Page 670 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

CAT3525_C22.qxd 1/27/2005 1:00 PM Page 641
Electronics Waste 641

Obsolete computers in
storage

Obsolete computers
Donation
recipients

Reusable parts and
Remanufacturing
refurbished computers

Metals, glass, and
Smelters Separation
mixed plastics activities
including
demanufacturing Municipal
Nonhazardous
Glass waste landfill
CRT manufactures Waste

Plastics Separated plastics
manufacturers

Hazardous
Hazardous
Mixed plastics waste landfill
Waste to energy Waste

FIGURE 22.9 Flow chart showing options for electronics recycling (U.S. Geological Survey. 2001).

and environmentally appropriate context, would be welcome. The recent concept of “product stew-
ardship” is clearly relevant at this point. Product stewardship can be defined as (NWPSC, 2001):
whoever designs, makes, sells or uses a product takes responsibility for minimizing its environmental
impact. This responsibility spans the product’s life cycle — from selection of raw materials to design
and production processes to its use and disposal.

Product stewardship can apply to any type of waste and addresses the environmental impact of
a product at all stages of its life cycle, from design and manufacture to packaging and distribution
to end-of-life management. Product stewardship transfers the responsibility for end-of-life man-
agement from the public sector (i.e., government and taxpayers) alone to a shared responsibility that
includes the private sector (manufacturers and purchasers). The ultimate goal of this arrangement is
to encourage environmentally beneficial design and recycling and to reduce the flow of wastes to
landfills or incinerators (NWPSC, 2001). For example, it is considered appropriate to internalize the
cost of waste management into the price of electronic devices at the time of purchase. Such up-front
fees can be set aside and eventually allocated to cover the eventual costs for deconstruction, pro-
cessing, and recycling.
Several European and Asian nations have established product stewardship models that involve
numerous types of products including electronics. European nations have been the vanguard in
addressing the e-waste problem by proposing an ambitious system of “extended producer respon-
sibility.” In 2001, the European Union Parliament adopted a directive that requires producers of