The strategic and competitive implications of recycling and design for disassembly in the electronics industry

Legislation placing responsibility on the primary manufacturer to recover products at the end of their life cycle and recycle/reprocess them in order to minimise dumped waste is being prepared, notably in Germany. Whilst such legislation may primarily be driven by the rapidly declining availability of landfill sites, secondary objectives include the conservation of materials and energy in support of the sustainable development concept. This paper summarises the results of an international survey of the approaches that companies producing electronic consumer goods, household appliances and business machines are adopting to prepare for anticipated legislation on product “take-back”