Investigating types of information from WEEE take-back systems in order to promote Design for Recovery

Louise Lindkvist , Natalia Alonso Movilla (1) , Sundin Erik (2) , Peggy Zwolinski (1)

1 G-SCOP_CPP - Conception Produit Process
2 LIU - Linköping University

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) recovery facilities have been set up for the last decade to promote a circular economy. Their activities focus on the reuse, remanufacturing and/or recycling of products. Currently, little information reaches designers regarding the requirements that these facilities have on product design. Therefore, most products are not designed to be properly recovered. The aim of this paper is to explore the nature of product life-cycle information from recovery organisations that could be shared in order to improve resource efficiency. The focus is on how information exchange can benefit the end-of-life phase of forthcoming designed products. Two levels of information have been identified, macroscopic and microscopic. Our study is illustrated with a detailed analysis of the French WEEE compliance scheme and an in-depth analysis of an IT remanufacturing facility in Sweden. Based on the cases studies we have identified current and potential information flows between different stakeholders that could benefit design for recovery.

Domaines: Génie mécanique [physics.class-ph]

Louise Lindkvist, Natalia Alonso Movilla, Sundin Erik, Peggy Zwolinski. Investigating types of information from WEEE take-back systems in order to promote Design for Recovery. EcoDesign 2015, Dec 2015, Tokyo, Japan. ⟨hal-01236685⟩