Recovery-friendly product concepts - material choice

WEEE-Directive

Implementation, "HOW"

Checklist for ECODESIGN analysis

Product

Is it feasible to recycle the materials which the product consists of in a financially tolerable and ecologically safe way?

Which materials does the product consist of? Are there industrial recycling facilities on the market which do recycle the material used or intended to be used? Are there recyclable alternatives for the material in question?

Relevance (R)	Fulfillment (F)	Priority (P)
very important ( 10 ) less important ( 5 ) not relevant ( 0 )	yes ( 1 ) rather yes ( 2 ) rather no ( 3 ) no ( 4 )	P = R * F

Measure	Choosing recyclable materials
Idea for Realization

Did you minimize the variety of materials used in the product?

How many different types of material have been used in the product? Is it possible to use the same material for different components?

Relevance (R)	Fulfillment (F)	Priority (P)
very important ( 10 ) less important ( 5 ) not relevant ( 0 )	yes ( 1 ) rather yes ( 2 ) rather no ( 3 ) no ( 4 )	P = R * F

Measure	Reducing the variety of materials used
Idea for Realization

Does the product come complete with information on materials used and with standard-compliant labeling?

What different materials are contained in the product? Where and how can the individual components be labeled so that materials can be unequivocally identified - in particular after the product's end of life. What does standard-compliant labeling look like? Is there need for additional information?

Relevance (R)	Fulfillment (F)	Priority (P)
very important ( 10 ) less important ( 5 ) not relevant ( 0 )	yes ( 1 ) rather yes ( 2 ) rather no ( 3 ) no ( 4 )	P = R * F

Measure	Standard-compliant labeling of all materials
Idea for Realization

Do all product components permit the separation of materials for the purpose of recycling?

What different materials are contained in the product? How are the different materials treated or recycled? Which materials are incompatible with recycling and can not be separated? Which measures would facilitate the separation of materials? Is it possible to choose another, more compatible combination of materials?

Relevance (R)	Fulfillment (F)	Priority (P)
very important ( 10 ) less important ( 5 ) not relevant ( 0 )	yes ( 1 ) rather yes ( 2 ) rather no ( 3 ) no ( 4 )	P = R * F

Measure	Allowing for the separation of materials
Idea for Realization

Are the materials used for the individual components of the product suitable for recycling? Are the materials contained in diverse components suitable for joint recycling?

Which materials is the product/component made of? Can the diversity of materials be reduced? Are diverse materials separable, and how do inseparable materials behave in the recycling process?

Relevance (R)	Fulfillment (F)	Priority (P)
very important ( 10 ) less important ( 5 ) not relevant ( 0 )	yes ( 1 ) rather yes ( 2 ) rather no ( 3 ) no ( 4 )	P = R * F

Measure	Ensuring that materials are suitable for recycling
Idea for Realization

Are both surface coating and base material compatible for recycling?

Which components have a surface coating? Can this coating impair recyclability? Are there alternative solutions?

Relevance (R)	Fulfillment (F)	Priority (P)
very important ( 10 ) less important ( 5 ) not relevant ( 0 )	yes ( 1 ) rather yes ( 2 ) rather no ( 3 ) no ( 4 )	P = R * F

Measure	Ensuring that surface coating and base material are suitable for recycling
Idea for Realization

Are components of the product reused in other products or does the product (partly) consist of refurbished and reused components from other products?

Which parts can not be reused but are too valuable for mere recycling of materials or to be treated as waste? What are the properties of these parts - how could they be put to use in other products? Is there a demand for these parts? What measures at the level of design could improve the opportunities of continued use?

Relevance (R)	Fulfillment (F)	Priority (P)
very important ( 10 ) less important ( 5 ) not relevant ( 0 )	yes ( 1 ) rather yes ( 2 ) rather no ( 3 ) no ( 4 )	P = R * F

Measure	Reusing components in other products
Idea for Realization

Approach to assessment:

Relevance:
Rate the relevance of the assessment question with a view to your product. (10...very important for my product; 5...less important for my product; 0...not relevant for my product).
Fullfilment:
Estimate the fulfilment of the assessment questions using one of the four possible answers (yes / rather yes / rather no / no); the additional questions support understanding of the assessment question and need not be answered.
Priority:
Select ECODESIGN tasks with high priority (P) and continue only with these.
Idea for Realization:
Find ideas to realize these ECODESIGN tasks. The content of the learning part with its examples shall assist you in doing that.
Save:
Save the checklist to document the ECODESIGN assessment.

Choosing recyclable materials

Material choices made throughout the planning stage need to be based on a material's future reuse and recovery. Therefore, design engineers must have a certain amount of expertise in recycling processes. It is prerequisite for closed materials cycles to use materials which are compatible with efficient recycling processes and which, once recycled, retain their desired properties (by adding original material, if necessary) to a sufficient degree. The material in question must actually be recyclable, but other important issues are also whether corresponding recycling pathways exist and whether there is sufficient demand for the recycled material.
Further information on the recovery of scrap electronics

Reducing the variety of materials used

Reducing the variety of materials used is a crucial point in the attempt to realize the best possible recyclability of a product. As a result, the effort and cost involved in sorting and separating materials during recycling is substantially reduced. In terms of recovery rates, single material components should be preferred wherever possible.

Standard-compliant labeling of all materials

If it is not possible to reuse components or to adapt them for use in other products, the materials have to be recycled. For this procedure it is essential that materials can be unequivocally identified by means of standardized labeling. Products containing materials that have not been labeled correctly very often end up in a waste dump although the recycling of such materials is possible.

Allowing for the separation of materials

The recycling of materials requires the use of uniform or at least recyclable materials. If the product contains incompatible materials, then these materials should be separable. For the purpose of material recycling, separation need not necessarily be nondestructive. Predetermined braking points, too, are an appropriate solution. Design should ensure easy separation of different materials.

Ensuring that materials are suitable for recycling

If the reuse of product parts can not be realized, the goal should be the recycling of materials at the highest level possible. Recyclability may be a decisive factor in selecting materials if there are alternatives with equivalent properties.

Ensuring that surface coating and base material are suitable for recycling

Surface coating typically forms an inseparable compound with the base material. This should, however, not impair recyclability of materials. Intelligent design of components and a selection of adequate materials will ensure compatibility of materials for recycling.

Reusing components in other products

Reusing parts in other products also preserves high value within the component, since its structure is not destroyed. Minor adaptations or reworking of parts that can not be directly reused make them suitable for use in other products. For example, the windows of scrapped washing machines can be used as decorative glass bowls.