In this paper we show how it is possible to reuse optical supports (CDs, DVDs, etc.) without using chemical or physical transformation, only employing a software that can easily run on domestic computers. This software can make obsolete optical supports useful again, converting de facto WEEE (Waste electric and electronic equipment) into EEE (Electric and electronic equipment). A massive use of...

The computer industry has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the last few decades. It is one of the fastest growing manufacturing industries and, due to high rate of obsolescence, one of the industries with the highest rate of e-waste. This paper applies a reverse logistics hierarchy to determine what steps are being taken in the industry and presents some suggested solutions to the problem f...

Very recently bioleaching has been used for removing metals from electronic waste. Most of the research has been targeted to using pulverized PCBs for bioleaching where precipitate formed during bioleaching contaminates the pulverized PCB sample and making the overall metal recovery process more complicated. In addition to that, such mixing of pulverized sample with precipitate also creates pro...

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have relevant positive and negative impacts on environmental sustainability on various levels: First-order effects such as increasing electronic waste streams; second-order effects such as improved energy-efficiency of production; third-order effects such as a product-to-service shift in consumption or rebound effects in transport. In the simulat...

The European perspective on waste management and recycling as described in the European Union’s Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROS) strongly suggests that lead-free electronic assemblies will be mandatory in Europe by 2008. Japan is moving toward voluntary compliance by 2003 with a lead-free initiative that focuses on environmental m...

This paper examines the social implications of introducing a new technology into the product-service system (PSS) of electronic waste management (EWM). Using a previously established set of social sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) targeting the operations level (i.e. impacts on EWM operators), social implications are examined in a case where a specific innovative new technology i...

T paper investigates the impact of e-waste regulation on new product introduction in a stylized model of the electronics industry. Manufacturers choose the development time and expenditure for each new version of a durable product, which together determine its quality. Consumers purchase the new product and dispose of the last-generation product, which becomes e-waste. The price of a new produc...