To Design Electronics for Maximum EOL Value

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To Design Electronicsfor Maximum EOL Value

• Pamela Brody-Heine Eco Stewardship Strategies
• Wayne Rifer - Green Electronics Council
• Anne Peters Gracestone

ISRI Electronics Recycling Summit April 10,
2008
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Agenda

• EPEAT and the family of IEEE 1680 standards
• A serious opportunity
• 1680 criteria that address end-of-life
• Close-the-Loop project
• Things we are hearing about key electronic
  product design features
• An invitation for feedback

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Green Electronics Council (GEC) Electronic
Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)
IEEE 1680 Family of Standards

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Green Electronics Council

• To improve life-cycle environmental and social
  performance of electronic products through better
  product design
• Activities
• EPEAT
• Close-the-Loop project
• Supply Chain Management in Electronic Product
  Manufacture
• Green Electronics Design Awards

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EPEATTM

• An environmental procurement tool designed to
  help institutional purchasers in the public and
  private sectors evaluate, compare and select
  computer desktops, laptops and monitors based on
  their environmental attributes.

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Stakeholder Ownership

• EPEAT was designed by a stakeholder group
• IEEE 1680 environmental criteria are decided
  through an open, balloted stakeholder process
• EPEAT operations is overseen by a stakeholder
  governing council
• Electronics recyclers have been integral
• But not enough!

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What is EPEAT now?

• 1) Set of voluntary environmental performance
  criteria (IEEE 1680 American National Standard
  for the Environmental Assessment of Personal
  Computer Products)
• 2) A Registry to identify products which meet the
  standard (www.epeat.net) and a system for
  verifying conformance

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What Will EPEAT Become?

• A family of environmental standards for
  electronics
• 1680 umbrella standard
• 1680.1 for computers and monitors
• 4 new standards (1680.2 1680.5) to be
  development in the next 3 years
• Imaging devices
• Televisions
• Servers
• Mobile Devices

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EPEAT Environmental Performance Categories

• Environmentally Sensitive Materials
• Materials Selection
• Design for End of Life
• Product Longevity/Life Cycle Extension
• Energy Conservation
• End of Life Management
• Corporate Performance
• Packaging

• 51 criteria
• 23 required
• 28 optional

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EPEAT Tiers
TM
EPEAT Bronze Meets the 23 required
criteria EPEAT Silver Meets all required
criteria and 50 of the optional criteria EPEAT
Gold Meets all mandatory required and 75 of the
optional criteria
TM
TM
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Current EPEATTM Product Registrations
96
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A Market Success

• Manufacturers help create EPEAT and support its
  success
• Power of EPEAT in the institutional marketplace
• Federal Executive Order and the FAR (Federal
  Acquisition Regulations)
• 60B in federal bid specs and contracts for
  EPEAT products, plus much else
• EPEAT a prerequisite for selling to the
  institutional market U.S. and elsewhere
• Competition for optional points has grown intense

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Success Brings Opportunity

• EPEAT sets the agenda for green design in the
  U.S.
• Producing direct benefits for the environment,
  and for you, electronics recyclers.
• EPEAT is a tremendous opportunity to influence
  electronic product design
• Create criteria that will result in easier to
  recycle products that return increased value
• New Standards for printers, TVs, servers, and
  handhelds
• Future updates of 1680.1 for computers and
  monitors

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EPEAT Criteria Relevant to End-of-Life

• Materials
• Elimination of paints or coating that are not
  compatible with recycling or reuse (4.3.1.2)
• Minimum content post-consumer recycled plastic
  (4.2.1.2)
• Marking of plastic components (4.3.1.4)
• Hazardous and special materials
• Identification of materials with special handling
  needs (4.3.1.1)
• Identification and removal of components
  containing hazardous materials (4.3.1.5)

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EPEAT Criteria Relevant to End-of-Life

• Taking computers monitors apart
• Easy disassembly of external enclosure (4.3.1.3)
• Manual separation of plastics (gt 25 g) (4.3.2.1)
• Can be reused and/or recycled
• Minimum levels of reusability, recyclability
  (4.3.1.8 .9)
• Upgradeable with common tools (4.4.2.1)
• Modular design (4.4.2.2)
• Availability of replacement parts (4.4.3.1)
• Auditing 3 tiers of recycle vendors (4.6.1.2)

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Close the Loop Project

• An EPA grant to Green Electronics Council
• To close the communications loop between
  electronic product designers and recyclers
• And influence future EPEAT standards
• Through better product criteria that will benefit
  EOL
• NCER web-based information resource
• E-Scrap News Data gathering

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Close-the-Loop

• Explore recycling reuse technologies and
  practices where its at where its going
• The core questions
• What key electronic product design features would
  add value for you?
• What information from manufacturers would you
  like to have, and how would you like it
  communicated?
• Wed like to hear from you!

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What Were Hearing So FarHow To Improve Sorting

• Speed up identification of product and attributes
• Type of product, processor speed, components,
  hard drive size, other basic information
• Could be done in many ways
• Access a central, up-to-date data base
• Access to mfgr. data via ID on component
• On-product data
• Barcode or RFID tags
• Simple sketch
• Labeling

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What Were Hearing So FarHow to Improve Sorting

• Make identification of working/non-working easier
• Diagnostics to tell if whole unit is working
• Diagnostics to tell if components,
  sub-assemblies, batteries, etc are working

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What Were Hearing So FarPlastics

• Mechanism to identify regulated substances and
  resin types
• Reliable markings, universally readable bar
  codes, RFID
• Cost-effective hand-held reader

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What Were Hearing So FarPower Supplies

• Uniform power supply jacks and adaptors
• Or at least, more uniform
• USBs are universal Why not power supplies?
• Consistent power rating

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What Were Hearing So Far Taking Things Apart

• Were a long way from easy disassembly
• Uniform screw heads
• Hex heads, Phillips, metric, etc. lots of
  changing of drill bits
• Snap-apart features should
• Meet product durability specs
• Not damage item when pulled apart

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What Were Hearing So FarMaterials of Concern

• Easily identifiable
• Easily removable (snap out, pull out)
• Use of screws to hold in components can create a
  safety hazard

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Communication from Manufacturers to Recyclersand
Back

• A database? Valuable?
• Or is a comprehensive labeling system better?
• What would you use, realistically, on a
  day-to-day basis to help make your operations
  more efficient?

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Your Input

• What are your greatest challenges with respect to
  the design of products in
• Processing efficiency and effectiveness
• Value of your end-product/commodity
• Suggestions of design changes that would enhance
  the value at end-of-life
• What information from manufacturers would you
  like to have, and how would you like it
  communicated?

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Communication Methods

• Fill in a questionnaire now
• Or
• Fax to Wayne Rifer _at_ 503/643-9705
• Mail to Green Electronic Council, 121 SW Salmon
  St., Suite 210, Portland, OR 97204
• e-mail to pamela_at_brodyheine.com or
  wayne.rifer_at_greenelectronicscouncil.org
• Call Wayne 503/644-0294 or Pamela 541/633-7254 or
  Anne 303/494-4934