The environmental impact of technology innovation on WEEE management by Multi-Life Cycle Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) technology innovation is strongly related to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management strategies. It does not only effect the amount and speed of WEEE generation through products replacement, but it also exerts overall long-term impacts on the environmental performance of EEE system. Therefore, those impacts should be evaluated quantitatively. A concept framework is developed and applied in the case study of display product technology innovation, and a Multi-Life Cycle Assessment method is proposed to evaluate the environmental impacts of technology innovation on multi-generation systems. The study concludes that constant EEE technology innovation along with frequent product replacement may lead to acute fluctuations of WEEE generation and significant multi-generation products system environmental impacts. Hence, the product-oriented environmental policies, including waste management policies, should take technology innovation into consideration.