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CIB_LCE

Abstract:

In industrialized countries, recycling of complex products, such as electronics, is predominantly based on mechanical comminution and automated material sorting. This recycling scheme is characterized by high recovery rates for certain materials, such as steel and aluminium, but underperforms for other materials like precious metals, critical metals and plastics, which are of high importance from both an environmental and economic perspective. On the other hand, disassembly or selective destructive removal of certain components can significantly increase the recovery rate of these materials. Recent initiatives to revise the European eco-label for electronic products recognize this issue, and aim to influence the design of electronic products in a way that disassembly becomes economically preferable for key components at end-of-life. For example, in the draft version of the eco-label criteria for LCD televisions, maximum disassembly times are proposed for Printed Wiring Boards and specific plastic components. The aim of this article is to analyse the environmental relevance of such an approach, and to provide insights to manufacturers on the improvements required to decrease disassembly time. Therefore, an in-depth analysis of both material composition and disassembly times for LCD TVs and monitors is performed. Environmental assessment is carried out by means of Life Cycle Assessment techniques.