mop that cleans your floors, or remote controls for high-end window blinds), more e-waste is created. A small percentage of these products are recycled at end-of-life. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 3.2 million tons of e-waste are tossed out by Americans each year.
Technology Forecasters Inc. (TFI) is part of a growing movement to reduce e-waste at the beginning of a product's life cycle, claiming that only about 20% of materials purchased for a production run end up in the finished goods. When an electronic device enters the market with a wake of obsolete/excess materials, off-yield subassemblies, post-production scrap, too many components, and other waste, its impact on the environment and profitability already is at a deficit, according to Pamela J. Gordon, founder and lead consultant on the environment for TFI. The consulting company facilitates "Zero Waste" initiatives with companies such as Nokia, NEC, and others to increase profitability by streamlining production. Producers and assemblers gain distinct economic advantages from reusing products, components, and subassemblies, adds John Dickenson, VP, AER Worldwide, an e-recycling company. Dickenson predicts increased subassembly reuse in electronic devices in the near future.
Other electronics components that can be recycled into refurbished or new electronic products include rechargeable batteries, for cell phones, PDAs, laptops, and other personal devices, according to the Rechargable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC). Consumers are key to preventing removable components, such as battery cells, from entering the solid waste stream, according to the non-profit RBRC. Batteries comprise less than 1% of municipal solid waste, yet contribute a large portion of toxic heavy metals to it, reports the EPA. Cell phones, laptops, and other portable devices incorporating easily separated and recycled subcomponents, such as batteries, enable consumer-based recycling programs, lowering e-waste-associated costs for product designers, assemblers, and distributors.
While some groups direct e-waste management to the beginning of the product life cycle and others to the consumers, OEM and EMS partners, along with their respective supply chains, bear the brunt of international regulations, or electronics stewardship. Modern regulations, many spurred by the European Union's (EU's) RoHS and WEEE initiatives, are springing up in disparate countries, states, and regions, all with variations on the definition of e-waste, the range of hazardous substances restricted from end products, and the limits of legislation. Several companies are capitalizing on the need for clarity in doing business under these international environmental codes. The 2007 edition of "Electronics Recycling: A Guide to International Regulations," published by Raymond Communications, takes into account 26 countries, each with its own variation on electronic waste laws. The guide interprets EU WEEE and RoHS rules, including who is affected and what items. Collection organization, fee structures, and electronics recovery also factor into e-recycling.
While e-recycling affects electronics production and product life cycles in regions from the Americas to Australia, the 2007 Guide highlights major consumer sectors with high product obsolescence such as cell phones in pollution- and waste-burdened areas like Asia. The global mobile phone market has seen upwards of 20% growth in handset production annually, according to the Henderson Forecast Summary, but the market of new subscribers may have reached saturation. Handset production will slow to about 10% growth annually through 2009, says the analyst firm. Estimates published from 2005 by environmental information network Earth 911 show that more than 130 million phones are disposed of annually, but with a market reliant on consumers re-purchasing rather than entering the mobile phone market, these numbers could waver.
Computers, another consumer device facing rapid new product introduction, and consequentially high obsolescence, become e-waste at a rate of about 63 million a year, adding up to about 500 million defunct, non-recycled computers by 2007. These estimates come from the National Safety Council. In developed nations, such as the U.S. and Japan, PC unit sales are down, in favor of a diversified array of smart phones, flat-panel TVs, music players, etc., reports the Associated Press (AP). Desktops and laptops are losing ground to more powerful and more functional portable devices, AP says, citing research firm IDC's statistics. These specialized devices are even more suspect to annual roll-over, and may not be properly recycled as a larger, more expensive device may be. If mature markets like the U.S. and Japan are leveling off, their decline will be offset by "booming demand" in emerging markets forming in industrialized nations, especially the Asia-Pacific region, AP notes.
Given the high percentage of functioning or reusable components in defunct electronics, particularly those that become obsolete based on trends rather than performance, many companies that serve electronics assembly have a vested interest in e-recycling. Gabe Kim, VP of operations and plant management for NEC Electronics America, Inc., explains that e-recycling is an environmental choice, but also a common sense choice for a company that manages lead-free product conversions and ISO 14001 compliance. His company developed a recycling program recognized with awards from the EPA and the state of California, where NEC operates two facilities. "Our parent company NEC Electronics Corporation monitors international environmental regulations continually through a dedicated environmental department," he says. This led the company to focus on reducing power consumption and environmental impact of their electronic products. "Environmental compliance has become important for current and potential customers," he adds, noting that the company's lead-free conversions, recycling program, and materials and process controls governed by environmental legislation keep it competitive in the modern marketplace.
"Green electronics appear to be the wave of the future," Kim points out. And reusing subassemblies and components is just the start with a typical end product facing end-of-life. PCBs not resold can be ground up and separated into precious metals and fiberglass. Metal components can be removed and reused as scrap. Copper wire, in high demand globally, can be pulled out and recycled, often for a profit. Some EMS companies dedicate entire business units to de-assembling electronic assemblies. So chances are, if green electronics continue to catch on and make sense from environmental and financial standpoints, your next i-This may be made from recycled PCBs, batteries, and even working components from your last i-That.
Acknowledgements:1. Earth 911, www.Earth911.org.2. "Electronics Recycling: A Guide to International Regulations," Raymond Communications, www.raymond.com.3. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), www.call2recycle.org.4. Technology Forecasters Inc. (TFI), www.techforecasters.com.5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), www.epa.gov.6. AER Worldwide, www.aerworldwide.com.
For more information, contact Meredith Courtemanche at mcourtemanche@pennwell.com.