Reducing waste : repair, recondition, remanufacture or recycle?

Between 1980 and 1997, municipal waste in OECD countries increased by around 40%. This paper outlines the very real negative effects of this increase and then introduces the two main European Union policies that have been established to address this problem: a landfill directive and legislation on extended producer responsibility (EPR). The paper then describes and compares the four alternative strategies to reducing end-of-life waste within the context of extended producer responsibility: namely repairing, reconditioning, remanufacturing or recycling. It also introduces a more robust definition of remanufacturing, validated by earlier research, which differentiates it from repair and reconditioning. From a consideration of the different factors involved, it concludes that remanufacturing may well be the best strategy. This is because it enables the embodied energy of virgin production to be maintained, preserves the intrinsic added value of the product for the manufacturer and enables the resultant products to be sold as new with updated features if necessary

DETC2004-57759 DESIGN FOR END-OF-LIFE: REPAIR, RECONDITION, REMANUFACTURE OR RECYCLE?

ABSTRACT Between 1980 and 1997, municipal waste in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries increased by around 40%. The European Union has responded by introducing legislation on extended producer responsibility (EPR). This paper further explains the context of this new legislation and describes, compares and then contrasts the four alternative strategies to reducing end-of-life waste: namely repairing, reconditioning, remanufacturing or recycling. It also introduces a more robust definition of remanufacturing, validated by earlier research, which differentiates it from repair and reconditioning. From a consideration of the different factors involved, it concludes that remanufacturing may often be a strong strategy. This is based on the fact that it preserves both the embodied energy of virgin production (thus reducing the environmental impact) and the intrinsic "value adding" process of the producer (thus increasing the manufacturer's profitability). As a result, this new environmental policy is likely to lead to significant increases in remanufacturing as an end-of-life strategy in the European Union. However, effective end-of life strategies are dictated by product characteristics and therefore vary from product to produc