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Green testing - Consumers International

1. Assessment criteria gt Rating of criteria Weighing of factors Recyclability module Case studies Table 5 Sensitivity matrix Assessment categories Recycling Financial Environmental percentage impact impact kg Euro MET 5 Information to consumers x x x Environmentally harmful substances x x x Disassembly Total 1 0 0 Back panel 2 0 0 Material recycling Back panel 3 Tube 4 0 1 optimal design versus bad design 2 short disassembly time versus longest 3 recycling versus incineration 4 glass recycling route versus ceramic recycling route 5 MET is a measure in which material use energy use and toxic substances are expressed in one value Key x not studied benefit loss large loss 0 no influence disassembly test and one part to be filled in after disassembly with an inventory of all components For each disassembled component the disassembly form has space for the name of the component the disassembly time type of connections the amount of connections of one type necessary tools obligatory precedence of components to disassemble and final remarks The connection types and tools are letter coded The disassembly form had three columns where the difficulty of disassembly namely obstruction required precision and force could be recorded
2. National and European regulations Disposal of white and brown goods Does your country have regulations concerning collection and disposal of white and brown goods Please type an in the space before the line that is applicable to the situation in your country and go to the next question mentioned Yes regulations are in force Go to 18 No but regulations are in draft or in Go to 19 Go to 20 development No none foreseen in the future Please give a short description of the disposal regulations for white and brown goods 18a Who pays for the removal of old appliances from consumers and how much 18b 19 19a 19b 19c 3 2 20 21 Green test programme for colour TVs Appendix C Are there any recycling percentages established for the different material parts of white and brown goods eg plastics metals Go to 20 Please give a short description of the disposal regulations for white and brown goods in draft or in development What is the date when the disposal regulations in draft or in development come into effect Who will pay for the removal of old appliances from consumers and how much Are there any recycling percentages established for the different material parts of white and brown goods eg glass plastics metals Preventive regulations Which harmful amounts of substances in the manufacturing stage of products eg cadmium mercury are prohibited
3. Definitions and preconditions 1 1 Repairability 1 2 The repair process 2 Case studies 2 1 Coffee makers 2 2 Washing machines 2 3 Computers 3 Guidelines for repairability 11 13 15 Repairability module Reader s guide Reader s guide The methodology for developing the checklist and guidelines for repairability consists of three parts 1 definitions and preconditions 2 case studies 3 checklist and guidelines This repairability module is based on a literature review and expertise from within consumer organisations The checklists and guidelines are intended to be used by consumer organisations wishing to start projects on repairability Examples of DIY repair repair services and helpline aided diagnosis are discussed and case studies are used to develop general guidelines for the assessment of repairability These guidelines are proposals for the assessment of repairability and summarise the consumer oriented research options available Definitions and preconditions This section gives definitions of repairability and repair and covers the stages undergone by a household appliance in the repair process The repair process is set out in a flowchart Scenarios for DIY repair and repair services are also discussed Case studies The case study product groups investigated for repairability were coffee makers washing machines and computers Coffee makers are also taken as a case study on DIY re
4. be possibilities for self repair decision e estimated costs YES Repair service U Y Purchase of spare parts Select repair service Y Y Disassembly Service Y Replacement spare parts amp re assembly Continue with malfunctioning appliance NO Satisfaction with repair NO Functions as before 1 2 2 1 2 3 Repairability module Definitions and preconditions Diagnosis of the defect DEFINITION Diagnosability The capacity to easily identify the source of the problem by detecting which components of the appliance are defective and by providing the course of action to correct it Manufacturers can help consumers to diagnose defects by giving troubleshooting information in the user manual or by setting up after sales services diagnostic helplines to deal with problems the average consumer finds difficult to diagnose and repair Apart from the troubleshooting list manufacturers should also give information in the user manual on procedures for repair tools required and the expected useful life span of vulnerable components and parts Information given to consumers in the user manual or through after sales service can be important to the repair decision even for an appliance with a high purchase price Check on warranty coverage When an appliance is bought a guarantee period
5. Project leader Gerjan Huis in t Veld Consumentenbond The Netherlands Researchers Ronald Luijk and Tom Geldhof Consumentenbond Project manager Anna Fielder Consumers International Project assistant Suzanne Gribble Consumers International Report editor Judith Gubbay Designed and produced by Steve Paveley Copyright Consumers International September 1999 ISBN 19023 91 15 2 This report is part of the series produced as part of a Consumers International project Support to consumer organisations in promoting sustainable consumption Others in the series are Green guidance July 1998 Green testing September 1999 Green claims November 1999 Green labels November 1999 Contents Introduction amp background Recyclability module Repairability module Upgradability module Green test programme for colour TVs Introduction amp background Contents Introduction amp background Contents Introduction Background 1 Sustainable consumption 2 Life span extension and environmental impacts 3 Disposal regulations of white and brown goods 4 Waste collection of white and brown goods Appendix Participating organisations 11 13 Introduction amp background Introduction Introduction When former IOCU now Consumers International Cl organised its Beyond the Year 2000 the Transition to Sustainable Consumption conference in 1993 the term sustainable consumption was new to m
6. 1 DFE is commercially available from TNO Institute of Industrial Technology Product Development Division the Netherlands Recyclability module Definitions and preconditions Definitions and preconditions 11 Recyclability products and components after possible Once an appliance has been discarded by the consumer and has been through a collection infrastructure its possible end of life destinations are landfill incineration or recycling Landfill is the least desirable destination due to the high costs especially in the case of components containing environ mentally harmful substances For sustainable consumption recycling has priority over incineration In general terms recyclability is defined as the potential to re use appliances and components and or materials used in them after they have been abandoned by consumers although there is also a more specific technical definition see below In this context re use of components is considered as recycling In the scope of this study the definitions of recycling and recyclability are narrowed down to the recovery of materials and the term recycling refers to material recycling Re use of components will however be discussed In general if an appliance is disassembled re use of valuable components is preferable to recycling the materials DEFINITION Re use of components Putting the component back into working order at a specified level of quality Th
7. Green testing Recyclability repairability and upgradability A practical handbook for consumer organisations N f Acknowledgements This handbook was produced by Consumers International s Programme for Developed Economies and Economies in Transition with the financial support and co operation of the European Commission Directorate General XXIV Consumer Policy and Consumer Health Protection Consumers International would like to thank its member organisations who took part in the project listed in the Appendix to the Introduction amp background section and in particular the members of the expert panel for their work and advice Norman Crothers Australian Consumers Association Australia Georg Daverda Verein fiir Konsumenteninformation Austria Isabelle Convi Verbruikersunie Belgium Barbara Moretti Bureau Europ en des Unions de Consommateures Belgium Poul Wendel Jessen Forbrugerr det Denmark Hans Peter Brix and Frank Alleweldt Stiftung Warentest Germany Bodo Tegethoff Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Verbraucherverbande Germany Tilmann Hohfeld Institut F r Angewandte Verbraucherforschung e V Germany Connie Lau Hong Kong Consumer Council Hong Kong Lars Jonsson Konsumentverket Sweden Jane Lee Consumers Association UK Jill Johnstone National Consumer Council UK Kim Healy International Consumer Research and Testing UK Carolyn Nunley Consumers Union USA
8. and the environmental impact positively Setting priorities for assessment categories on the basis of these impact differences must be regarded as a proposal Because the disassembly process has an impact difference on one factor namely the financial impact and material recycling has an impact difference on 35 36 Green testing three factors of which one will be diminished with high grade recycling of the tube the proposal is that the priorities of these two aspects are 1 2 relative to each other If a priority of 20 is chosen for the assessment category information to consumers and the choice is made to put disassembly and material recycling at 60 these last two aspects have priorities of 20 and 40 respectively Recyclability module Appendix B Appendix B Guidelines for recyclability assessment of televisions The assessment of recyclability of televisions is based on the pilot research project and will be presented as follows For each phase of the recycling process the guidelines consist of key questions assessment criteria rating of the applicable research methods The product specific guidelines for televisions are set out in this study The rating and weighting of the criteria are proposals from Consumentenbond in co operation with TNO Institute of Industrial Technology of the Netherlands Key questions criteria and research methods Discarding the appliance KEY QUESTION
9. e Type of connections e Diversity of connection types e Number of connections of one type e Number of necessary tools e Special or non universal tools e Safety of disassembly Product examination or panel simulation Replacement of defective component amp re assembly Overall re assembly time Laboratory simulation or panel simulation Selection of repair service e Authorised or not e Repair conditions Retailer inventory 17 18 3 1 2 3 Green testing Stage Criteria Research method Service e Diagnosis Consumer experience survey e Conversation when repair taken in e Description of complaint on receipt e Price estimation before work e Prepared list of repair services performed e Costs of repair e Repair time e Customer service e Service guarantee e Exchange appliance provided during repair Satisfaction with repair e Repair succeeded or not e Appliance damaged e Diagnosis was wrong Survey of consumers experiences e Second defect shortly after repair sales receipt not available because it was a gift and authorisation letter length of time on the phone number of calls EVALUATION Repairability information to consumers by helplines The quality of helplines is evaluated on a five point scale for the following accessibility by telephone customer service and quality of advice The proposed weighting factors are
10. 2 2 2 cabinet or front casing 2 2 3 frame and or speaker casing 2 2 4 main printed circuit board Halogenated flame retardants in back casing and main printed circuit board Only if the Belstein results in 2 2 prove positive 2 3 1 determination of weight percentages of antimony Sb bromine Br in back casing and main printed circuit board by instrumental neutron activation analysis INAA or ICP MS and if positive on bromine then 2 3 2 identification of specific brominated flame retardants in the back casing and main printed circuit board by pyrolysis mass spectrometry or GC MS Heavy metals 2 4 1 Determination of weight percentages of cadmium in the tube and electronic components by instrumental neutron activation analysis INAA or ICP MS 2 4 2 Identification of heavy metals in coloured plastic parts by instrumental neutron activation analysis INAA or ICP MS Disassembly The disassembly test for colour television receivers consists of 3 1 Disassembly into main components 3 2 Estimation of recyclability determination of the percentage weights of different materials and estimate of recyclability Disassembly into main components 3 1 1 Total disassembly time 3 1 2 Disassembly time of critical components back casing internal wiring deflection unit and main printed circuit board 3 1 3 Diversity of connection types 3 1 4 Special or non universal tools 3 1 5 Safety of disassembly Th
11. Assessment Weighting Break criterion factor Accessibility by 25 telephone Customer service 25 Quality of advice 50 if Warranty coverage KEY QUESTIONS 1 Does the warranty cover components and or labour 2 Does the manufacturer give a secret warranty on the appliance after the official warranty has expired 3 Does an extended warranty have financial benefit 3 1 2 4 RESEARCH METHOD The information is collected via a product inventory an inventory of the manual and a check on the guarantee conditions Alternatively a telephone survey of manufacturers can be carried out Analysis of the financial benefit of an extended warranty is done along with the questions in a survey of consumer experiences EVALUATION Warranty coverage This is based on the ratio between the expected economic life span and the given guarantee period Repair decision KEY QUESTIONS 1 Can consumers make a balanced decision as to whether to repair the appliance or not and subsequently to do a DIY repair or contract a repair service 2 What advice do manufacturers give consumers to assist them in the decision of whether or not to repair so the latter can make a balanced repair decision RESEARCH METHOD The data are collected via a survey of consumer experiences of repairability The questions concern the reasons not to repair the percentage of respondents who repaired a broken appliance and the percentage of D
12. Does the user manual give information on how and where to dispose of the old appliance so it can be collected for recycling ASSESSMENT User manual The assessment of information on recycling available to consumers in the user manual consists of the following criteria e information about how and where consumers can dispose of the television set e recycling guarantee mention of whether a recycling guarantee is given when a new system is bought e information about the different electrical and electronic components and materials used in the appliance e information about avoiding heavy metals like cadmium and other harmful materials like PVC and CFCs halogenated flame retardants e information about location of components with environmentally harmful substances polychlorobiphenyl in capacitor of printed circuit board rechargeable batteries back panel with halogenated flame retardants Evaluation of information on recycling in the user manual no information to consumers in the manual on recycling of the TV general information about disposal of the television set information about disposal addresses disposal of batteries type of waste recycling guarantee and information about location of environmentally harmful components information about the different electronic components and materials RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection of in formation to consumers is by product
13. about new technological developments available improved or additional components possible upgrading strategies upgrading options listed in order of convenience and 1 2 5 costs procedures for upgrading required equipment and service addresses Consumer organisations can ease consumer decision making by giving information on the necessity and best options for closing the functional gap Upgrading decision When the consumer has established how to close the functional gap s he should be able to make a balanced decision on whether or not to upgrade and to choose between DIY upgrading and using an upgrading service These decisions depend on several issues such as the age the type of the appliance the possibility of DIY upgrading the estimated costs relative to the upgrade benefit and whether the improved components are backwards compatible see definition below Purchase of improved components Availability of the necessary improved components may differ according to region Lack of availability will increase the time taken to replace or install the new components and thus the costs When the improved components have to be ordered the scene is set for the waiting for the part syndrome long delay before the new component is delivered From a consumer s point of view the availability and price of improved components should not discourage upgrading Consumers must be well informed to purchase the right im
14. are supplied to the shredder after which the concrete is separated from the ferrous part In principle if the concrete block was easy to disassemble it would be suitable for mechanical recycling but this does not happen in practice Even better would be the disassembly of the concrete block before long distance transport to a recycling centre If the printed circuit board is easy to disassemble it is in principle better to use high grade recycling of the metals of this 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 4 component but this does not happen in practice Washing machine components can be disassembled as follows e removal of external cables removal of part of the housing in order to get access to components e removal of capacitors e removal of concrete blocks if disassembly time is short removal of printed circuit board if disassembly time is short e removal of the motor e mechanical recycling of remaining components Collection of components made of the same material This phase only applies to e collection of electronic components printed circuit boards collection of concrete blocks delivered to reprocessors of building and scrap waste collection of external cables delivered to the cable reprocessing industry Mechanical recycling of washing machines According to the Apparetour study it is more profitable to send large white goods to the white goods shredder than to the larger shredder for cars Heavy iron a
15. components the appliance may not function optimally This is especially true in the case of computers where tracing and mending of faults may be troublesome however software programs are available to simplify installation Requesting support For high technology appliances consumers will initially request support from the supplier the retailer where the appliance was bought But the importer or independent retailers can also be asked Product support is important to consumer satisfaction in both high and low technology sectors but it is particularly important for high technology products Service An upgrading service can be performed by an authorised technician at home or at the retailer s premises The upgrading service is strongly determined by labour costs If the upgrade is too expensive upgrading is not a practical proposition Labour costs depend on the time required to upgrade which is influenced by the complexity and accessibility of the construction and on the staff required If special skills are necessary to do the upgrading consumers cannot do it themselves Satisfaction with the upgrade The upgraded appliance should function at the higher level claimed for the new component If there are still problems with the operating functions other components may have to be upgraded as well or the consumer may choose to continue to use the appliance without one of the functions being upgraded or even t
16. 000 questionnaires 11 Green test programme for colour TVs Appendix B Appendix B Requirements and procedures for mystery shopping Requirements Set of colour televisions market leading brands Experienced technician or repairer Experienced mystery shoppers Form to record results Instructions for mystery shopping exercise Procedure 1 Introduce a defective resistor into the power supply and encode discreetly the components that may be exchanged by the repair service to fix the defect 2 Draw up a protocol for the mystery shopping experiment where all aspects mentioned in 2 2 are taken into account clear instructions to mystery shoppers about the questions that have to be asked of the repair service and how to respond e form to record results Evaluate the mystery shopping procedure in a pilot test before the real investigation starts Mystery shopping visit to repair shops Check the repair afterwards e Compare the repair with the expert judgement of an experienced repair man e Compare the repair costs with the expert judgement of an experienced repairer Evaluate aspects such as price quality of repair quality of service etc 13 Green test programme for colour TVs Appendix C Appendix C Questionnaire on recycling and waste collection of white and brown goods Collection infrastructure systems for waste collection disassembly and recycling facilities
17. 1 ABS Heating element 0 3 Metal ceramic Serving jug 0 3 Glass ABS External cable with plug 1 1 PVC and copper 9 Chemielinco report 98748 Assessment method of the repairability of coffee machines and vacuum cleaners 1998 Brezet Han Handleiding voor milieugerichte produktontwikkeling SDU Uitgeverij amp nbsp s Gravenhage 1994 10 2 1 3 2 1 4 2 1 4 1 2 1 4 2 Green testing including the on off switch The repair procedure consists of replacing the on off switch Information to consumers At present the manuals and warranty conditions of coffee makers focus on the protection of the customer and point out that repairs should only be made by specialists If consumers try to perform DIY repair all rights for replacement or repairs under warranty become invalid Manufacturers do not assume that consumers perform DIY repair on coffee makers Currently user manuals of coffee makers do not contain information about vulnerable components and or the possibility of replacing them DIY repair About 57 of consumers in the Netherlands who owned a coffee maker experienced a defect when the machine was on average six years old of these 30 repaired it Of the 30 73 carried out DIY repair Availability of spare parts A random regional telephone survey of spares shops and suppliers of domestic appliances in the Netherlands found that heating elements cost no more than half the purchase pri
18. 2 4 1 4 2 4 1 5 2 4 1 6 Green testing Determining the critical variables The critical components whose disassembly time varies the most between the investigated televisions are in order of magnitude 1 back panel 2 deflection unit 3 internal wiring 4 main printed circuit board These components are not necessarily the components with the longest average disassembly time but the components whose disassembly times vary the most Rating of the criteria is based on the deviation within the product group Defining a standard television For information about this see Appendix 3A Pilot research project for televisions Sensitivity analysis A sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to be able to prioritise the different assessment aspects Priority setting was established with the help of the computer aided recovery analysis tool Design For Environment DFE The results of the sensitivity analysis are shown in Table 5 2 4 1 9 Weighting of the assessment categories This is based on the sensitivity analysis First an arbitrary proportion for the first two categories namely information to consumers and environmentally harmful substances was set at 20 In this way the recycling proportion is emphasised The ratio between recycling and the first two assessment categories is thus 60 40 Priority setting within the sub categories of recycling was done by the sensitivity analysis
19. 64 890 Fax 49 228 644 258 E mail mail agv de Web site http www agv de Bodo Tegethof Institut Fiir Angewandte Verbraucherforschung e V IFAV Aachener Strasse 1089 50858 K ln Junkersdorf Germany Tel 49 2234 407712 Fax 49 2234 407722 E mail ifav koeln t online de Tilmann Hohfeld 13 14 Green testing HONG KONG Hong Kong Consumer Council HKCC GPO Box 191 North Point Hong Kong Tel 852 2856 3113 Fax 852 2856 3611 E mail cc consumer org hk Web site http www consumer org hk Connie Lau THE NETHERLANDS Consumentenbond CB Postbox 1000 2500 BA Den Haag The Netherlands Tel 31 70 445 4545 Fax 31 70 445 4590 E mail cbemail euronet nl Web site http www consumentenbond nl Project leader Gerjan Huis in t Veld Researchers Ronald Luijk and Tom Geldhof SWEDEN Konsumentverket KO KV S 118 87 Stockholm Sweden Tel 46 8 429 0550 Fax 46 8 429 8900 E mail konsumentverket kov se Lars Jonsson UNITED KINGDOM Consumers Association CA 2 Marylebone Road London NW1 4DF United Kingdom Tel 44 171 830 6000 Fax 44 171 830 6220 E mail which which net Web site http www which net Jane Lee National Consumer Council NCC 20 Grosvenor Gardens London SW1W ODH United Kingdom Tel 44 171 730 3469 Fax 44 171 730 0191 Email admin nccuk demon co uk Jill Johnstone International Consumer Research and Testing ICRT First F
20. Alternatively upgrading services may be assessed by testing how well they upgrade defective appliances Mystery shoppers take an appliance with a previously well defined functional gap to an upgrading service Acquiring appliances with the same functional gap and the same age will be diff icult If possible new appliances can be used ASSESSMENT Upgrading services The assessment of the upgrading service is on the diagnosis previously made by the upgrading service the quality of the upgrading service and the customer service e determination of consumer demand for improvement does the upgrading service ask relevant questions about requirements complaints does the upgrading service give a receipt to the consumer does the receipt include the complaint and the upgrading strategy listing of upgrading services for the appliance does the receipt include a price estimate for the upgrading and date of delivery is the upgrade strategy given by the upgrading service technician correct quality of upgrading service service costs of upgrade upgrade time e customer service replacement appliance during upgrading does the upgrading service give an upgrading guarantee Satisfaction with upgrade KEY QUESTIONS 1 What is the overall satisfaction with the upgrading service 2 Has the upgrade succeeded or not RESEARCH METHOD Data on satisfaction with upgrading is collected along with
21. Set out the necessary tools 3 Start with disassembly At a signal from the record keeper the disassembler starts to disassemble the component in uninterrupted actions The record keeper measures the time with the stopwatch The time stops at the moment when the disassembler has laid the component aside Any released screws and other connectors are collected in a separate assembling tray after the test all the screws are collected and weighed 4 For each disassembled component the record keeper writes down recorded disassembly time type of connections or connectors e number of connections or connectors needed to be loosened to be able to disassemble the component if several connections can be loosened with one action it counts as one connection special remarks safety during disassembly for example spring constructions under tension weight of the component e composition of materials labelling tools required e name and code of the component each component will be deposited in a separate tray 5 Return to point 1 until the appliance is fully disassembled The reproducibility of the test is guaranteed by tests with various reference products in various laboratories comparison with data from a reference product measured in practice at an active disassembly facility they must coincide 43 Repairability module Contents Repairability module Contents Reader s guide
22. Y U Purchase improved Requesting components support Disassembly Service Y Installation improved components y Tracking and mending of faults Use unsatisfactory upgrade Satisfaction with replace or retire appliance upgrade NO YES Y Use of upgraded appliance NO 1 2 2 1 2 3 Upgradability module Definitions and preconditions The starting point for research on upgradability is to find answers to the following questions e Which functions of the old appliance do not work to the standards of available advanced technology e Which types of appliance are unsuitable 1 2 4 and which are borderline cases for upgrading e What complaints do consumers have about the operating functions of their old appliances relative to new technology e Which functional gap do consumers want to close what do consumers want to attain e Which components most commonly need to be upgraded Demand for upgrading Once the consumer knows what the functional gap is s he has to find out which components can be improved or added Closing the functional gap depends on all the components together and their compatibility rather than on one hyper technologically improved component Manufacturers can ease the decision making process on whether to upgrade by giving information through their after sales service
23. Y Removal of tube _ p Removal of speakers Ferrous components f x onp op Remaining parts Aluminium deguassing coils Copper degaussing coils Tubes for ceramic recycling route Tubes for glass recycling route 18 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 3 Case studies Disassembly of main components The flowchart of the disassembly process for televisions is illustrated in Figure 3 On a disassembly line for tube holding brown goods a television is disassembled in the following sequence 1 removal of external cables 2 removal of the back panel 3 air inlet for safety considerations air is let in the tube at the high voltage anode lead in order to avoid possible implosion of the vacuum tube removal of internal wiring removal of printed circuit boards removal of the deflection unit O OQ removal of the degaussing coil the cable wound around the picture tube near its face used to degauss the picture tube for a few seconds when the receiver is turned on 8 removal of the tube 9 removal of the speakers in the front panel or housing What remains is the front panel or the housing and any other components Collection of components made of the same materials The manually disassembled components of televisions are collected in several main streams which are further recycled
24. after use 1 3 recycling guarantee mention of whether a recycling guarantee is given when a new system is bought 1 4 information about avoiding heavy metals like cadmium as well as other harmful materials like PVC and halogenated flame retardants 2 1 1 5 information about location of components containing environmentally harmful substances Additionally there should be full information about the different electrical and electronic components and materials used in the appliance especially for automated disassembly in a recycling plant eg a microchip containing this information in the appliance The criteria mentioned above should be rated on a five point scale Environmentally harmful substances The assessment of environmentally harmful substances in colour television receivers consists of 2 1 a product inventory to check for the presence of rechargeable batteries 2 2 identification of halogens in plastic components 2 3 identification of flame retardants in the back and front casing and the main printed circuit board 2 4 identification of heavy metals in the tube electronic components and plastics Product inventory 2 1 1 Presence of rechargeable batteries 2 1 2 Information about disposal of rechargeable batteries 2 2 2 3 2 4 Green testing Presence of halogens The copper wire test Belstein experiment is used to see whether chlorine and or bromine is are present in 2 2 1 back casing
25. are the required tools mentioned e are service addresses listed EVALUATION information on repairability available to consumers in the user manual No information to consumers in the manual on repairability of the appliance Statement that DIY repair will invalidate the guarantee and a list of service addresses Troubleshooting list with most common symptoms Clear illustrations of DIY repair procedure vulnerable components Readable text on DIY repair and disassembly procedures for vulnerable components expected useful life span of vulnerable components mentioned After sales support information to the consumer via helplines RESEARCH METHOD The quality of helplines is tested by mystery telephone survey The questions must represent a relevant symptom of a faulty appliance ASSESSMENT Helplines The assessment of the information given by helplines to consumers when they experience a broken appliance consists of the following criteria e menu of choices number of levels between the caller and the technical support representative wait times quality of customer service courteous and knowledgeable e toll free representative asks for zip code postcode name address and phone number on warranty card model of the unit procedure to verify the warranty ease of convincing manufacturers that the appliance was bought less than a year ago Repairability module Guidelines for repa
26. are two kinds of failures those when the monitor is still working and those when the screen is blank If a failure occurs there is no picture and the indicator light is on the hardware is at fault the motherboard graphics card or the power supply If a failure occurs while the monitor is working the defect must be in the software or the hard drive Information to consumers Repairs typically begin with a call to the manufacturer s helpline while sitting in front of the computer with any set up diagnostic or recovery disks at hand According to research by Consumers Union each manufacturer has an automated menu of choices and several levels between the caller and the support representative Consumers can sometimes wait as long as 20 minutes to speak to someone and a further 20 minutes to over an hour trying to diagnose the problem The overall success of the initial contact with the manufacturer and the repair process in general depends heavily on the detective skills of the technician at the other end of the phone and of the person who actually comes to the house to repair the fault An authorised repairer if needed usually turns up within a week the alternative is to take the computer to a service centre Consumentenbond gives the following care tips back up data make a copy on diskette of the most important files on the hard disk avoid viruses with anti virus programs and perform regular maintenance v
27. at specific reprocessing centres e electronic components with environmen tally harmful substances electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries to be processed further as chemical waste e electronic components printed circuit boards transformer deflection units internal wiring which are further reprocessed depending on their materials ferrous metals aluminium copper precious metal concentrate and plastics e colour picture tubes for the glass recycling route or the ceramic recycling route the tube glass is secondary raw material for tube glass production or raw material for the ceramic industry e back panels and front panels and plastic metal combinations usually for incineration e other parts housings made of wood fibre landfill or incineration disassembled ferrous components delivered to a blast furnace degaussing coils and external cables delivered to the cable processing industry and the remainder which depending on its composition is transported to landfill sites or municipal waste incinerators Specific reprocessing of components The disassembled components are reprocessed to meet the specifications of buyers These specifications vary acceptance of disassem bled components depends on the buyer s own processing conditions The recycling route that the collected components undergo is what determines their recycling grade Tubes are low grade recycled through the ceramic recycling
28. by law or by voluntary agreements Please give a short reference Available LCAs Do you have information available with regard to Life Cycle Analysis studies LCAs on the six product groups of interest shavers toasters irons vacuum cleaners deep fat fryers and microwave ovens Please can you give a short description of the available LCAs Could you please send the available LCAs before 15 June 1999 17 Green test programme for colour TVs Appendix D Appendix D Requirements and procedures of the disassembly test of colour television receivers Requirements for the preparation of disassembly test Experienced disassembler Record keeper e Disassembly location pneumatic tools e Stopwatch e Balance max 100 kg with a relative accuracy of 50 gram small weights are measured on a balance with an accuracy of 1 gram e Storage facility for samples many trays The appliance to be disassembled e Disassembly guideline for the product group disassembly level and sequence of disassembly e Standard disassembly form Disassembly test procedure 1 Select the component to disassemble 2 Set out the necessary tools 3 Start with disassembly At a signal from the record keeper the disassembler starts to disassemble the component in uninterrupted actions The record keeper measures the time with the stopwatch The time stops at the moment when the disassembler has laid the com
29. components and materials it contains Some manufacturers give a recycling guarantee If an appliance contains rechargeable batteries information about their removal should appear in the user manual Intake of appliances by a recycling centre Collected and transported appliances from a particular product group are taken in huge containers or box pallets to a recycling centre dealing with numerous different product types from that one product group After emptying the container or box pallet the appliances are registered information about each appliance is necessary for further treatment According to the proposed European Directive on waste manufacturers have to provide manuals that identify as far as is needed by treatment centres different electric and electronic components and materials and the location of all dangerous substances and preparations in electric and electronic equipment Currently a recycling centre can ask manufacturers for component lists of the appliances they produce However labelling is necessary for quick identification of materials Compulsory disassembly of components with environmentally harmful substances Before recycling takes place it is compulsory to disassemble the components of any appliance which contains environmentally harmful substances If this does not happen the material output will be categorised as chemical waste 12 31 European Directive on waste The proposed European Di
30. components for the existing components or by adding new components to the appliance during its use Upgrading improves on the appliance s original performance or adds new features to it For example the memory capacity of a TV can be expanded giving it increased functionality DEFINITION Upgradability The upgradability of appliances is determined by consumer demand for improvements and by the feasibility of substituting or adding improved components that allow the appliance to function at a higher level A design for DIY upgrading would be as modular as possible allowing the appliance to be customised Where appliances are leased manufacturers have an incentive to design their products for upgrading A good example is the upgrading of photocopiers Similarly the transition from ownership towards services in consumer purchases could be a further impetus towards enhanced sustainability 12 The upgrading process 1 2 1 When consumers want to upgrade their appliance several stages of the upgrading process can be identified These stages are shown in Figure 1 The first step is to check whether the old appliance is suitable for upgrading The decision is then made whether or not to upgrade Consumers can upgrade their household appliances in two ways by DIY upgrading or by using an upgrading service Appliance with old technology Consumers who own an appliance that uses outdated technology compared with product
31. each label RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection of material choice and labelling is by product examination and material analysis of disassembled components 3 2 1 5 Specific recycling of components KEY QUESTIONS 1 Are the components of the appliance suitable for a low or a high grade recycling route 2 Is the diversity of separable materials minimal 3 Are parts of components with different materials separable ASSESSMENT Specialised recycling of components For the assessment of specialised recycling of components the criteria are e suitability for high grade recycling of large plastic components gt 25g printed circuit boards other components e in plastic components gt 25g are no more than two types of incompatible plastics used e in plastic components gt 25g are incompatible plastics separable e are non glass parts separable into glass components e is the amount of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards minimal Rating of number of materials used in plastic components gt 25 gt 2 incompatible materials 2 incompatible materials No diversity Rating of large plastic components gt 25g with 2 separable plastics Glued welded compound component or inserts Homogenous and many stickers Homogenous Rating of the percentage weight of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards Percentage weight of supporti
32. for 1999 on new new for white appliances of and brown goods 9 18 Euros Norway Consumers can No charge for deliver white and consumers at brown goods to disposal municipality or supplier Sweden Old for new take As from 2000 back regulations sale not necessary 15 Sustainable consumption questionnaire Australian Consumers Association 1999 16 Sustainable consumption questionnaire VKI 1999 7 Sustainable consumption questionnaire Verbruikersunie 1999 Introduction amp background Background Countries In force In draft In effect Who pays Switzerland Take back reg For refrigerators ulations old for levy of 44 Euros new on electric and electronic appliances United Kingdom No formal In some cases national schemes for collection and recycling of app liances initiatives by The Industry Council for Electronic Equipment and at local level old for new without charge United States 21 states require recycling of white goods banning them from landfill sites Massachusetts also bans brown goods with screens from landfill sites Regulations in In some cases Massachusetts old for new as from July 1999 without charge hauliers charge 15 25 some municipalities charge by weight or volume 4 Waste collection of white 4 1 and brown goods Waste collection in EU countries Current waste collection Waste collection in the European Union currently differs from
33. module Appendix A Table 5 Impact of disassembly time range for the back panel Disassembly time Total disass Recycling Special Total profits Cumulative back panel embly time percentage waste costs environmental impact seconds Euros MET Short 360 83 2 9 9 23 7 872 Average 410 83 2 9 9 62 7 872 Long 525 83 2 9 10 53 7 872 Difference 165 0 0 1 3 0 Harmful substances The category harmful substances has an influence on the recycling percentage the financial impact and the environmental impact Its influence on the recycling percentage is as follows decreasing the percentage weight of harmful components increases the recycling percentage because these components can then be recycled Its influence on the financial impact is strong because the costs of special processing are high Its influence on the environmental impact is due to the toxic substances the environmental curve in the DFE graph will be lower with an increasing percentage of harmful substances For televisions harmful substances has no influence on the factor disassembly time because full disassembly applies to that product group For example the back panel containing halogenated flame retardants will always be disassembled in order to separate the tube from the remainder Furthermore components of televisions containing harmful substances are currently incinerated or recycled Disassembly process The category
34. of incineration versus recycling of back panel End of life Total Recycling Special Total profits Cumulative destination disassembly percentage waste costs environmental of back panel time impact seconds Euro MET Incineration 410 83 2 9 9 62 7 872 Recycling 410 92 2 0 6 47 7 184 Difference 0 9 9 3 15 0 688 Table 9 Impact of high versus low recycling grade of the tube Recycling grade Total Recycling Special Financial Cumulative of tube disassembly percentage waste impact environmental time impact seconds Euro MET Low ceramic route 410 83 2 9 9 62 7 872 High glass route 410 83 2 9 13 13 7 174 Difference 0 0 3 51 0 698 Recyclability module Appendix A Table 10 Resulting impact differences of end of life scenarios End of life Recycling Special Financial Cumulative scenario ranges percentage waste impact environmental impact Euros MET Disassembly time back panel 0 1 3 Total disassembly time 0 0 4 15 0 Material choice degaussing coil 0 1 0 0 6 0 003 Incineration or recycling back panel 9 9 3 15 0 688 Recycling grade of tube 0 0 3 51 0 698 Table 11 Priority setting for assessment categories Assessment category Weighting percentage Information to consumers 20 Harmful substances 20 Disassembly process 20 Material recycling 40 If the entire appliance goes to landfills the material choice of the degaussing coil has an influenc
35. particular washing machine model is discontinued 7 25 years In the Consumentenbond survey 29 of respondents carried out DIY repair on washing machines On average costs of DIY repair are about one third of those of repair services Consumers Union gives the following expert advice on the care of top loading washing machines periodically check the filter for grit build up where the hose attaches to the hot water supply pipe Repair service In the Consumentenbond survey the importer carries out 36 of all repairs and 35 are done by a local repair service often via the retailer were the washing machine was bought In 86 of cases the repair service arrives within a week The costs of the repair 15 Consumers Union Annual questionnaire 1997 survey published 1998 16 Consumers Union Getting things fixed II 1998 2 3 2 3 1 Repairability module Case studies service were on average 76 Euros According 2 3 2 to the Consumers Union survey one in eight respondents complained of high repair costs In 20 of cases the same defect occurred again Computers case study on diagnosability Computers are expensive household appliances the purchase price is 1 000 3 000 or 1 000 2 500 Euros The life span of computers is usually short Most people keep their computer an average of five years They usually replace it out of a desire for new features and advanced technology rather than bec
36. products consumers buy today are more energy efficient than the old ones they replace On the other hand consumers now have a larger number of energy using products in their homes than they had in the past The paradox extends to food consumers now buy more organic foods but at the same time they consume more imported vegetables and fruit which involves a greater use of polluting and thus unsustainable transport Consumer organisations themselves already do a lot to promote sustainability although they could do better Green guidance the report of CI s first sustainable consumption project gives a state of the art picture of what 11 consumer organisations in different parts of the world already do and don t do about sustainability in three fields information on domestic appliances and their life cycles including cases studies on washing machines laundry detergents televisions computers and coffee makers product testing and the environmental impact of those products including case studies on cars and tyres refrigerators and freezers video cassette recorders and household chemicals and environmental information including regulation and green claims 1 Guidelines for Consumer Protection United Nations New York 1986 2 Green guidance How consumer organisations can give better advice on putting sustainable consumption into practice An international study Cl 1998 Green testing Th
37. rate of recycling shall reach a minimum of 70 by weight of the appliance including CPU mouse screen and keyboard for all separately collected end of life coffee makers the rate of recycling shall reach a minimum of 70 by weight of the appliance For plastics the European Directive says that member states shall ensure that recycled plastics in new electrical and electronic equipment make up at least 5 of the total plastic content by 1 January 2004 Specific reprocessing of components Disassembled and categorised components are recycled in specific reprocessing centres whose output is made to suit the specific ations of buyers the raw material industry Markets for disassembled components are as follows e electronic components printed circuit boards coils internal wiring are supplied to a special reprocessing centre in order to retrieve the precious metals copper and ferrous metal e glass components are supplied to the glass recycling industry or to the ceramic industry e large ferrous components are supplied to the shredder for cars e large aluminium components are supplied to an aluminium smelter plastic components can be supplied to a plastic reprocessing centre where the plastics are reduced and regranulated The recycling route determines whether the material is recycled to a high or low grade see below DEFINITION Recycling grade The quality level at which the original materials ar
38. repair service 17 Consumer Reports May 1996 18 Mueller Scott Upgrading and Repairing PCs 5th edition Que Corporation 1995 19 Consumentengids January 1998 Repairability module Guidelines for repairability Guidelines for repairability 3 1 3 1 1 3 1 1 1 The methodology for the assessment of repairability of household appliances was developed using three case study product groups The guidelines are presented as follows e checklist based on a table Table 1 showing the different stages of the repair process e description of the key questions assessment criteria and research methods The checklist and guidelines were developed as part of this project Key questions assessment criteria and research methods Most frequent symptoms and most vulnerable components KEY QUESTIONS 1 What are the symptoms that occur most frequently 2 How old should consumers expect an appliance to be when the first fault appears 3 What are the most vulnerable components Most frequent symptoms and complaints RESEARCH METHOD Investigating the most frequently occurring symptoms that consumers may encounter with a defective appliance can be done either by questionnaire to manufacturers or by a survey of a consumer experiences The choice of survey type depends on existing knowledge of symptoms that might occur 3 1 1 2 If there is no available information a questionnaire can be developed to send to m
39. supply is a good choice An example of a mystery shopping experiment for colour television receivers was carried out in 1992 by Consumentenbond The defects introduced were a defective resistor in the power supply a defective fuse and a defective back up battery Another example of a mystery shopping experiment with VCRs was performed in 1997 by the Verbruikersunie They introduced a simple defect to the power supply defective resistor in order to use the same appliance again for more repair services In Appendix B a protocol for the mystery shopping study is given The following aspects have to taken into account in a mystery shopping exercise 2 2 1 presentation registration and service in repair shop 2 22 receipt 2 2 3 estimate of repair costs 2 2 4 threshold value for maximum repair costs and assurance that consumer will be informed if threshold is crossed Green guidance page 35 Consumentengids July 1994 ao NM Consumentengids February 1997 page 46 48 Consumer reports May 1998 page 17 Test Aankoop Magazine nr 404 November 1997 getting things fixed II report T 2276 Carol S Sherwin March 2 1998 Green testing 2 2 5 itemised bill 2 2 6 functioning of colour television receiver after repair 2 2 7 quality of repair 2 2 7 price 2 2 9 warranty 2 2 10 period of repair 2 2 11 replacement appliance offered The assessment of the repair service is based on 1 the diagnosis made by the r
40. the appliance cannot be repaired because of wear or failure Nowadays most appliances can be repaired but in many cases this doesn t happen due to high repair costs So technical life span rarely determines the life span of appliances the principal factors are economic and psychological Economic life span The end of a product s economic life span is reached when consumers or retailers manufacturers second hand dealers or waste collection services assess that it is too expensive to continue using the appliance The costs of use maintenance and repair are too high compared with the cost of purchase and the advantages of a new appliance Psychological life span The end of a product s psychological life span is reached when consumers decide to dispose of replace or buy a new appliance for psychological reasons To some consumers the psychological life span of an appliance is reached before its technical or economical life span is finished Other consumers like to have products that last a lifetime for them the psychological life span is of less importance There are also fashionably designed products that consumers often dispose of fairly quickly for purely psychological reasons The same applies to new technological products or features like computers and mobile telephones that are highly appealing to and influence the social status of certain consumer groups Product strategies The influence of vario
41. total EU solid waste 4 2 4 2 1 4 2 2 4 2 3 Waste collection in the United States Current waste collection Consumers are generally charged 15 25 by special hauliers to come and pick up a major white good Some municipalities will pick goods up for free but usually only once or twice a year Some retailers will remove old white goods free of charge from consumers who buy new ones Small electronic equipment and computers are generally taken away at no cost although a number of municipalities charge consumers for waste disposal by weight or volume so those with bigger bags or bins pay more Quantity of waste In the USA major white goods accounted for 3 4 million tonnes of municipal solid waste generated in 1995 1 6 of the total waste output Between six and 13 million computers are disposed of as waste every year The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 700 000 tons of small appliances were discarded in municipal waste in 1995 This represents about 0 5 of total waste Current destination of white and brown goods Of the total white goods disposed of as waste in the USA in 1995 75 was recycled comprising about 10 of all steel processed by the recycling industry Ten per cent of computers taken out of service each year are recycled 15 go to landfill and the remaining 75 are stockpiled stored in basements and attics They will probably be dumped later Introduction amp backgro
42. 2 3 Green testing battery However these are mainly alkaline consisting of substances less harmful than NiCad batteries A very small number of computers 1 7 contain a display with possibly harmful substances The amount of lead and cadmium found in electronic and plastic components is controlled by national legislation Brominated flame retardants are used in the housing and in printed circuit boards Housings which are free of brominated flame retardants are feasible because there are brands on the market that have such housings Printed circuit boards which are free of brominated flame retardants are not yet feasible for all manufacturers at present only one manufacturer has this technology These issues are further discussed in the case study on televisions Component recycling The other recycling scenario which is practised on a small scale is component recycling for re use of valuable components The system unit contains the following valuable components e power supply e memory cards e printed circuit boards more valuable than those of televisions e hard drive e floppy disk drive Currently memory cards are re used on a small scale in toys The disassembly sequence for the system unit is e removal of external cables e removal of top housing e removal of electrical connections wiring and connectors e removal of speaker e removal of drives subassembly e removal of the power supp
43. 4 3 1 waste but scarcely influences the ecotoxicity In general the life span extension strategies have a positive effect on ecotoxicity and solid waste but do little to improve on energy use Indeed it is striking that life span extension does not lead to increased energy use Replacing the washing machine will make up for a great deal of the missed innovation The material recycling strategy scores very well on solid waste a reduction of 23 without increasing energy use At the same time the score for ecotoxicity is strongly decreased This is caused by the reduction of lead emissions originating from PVC Lead is dominant in the ecotoxicity calculation Priority of strategies According to the CEA study of the three strategies the product innovation strategy is the most profitable one for the environment Next best is the product life span extension strategy On the whole the greatest environmental benefit can be achieved by a combination of strategies This applies particularly for the combination of product innovation and life span extension Disposal regulations of white and brown goods Disposal regulations in EU countries Regulations for the disposal of white and brown goods as set by the European Community are at the proposal stage the EU directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment will be in force as from 1 January 2004 The directive s objective is the prevention and rec
44. 999 Its aim is set up a seamless removal system for white and brown goods re using and recycling products and materials as much as possible and limiting the environmental burden If consumers buy a new white or brown product they can return their old appliance to the suppliers exchanging old for new Consumers have to pay a levy on top of the purchase price for their old appliance to be removed Manufacturers are responsible for the collection and end of life treatment of white and brown goods In Sweden legislation on electronic waste will be operational in the year 2000 Anyone who sells electronic appliances manufacturers importers and suppliers must take back and dispose of unwanted appliances free of charge Retailers must also take back an appliance even if they have not sold a new one In Norway and Denmark legislation is being drafted consumers can at no cost return their old appliances to the municipality or supplier Appliances are collected at regional collection points and dealt with by manufacturers This is financed by a tax on new appliances In France industry is looking at the possibilities of setting up a removal system In the United Kingdom industry has taken the initiative in the form of the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment and investigated the possibilities of re use and recycling of unwanted appliances There are also initiatives at local level for the collection and removal of
45. Definitions and preconditions Repairability In domestic appliances the components that break down within the expected life span of the appliance should be easy to replace These critical components can be vulnerable due to abuse wear or corrosion DEFINITION Repair Recovering the functions of a product by means of replacing or fixing its failed components during its use but before it is discarded In general repairing an appliance involves first a diagnosis to identify the cause of the defect and then the replacement or repair of the defective component s DEFINITION Repairability The repairability of appliances is determined by the diagnosability of the defect and by the feasibility of replacing or fixing the failed components so that the appliance can be returned to operating function The main focus of this section is replacement of failed components The repair process When an appliance breaks down the repair process can be split into several stages The flow chart of the repair process is shown in Figure 1 Firstly the consumer makes a diagnosis of the fault and checks on the watranty coverage before making the repair decision Replacement of the defective component can be by DIY repair or by contracting it out to a professional repair service the stages involved in these options are discussed below Satisfaction with the repair is the last phase in the repair process ie the repair has s
46. For televisions material recycling has a large impact benefit on recycling percentage as well as on financial and environmental impact while disassembly influences only the financial impact For this reason the ratio between disassembly and material recycling was set at 1 2 In conclusion the recyclability weighting of televisions is 20 each for information to consumers environmentally harmful substances and disassembly and 40 for material recycling Recyclability module Guidelines for recyclability Guidelines for recyclability 31 Checklists for assessing recyclability The methodology for the recyclability assessment of household appliances was developed with three case study product groups Checklists were developed for two possible scenarios e mechanical recycling Table 6 e component recycling Table 7 The classification of the criteria in the checklist is based on the different phases of the recycling process For each phase the checklist contains the criteria and the corresponding research method of assessing them see also Figure 2 for the stages in the recycling process The checklist and guidelines were developed as part of this project 32 General guidelines for recyclability General guidelines were developed for the criteria in the mechanical and component recycling checklists The following guidelines are based on the checklist for component recycling and contain key questions assessment c
47. IY repairs versus the percentage who used a repair service 3 2 3 2 1 3 2 1 1 3 2 2 Repairability module Guidelines for repairability DIY repair Purchase of spare components KEY QUESTIONS 1 Are spare parts available to consumers 2 Are the prices of spare parts new and second hand reasonable relative to the purchase price 3 Is availability influenced by interchange ability and standardisation 4 When spare parts have to be ordered is there the waiting for the parts syndrome Availability and price of spare components RESEARCH METHOD The data can be collected via a telephone survey of retailers who offer spare parts Another way to obtain relevant data is via a questionnaire on consumers experiences of repairability Questions should concern the availability of new or second hand components the price and the of delivery period if spare components have to be ordered A comparison can be made between the availability of spare parts suitable for only one product and interchangeable and standardised components EVALUATION Availability of spare components Not available Long waiting time and high purchase price Poor availability Good availability Good availability and standardised Disassembly KEY QUESTIONS 1 Is it possible to reach the defective component in order to replace it 2 How much time do consumers need on average to disassemble the applia
48. M Hammer AL Awl Gripping and prying VS Vice P1 Pliers CH Chisel CB Crowbar Other BR Brush RG Rag ST Special tool MA Manual gloves 23 Consumers International Programme for Developed Economies and Economies in Transition 24 Highbury Crescent London N5 1RX UK Tel 44 171 226 6663 Fax 44 171 354 0607 e mail consint consint org uk Web site http www consumersinternational org About Consumers International Founded in 1960 Consumers International a non profit organisation registered in The Netherlands as the International Organization of Consumers Unions registration number S1 49999 is a federation of consumer organisations dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumer interests worldwide through institution building education research and lobbying of international decision making bodies An independent non profit foundation Consumers International has over 230 members in more than 100 countries Regional Offices Asia and the Pacific P O Box 1045 10830 Penang Malaysia Tel 60 4 229 1396 Fax 60 4 228 6506 e mail ciroap pc jaring my Latin America and the Caribbean Las Hortensias 2371 Providencia Santiago Chile Tel 56 2 335 1695 Fax 56 2 231 0773 e mail consint entelchile net Africa Private Bag A6215 Avondale Harare Zimbabwe Tel 263 4 302 283 Fax 263 4 303 092 e mail roaf harare iafrica com
49. NT Re assembly The assessment of re assembly is dominated by the overall installation and re assembly time as with disassembly A second criterion is the reversibility of re assembly The assessment of re assembly is on the following criteria overall installation and re assembly time is re assembly the reverse process of disassembly is disassembly a reversible process and are the same tools needed for re assembly as for disassembly is soldering of connections needed is the sequence of re assembly the reverse of disassembly possibility of parts left over can replacement of the improved component be performed in only one way Evaluation of re assembly Disassembly is destructive or re assembly did not succeed Improved component is installed with special tools Reasonable re assembly actions the same as with disassembly Easy re assembly improved component replaceable in only one way Re assembly is the reverse of disassembly short re assembly time Tracing and mending faults KEY QUESTIONS 1 Can consumers trace and mend faults in a short time without difficulty 2 Do manufacturers give support to consumers on what to do and where to go RESEARCH METHOD The data can be collected via inventory and fault simulation test in a laboratory with an expert panel at least three people Another way to collect data is a consumer panel test at least 20 people or a consumer ex
50. Rating of the total disassembly time total disassembly time of gt 10 min total disassembly time between 8 10 min total disassembly time between 6 8 min total disassembly time between 4 6 min total disassembly time of lt 4 min Rating of the disassembly time of the back panel gt 150 sec 60 150 sec 20 60 sec 5 20 sec lt 5 sec Rating of the disassembly time of the deflection unit gt 90 sec 40 90 sec 15 40 sec 5 15 sec lt 5 sec Rating of the disassembly time of the internal wiring gt 130 sec 100 130 sec 70 100 sec 40 70 sec lt 40 sec Rating of the disassembly time of the printed circuit board gt 80sec 60 80 sec 40 60 sec 20 40 sec lt 20 sec Rating of type of connections glued welded screw electrical connector needs cutting to disconnect card guide tape breaking points click clamp light Rating of diversity of connection types gt 14 11 13 8 10 5 7 2 4 Rating of numbers of connections of one type screws of the back panel gt 9 7 8 5 6 3 4 1 2 Rating of number of necessary tools gt 2 required for a disassembly operation more tools required than amount of disassembly operations 2 tools one in each hand required for one disassembly operation 1 tool requ
51. acuum the ventilation openings of the system unit 13 14 Green testing Table 2 Symptoms and vulnerable components of computers Symptoms complaints Vulnerable components Major minor Cannot use a drive or peripheral Cables Minor Erratic cursor movement or no movement at all Mouse Minor Difficulty accessing outside telephone Modem Minor System errors or halts inability to restart Hard drive Major Cannot read disk Floppy drive Minor Cannot access data on CD CD ROM drive Minor System crash inability to restart Motherboard Major DIY repair In research by Consumentenbond 20 of respondents whose computers broke down repaired the fault themselves Before beginning disassembly the following precautions should be taken electrostatic discharge protection to prevent accidental static discharges to the components Equalise the static charges between the DIY repairer and the components by touching a grounded portion of the chassis such as the power supply case record the set up and configuration of the system which can be found in the BIOS software this is recalled by pressing Del or F8 record the physical configuration of the system unit and every action undertaken if this is a first repair ask someone experienced for help 2 3 5 Repair services In research by Consumentenbond 80 of respondents whose computer was faulty contracted the repair out to a
52. also often called the controller the computer has the documentation should contain information about it 15 Consumentengids January 1998 page 16 11 Upgradability module Guidelines for upgradability Guidelines for upgradability 3 1 3 1 1 The checklist and guidelines for the assessment of upgradability of household appliances were developed in this study using the computers case study The guidelines for upgradability are presented as follows e the checklist based on a table Table 1 containing the different phases of the upgrade process description of the key questions assessment criteria and research methods The checklist and the guidelines were developed as part of this study Upgrading is an extension of repairability so there is a large overlap between the guidelines in this module and those in the Repairability module footnotes indicate where this applies Key questions assessment criteria and research methods Appliance with old technology and most common functional gaps KEY QUESTIONS 1 Which functions of the old appliance do not working to the standards of available advanced technology 2 Which types of appliance are not suitable for upgrading and which are borderline cases 3 What are the most common functional gaps what do most consumers want to attain 4 Which components are most commonly in need of upgrading 3 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 Appliance wi
53. an upgrading strategy list mentioned are upgrade disassembly and installation procedures mentioned are there illustrations of upgrade disassembly instructions 3 1 3 are the required tools equipment mentioned e are service addresses listed Evaluation of information to consumers on repairability in the user manual No information to consumers in the manual on upgrading the appliance Statement that DIY upgrading invalidates guarantee and a list of service addresses List with most common functional gaps Clear illustrations of DIY upgrade procedure and improved components Readable text on DIY upgrading and disassembly procedures for improved components upgrading strategies mentioned 3 2 Product support consumer information from suppliers retailers 3 2 1 RESEARCH METHOD The quality of information and support provided by suppliers and retailers is tested by a mystery shopping survey The questions must relate to an appropriate functional gap of an outdated appliance ASSESSMENT Product support The assessment of product support from suppliers and retailers to consumers wishing to upgrade consists of the following criteria waiting times to speak to the technical support representative quality of customer service courteous and knowledgeable length of consultation time e free consultation e number of consultations Evaluation of product support on upgradability b
54. answers to questions in the consumer experience survey Green test programme for colour TVs Green test programme for colour TVs This environmental sub programme is an addendum to the research programme Colour Television receivers IT test programme edition 1998 VI 0 This sub programme consists of three parts 1 Part 1 describes the options for collecting non brand specific information about the vulnerability to faults of colour television receivers and the available information available to consumer organisations 2 Part 2 describes the options for studying the repairability of colour television receivers in comparative testing 3 Part 3 describes the options for studying the recyclability of colour television receivers in comparative testing Appendix A Information on the vulnerability of colour television receivers Appendix B Requirements and procedures for mystery shopping Appendix C Questionnaire on recycling and waste collection of white and brown goods Appendix D Requirements and procedures of the disassembly test of colour television receivers Appendix E Disassembly form Appendix F List of abbreviations to use when completing Disassembly form 11 13 15 19 21 23 Green test programme for colour TVs Part 1 Part 1 Non brand specific information on repairability and recyclability of colour television receivers This part consists of the following three general non brand
55. anufacturers to get a first impression of possible complaints and causes The other method is to draw up an open question qualitative questionnaire for a consumer panel of at least 100 people who can enter details of their experiences of repairs and complaints A minimum of 100 answers per product group must be collected to be able to analyse them for this purpose A consumer panel of not less than 1 000 people is necessary for detailed quantitative information In this case a list of possible symptoms must be made first respondents can then mark the symptom they encountered with the defective product Most vulnerable components RESEARCH METHOD To investigate the most vulnerable components of a defective appliance a questionnaire can be sent to manufacturers or a questionnaire can be drawn up to investigate consumer experiences Expert opinion can be sought on the basis of the most regularly occurring symptoms For example testing laboratories used by consumer organisations have experience from endurance tests A literature review may also provide information about the vulnerability of appliances The manufacturers questionnaire and the consumer experiences survey should follow the same rules as set out for most frequently occurring symptoms see above 15 16 3 1 1 3 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 Green testing Age of faulty or broken down appliance RESEARCH METHOD The data are collected via a questionnaire on co
56. any consumer organisations We have come a long way since then although not far enough On the threshold of the year 2000 we are still busy trying to integrate sustainability into our work on behalf of consumers What is sustainable consumption and why are we trying to achieve it According to the 1986 United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection sustainable consumption includes meeting the needs of present and future generations for goods and services in ways that are economically socially and environ mentally sustainable That sounds like a wonderful idea of course but is anyone doing more than pay lip service to it The evidence is that they are Governments and inter governmental organisations like the Nordic Council and the European Commission are promoting sustainability in both production and consumption Manufacturers are working on more sustainable products mainly through better product design in some cases unsustainable products are being replaced by more sustainable services Meanwhile many consumer organisations have officially adopted a commitment to sustainability in their mission statements But what do mission statements and government policies really mean Do they really encourage consumers to move towards sustainability in their everyday business and home lives Do consumer organisations really give practical advice on how to live in a more sustainable way The answer is yes and no The
57. are illustrated in Figure 2 The recycling process 2 Chemielinco Beoordelingsmethode voor de recyclebaarheid van huishoudelijke apparaten projectnummer 94665 1995 3 Krikke Harold Recovery strategies and reverse logistic network design Thesis University of Twente Enschede 1998 4 Penev Kiril Dimitrov Design of Disassembly Systems a systematic approach 1997 The word re use in Penev s definition was altered to recovery because re use refers to re use of components 5 The flowchart of the recycling process was developed as part of this project 5 Green testing starts with the discarding of an appliance by a consumer to the municipal collection service a collection point or where specific old for new take back regulations apply to the retailer The discarded appliance is then collected and transported to the recycling centre Before recycling takes place components with environmentally harmful substances are compulsorily disassembled Recycling centres should handle harmful substances correctly and avoid emissions of these substances into the environment Recycling can be divided into mechanical recycling and component recycling With mechanical recycling the entire appliance is treated in a mechanical shredder In the case of component recycling the appliance is disassembled into its components which are then re used or recycled The phases which are of concern for the assessment of re
58. ause it failed However according to research in the Netherlands by Consumentenbond 30 of consumers who owned a computer experienced a defect within three years According to research by Consumers Union in the United States the rate of repair by the time computers are three 2 3 3 years old is 19 of units purchased between 1993 and 1996 This case study is based mainly on research reports by Consumentenbond and Consumers Union Constituents of computers The basic components of a computer are a keyboard system unit and a monitor The two basic system types or classes of hardware are the older 8 bit personal computer extended class systems e 16 32 64 bit advanced technology systems today most of these systems would use a 486 Pentium or P6 processor The main components of the system unit are e motherboard and memory chips RAM working memory and SIMMS extra memory chips power supply graphics card I O card sound card hard drive floppy drive e CD ROM drive Most vulnerable components Consumers Union identified common symptoms complaints by expert opinion and information on vulnerable components was given by major manufacturers Common symptoms complaints and vulnerable components are shown in Table 2 In research by Consumentenbond the most frequently occurring complaints are defective hard drive 14 inability to restart 13 and monitor defect 13 There
59. bulbs for example Product innovation strategy In this strategy the use of energy or the materials of the product its consumer phase are reduced by innovation The product innovation strategy can considerably reduce the environmental impact Product life span extension strategy This strategy can be split into repair and upgrading The product life span extension strategy has a positive environmental effect on both material products and energy amp material products but none on energy products In most cases product life span extension does not increase energy use because the lack of innovation will generally be compensated for by the purchase of a new innovative product after the old one has been disposed of one with a lower energy use than a product with a shorter life span that might have been bought earlier Much of the missed innovation will be made up for when the product is later replaced This assumes continuous innovation as opposed to innovation made by sudden improvements 2 2 3 2 3 In the case of some energy products such as light bulbs a longer life span with old technology might even have a negative environmental effect Product recycling strategy Here the materials of the appliance are recycled The product recycling strategy has a positive environmental effect for material products and energy amp material products but none on energy products Case study washing machines The was
60. carried out repairs Expanding working memory Adding memory to a system is one of the most useful and least expensive upgrades consumers can perform Additional memory chips SIMMS need to be installed but consumers need to buy SIMMS with the right amount of pins and the right speed to conform with the speed of the computer Consumers then need to know if they require EDO chips new or fast page chips old The best advice consumer organisations can give is to take the old SIMM to the retailer to find out exactly what to buy Installation of cards A system unit can contain various types of cards installed in slots in the motherboard As mentioned there are two types of slots the PCI slots and ISA slots Cards compatible with PCI slots are easy to insert because no problematic additional manual installation is required as is the case with ISA slots With Windows 95 the software automatically selects a suitable driver steering program otherwise consumers have 2 1 3 4 2 1 3 5 to install a suitable driver via the configuration screen The latest versions of drivers can be found on the Internet If the graphics card is too slow it needs to be replaced Replacing the graphics card also depends on the type of monitor used the maximum resolution the card can deliver depends on what the monitor can show If the graphics card is integrated into the motherboard adding one in a vacant slot is more problematic i
61. ce of a new machine On the other hand tubes and switches were relatively cheap although not always in stock they can be ordered Disassembly The criteria which play a role in disassembly and replacement of components are tools required standard or special e disassembly time Tools required standard or special Standard tools are defined as tools available in every average household normal screwdrivers flat head and cross head awls combination and pointed pincers a set of socket head wrenches insulating tape sandpaper scissors and knife Special tools are defined as all tools 2 1 4 3 not directly available in most households eg a universal meter soldering iron special screwdrivers Most coffee makers contain Torx screw heads which can be opened with a normal screwdriver although this often damages the screws Disassembly time The disassembly time of each removed component is measured from the first disassembly action until all critical components have been disassembled In order to obtain comparable data a standard disassembly sequence has to be recorded For coffee machines this was first the tubes and rubber connection pieces then the hotplates with attachments and finally the electronic components mainly the switch Evaluation of Disassembly A three point scale expresses whether the appliance is as far as disassembly is concerned seriously limited limited or not lim
62. cling scenario for washing machines The current recycling scenario is mechanical recycling after compulsory disassembly of environmentally harmful capacitors i e capacitors containing polychlorobipheny s In principle an entire washing machine can be supplied to a large shredder after which the different materials are separated from the mixed material output but at present capacitors are compulsory removed before the rest of the machine is mechanically recycled Components containing environmentally harmful substances Capacitors in washing machines can contain polychlorobiphenyls According to the Table 2 Main components of washing machines Weight 1 kg Main materials Housing console fuselage 19 1 Ferrous metal plastics glass Barrel contra weight drive mechanism 22 6 Ferrous metal concrete rubber Washing drum pump 19 4 Ferrous metal Electric components timer electric motor printed circuit boards wiring 1 6 Copper ferrous metal plastic Water tubes 1 5 Plastic External cable 0 1 Copper plastic 1 average weight of component 18 Ploos van Amstel Milieu Consulting Apparetour Nationaal proefproject inzameling en herverwerking wit en bruingoed in de regio Eindhoven Deelrapport technologie 1997 1 Montage und Demontage Aspecte erfolgreicher Product Konstruction VDI berichte 999 1992 13 14 2 1 2 2 Green testing Apparetour study 76 of washing machines curre
63. costs of repair DIY repair When consumers want to do repairs themselves the feasibility of replacing failed components is determined by the availability of spare parts whether the construction is designed for disassembly and whether the disassembled appliance can be re assembled without any problems Purchase of spare parts Spare parts may not be available immediately A defective component can be replaced by either a new or a used component and availability may differ from region to region Lack of availability of the necessary components will increase the time taken to repair the appliance and thus the costs When spare components have to be ordered the scene is set for the waiting for the spare parts syndrome From a consumer s point of view the availability and price of spare parts ought not to discourage repair The availability of spare parts is affected by whether parts for different products of the same brand are compatible with each other interchangeability and more to the point whether spares are compatible with those for the same type of appliance from a different brand standardisation of components Disassembly In order to replace the defective component the construction of the appliance should be designed for disassembly In design for Billatos Samir B Green Technology and Design for the Environment University of Connecticut Storrs C T Taylor and Francis 1997 1 2 5 3 Green
64. country to country and even within countries In Germany end of life electronic appliances are collected from the roadside by the municipal waste services which hand them over to private operators for further treatment In Austria there is no standard national collection system for end of life electronic appliances Collection is currently organised regionally In Sweden collection of major white and brown goods is usually twice a year and is taken care of by the municipality the service is included in the normal waste collection charge Refrigerators are the exception and are collected at special disposal sites There are also special waste collection centres where consumers can take their waste for disposal or for materials to be recycled In Denmark the system of waste management is devolved to the municipalities White goods are mainly disposed of through retailers though consumers can also deliver them to special collection points There are special collection points for brown goods Ina number of municipalities the collection of white and brown goods is taken care of by the municipality s waste collection service In Belgium consumers can deliver end of life appliances to container parks in all regions In some municipalities there are also special collection services separate from the municipal waste collection service In Flanders consumers can exchange old for new at the retailer In the Netherlands the
65. ctical way to integrate sustainability into the everyday testing informing and lobbying work of consumer organisations So this document is not a report to be read but a handbook to be used If consumer organisations are prepared to put these tools to work this handbook will enable them to promote sustainable consumption more and better than before Its success will be measured positively when as we sincerely hope its use by consumer organisations influences consumers to behave in a more sustainable way Introduction amp background Background Background 1 Sustainable consumption In developed economies the consumption of goods and services is the main cause of environmental degradation and damage The pattern of consumption has a direct influence on the environment through the use of natural resources and energy and through the production of pollution and waste DEFINITION Sustainable consumption Sustainable consumption includes meeting the needs of present and future generations for goods and services in ways that are econom ically socially and environmentally sustainable One key element in the transition to sustainable consumption will be to find ways for consumers in the affluent countries of the North to maintain or improve the high quality of their lives while using fewer resources and energy and creating far less pollution The starting point of this research is how the existing rate of consump
66. cyclability by consumer organisations are discarding of appliances by consumers intake of appliances by a recycling centre compulsory disassembly of components with environmentally harmful substances mechanical recycling and component recycling Figure 2 Flowchart of the recycling process Discarding of appliance by consumers Collection amp transport of appliances i Intake of appliances by a recycling facility Y Compulsory disassembly of components with environmental harmful substances Mechanical recycling Y Component recycling Economic disassembly no unknown yes Integral shredding of Disassembly amp categorisation entire appliance of components Y Disassembled components Separation into Specific recyclin j A j A Re use of components materials of components Materials Materials The term component recycling was developed for this project 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 3 Recyclability module Definitions and preconditions Discarding of appliances by consumers The manufacturer should give information in the user s manual about how and where consumers can dispose of the old appliance for collection and recycling This information should include where consumers can take the old appliance how to dispose of environmen tally harmful materials or components and what electronic
67. disassembly process has an influence on the disassembly time and thereby the financial impact through the costs of disassembly It has no automatic influence on the recycling percentage but can have an influence on the environmental impact in the case of optimal disassembly If more components are disassembled more components can be recycled For televisions however full disassembly applies so the disassembly process has no influence on the recycling percentage In the sensitivity analysis further attention is given below to the impact of the range of disassembly times for the back panel Attention is also given to the impact of televisions with the best and worst design for optimal disassembly Material recycling The category material recycling has an influence on the recycling percentage the financial impact and the environmental impact In the sensitivity analysis further attention is given below to the impact of the choice of materials for the degaussing coil A degaussing coil can be made of aluminium or copper Attention will also be given to the effect of incineration versus recycling of the back panel Finally attention will be given to low or high grade recycling of the tube the ceramic recycling route versus the glass recycling route Impact of disassembly time range The impact of the range of disassembly times for the back panel is represented in Table 5 The financial impact varies by 1 30 Eur
68. disposal regulations and agreements between government and manufacturers Name of organisation Name of respondent Address Introduction We would like to receive information about the disposal regulations collection infrastructure of disposed household appliances facilities for disassembly and recycling in your country and available LCAs for the evaluation Most of the following questions are about the general situation concerning white and brown goods in your country Some specific questions refer to small household appliances We have focused on shavers toasters vacuum cleaners irons microwaves and deep fat fryers Please type your answers in the section below each question and send the completed questionnaire by e mail back to jpoolman consumentenbond nl before 15 June 1999 1 1 Facilities for recycling and waste collection infrastructure Practice of disposal of white and brown goods How can consumers dispose of their old white and brown goods in your country Are they being collected by the municipal waste collection service or are there special collection points where consumers can take their old appliances for further treatment Please describe the situation in your country Can consumers offer their old white and brown goods to the manufacturer retailer and do consumers have to pay for it Can you mention anything specifically about the disposal facilities of the followi
69. dule Guidelines for upgradability EVALUATION Disassembly Disassembly not possible either because it is not possible to open the appliance or because it would destroy the appliance Problems with disassembly disassembly is difficult obstructed or requires high precision or much force long disassembly time for coffee makers more than 15 minutes special tools needed Possible problems with disassembly if problems in chassis and plastic parts or if there is a glued connection No problems for disassembly disassembly time is reasonably good arrangement of chassis and plastic parts cause no problem the connections are screw or click type Disassembly with few actions short disassembly time for coffee makers less than four minutes sandwich construction for disassembly the components are removed in one uniform direction Installation of improved components re assembly KEY QUESTIONS 1 Can consumers install the improved 3 2 4 component and re assemble the appliance without difficulties 2 Is there at least one vacant connections for the improved component 3 Are disassembly and re assembly non destructive 4 Is re assembly the reverse process of disassembly RESEARCH METHOD The data can be collected via inventory and disassembly simulation test in a laboratory with an expert panel at least three Another way to collect data is a consumer panel test at least 20 ASSESSME
70. e 10 of DIY repairers more detailed information is essential Diagnosis of defect 1 1 Product inventory information to the consumer Information in the users manual and information available to consumers 1 1 1 troubleshooting list naming the most vulnerable components 1 1 2 expected useful life span of vulnerable components 1 1 3 repair disassembly procedures for replacing vulnerable components 1 1 4 illustrations of repair disassembly 1 1 5 required tools 1 1 6 service addresses 1 2 After sales support The quality of information available to the consumer via helplines is tested through a telephone survey Questions must represent a typical symptom of a broken appliance In this case use of one of the most common symptoms ie no picture at all is not recommended Alternatively a problem can be chosen with the programming or with Teletext where the consumer can be helped to solve the problem An example of the way the service level of helplines can be evaluated has been drawn up for computers by the Consumers Union No ready to use guidelines are available for colour television receivers However important aspects to check are e do manufacturers help customers with general questions e do manufacturers help locate a local authorised repair shop where you ll invariably have to go for service under warranty or to obtain genuine replacement parts or provide technical assistance to t
71. e a receipt beforehand containing diagnosis maximum price and date of delivery 3 What are the costs of repair 4 What is the repair time 5 What is the quality of the customer service given by the repair service RESEARCH METHOD Data on consumers experiences of repair services are collected through a consumer survey Repairability module Guidelines for repairability Alternatively repair services may be assessed 3 4 3 by seeing how well they repair defective appliances A mystery shopper delivers an appliance with a previously well defined defect to a repair service Acquiring appliances with the same defect and the same age will be very difficult If possible new appliances can be given an artificial defect ASSESSMENT Repair services The assessment of the repair service is on the diagnosis made by the repair service before the repair is carried out the quality of the repair service and the customer service e Diagnosis by repair service does the repair service ask relevant questions about symptoms complaints and warranty does the repair service give a receipt to the consumer before starting work does the receipt include the complaint and the diagnosis of the broken appliance does the receipt include an estimate of the repair cost and a delivery date is the diagnosis given by the repair service technician correct Quality of repair service service the costs
72. e assessment of recyclability and summarise the available consumer oriented research options Definitions and preconditions This section gives definitions of recyclability and recycling and discusses the phases which household appliances undergo in the recycling process The different recycling scenarios currently possible for household appliances are also discussed as are international recycling practices The assessment categories for recyclability were developed on the basis of the flowchart of the recycling process Figure 2 The available sources were existing literature the practices of recycling centres and the expertise of the Dutch Consumentenbond Figure 1 Methodology for developing the recyclability checklists and guidelines 1 Definitions and Preconditions 2 Case study product groups 3 Guidelines Recyclability amp the recycling process f Recycling practice amp assessment categories U Case studies recycling scenarios of product groups Y Assessment method for recyclability Y General checklists amp guidelines Literature study and expert judgement Pilot research project on televisions Green testing and the TNO Institute of Industrial Technology the Netherlands Case studies The case study product group consists of washing machines computers and televisions The case studies were chosen as a model
73. e can normally be applied An example for televisions is given in Appendix 3B Rating of number of necessary tools gt 2 required for a disassembly operation More tools required than amount of disassembly operations 2 tools requiring both hands for one disassembly operation 1 tool required per disassembly operation 1 tool required for all disassembly operations Rating of special or non universal tools Drill grinding wheel hacksaw power sabre saw Gripping and fastening tools Fixed end wrench adjustable wrench Torex screwdriver socket with ratchet Universal tools are flat head screwdriver cross head screwdriver The rating of safety of disassembly depends on the possible risks An example for televisions is given in Appendix 3B RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection of disassembly is by a laboratory disassembly test and product examination In the laboratory disassembly test the appliance is fully disassembled into its main components These components are mentioned in the disassembly guidelines for each product group The disass embly sequence is also mentioned although this may be varied during the disassembly test The aim of the disassembly test is to record the time taken to perform standard disassembly actions and to record data The collected data are recorded in a standard disassembly spreadsheet Collection of components of the same mate
74. e critical components are defined as the components for which the disassembly times vary the most In the pilot study on colour TVs by Consumentenbond the critical components were back casing deflection unit internal wiring and main printed circuit board The rating on a five point scale is based on variations within the tested televisions Appendix B of the Recyclability module of Green testing gives an example of the rating based on CB s pilot test In Appendices D to F more information is given on the requirements and procedures of the disassembly test the disassembly form a list of abbreviations and a protocol with requirements and procedures for the colour television disassembly test Estimation of Recyclability 3 2 1 Percentage weights of main components 3 2 1 1 Percentage weights of components with valuable materials 3 2 1 2 Percentage weights of components categorised as waste 3 2 1 3 Percentage weights of components with environmentally harmful substances 3 2 1 4 Material labelling percentage of plastic parts gt 25 labelled 3 2 1 5 Accuracy of labels according to ISO 11469 The rating of percentage weights of components with valuable materials waste and environmentally harmful substances is based on an expert judgement and depends on Green test programme for colour TVs Part 2 the type of appliance An example for colour television receivers is given in Appendix B of the Recyclability mod
75. e electronic components main printed circuit board and internal wiring electronic components contain Cd in gt 50 mg kg and Pb in gt 0 5 electronic components contain no Cd gt 50 mg kg and no Pb in gt 0 5 electronic components contain no Cd and Pb Break factor if not in compliance with national legislation then evaluation lt Rating of halogenated flame retardants in back panel in w w back panel contains both Br and Sb in gt 1 w w back panel contains no Br in gt 1 w w back panel contains no Br and Sb Rating of the percentage of labels on components with environmentally harmful substances no labels found 20 40 40 60 60 80 80 100 Rating of the correctness of each label label not correct label correct minimal requirements maximal requirements If more than one label is found this assessment is repeatedly applied on each label RESEARCH METHODS The research method for data collection of found rechargeable batteries is by product inventory The research method for data collection of halogenated flame retardants is by determination of specific flame retardants determination of the percentage weights of bromine Br and antimony Sb and confirmation by the Beilstein test determination of specific flame retardants in the back panel and main printed circuit board by pyrolysis mass spectrometry determi
76. e of waste Recycling guarantee and information about location of environmentally harmful components Full information about the different electronic components and materials RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection of information to consumers is by product inventory Components containing environ mentally harmful substances KEY QUESTIONS 1 Are there any components containing environmentally harmful substances in the appliance 2 Are components containing environmen tally harmful substances identifiable and labelled 3 Are components containing environmen tally harmful substances easy to disassemble ASSESSMENT Environmentally harmful components Components containing environmentally harmful substances are assessed according to the European Directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment The assessment is based on the following criteria e Are there any rechargeable batteries e Do components contain cadmium lead or other harmful heavy metals e Do plastic components or printed circuit boards contain halogenated flame retardants Material labelling percentage of components with environmentally harmful substances labelled e Are labels correct Rating of cadmium in components of the appliance Component contains Cd in gt 50 mg kg Component contains Cd in lt 50 mg kg Component contains no Cd Break factor if not in compliance with nat
77. e on the environmental impact because copper is more scarce than aluminium After disassembly of the degaussing coil the MET points are nearly the same If the back panel is incinerated it is considered special waste because it contains halogenated flame retardants If the back panel is recycled the recycling percentage increases by the percentage weight of the back panel namely 9 The difference in financial impact is positive due to the financial returns of recycling HIPS The environmental impact is reduced because the recycled material can be deployed again as secondary raw material The costs for low grade recycling of the tube are 83 Euros ton The costs for high grade recycling range from 166 to 332 Euros ton the average of 250 Euros ton was taken The difference in financial impact is negative because the recycling is more expensive The difference in environmental impact is positive due to the higher quality of the recycled material in the case of high grade recycling Weighting of assessment categories The resulting impact variations from the range of end of life scenarios are represented in Table 10 This shows that the range of total disassembly times has an influence only on financial impact Incineration versus recycling of the back panel affects the recycling percentage and both the financial and environmental impacts On the other hand the recycling grade of the tube affects the financial impact negatively
78. e recovered In high grade material recycling the original materials are recovered in their original quality In low grade material recycling the original materials are recycled to a lower quality level This option often applies for contaminated materials In alternative material recycling the materials are recycled into entirely new materials For instance if the back panel consists of mixed plastics back to the monomer processes can be applied to recover the original ingredients the monomers from which new kinds of plastics can be reduced In high grade recycling the picture tube glass from a television set is re used in the production of picture tubes but in low grade recycling it goes towards the production of ceramics 1 3 Recyclability module Definitions and preconditions Recycling practice Until now most of the efforts concerning recycling of household appliances have been devoted to refrigerators and freezers Recycling of cars is currently practised in Germany and Japan and many German built cars already use recycled plastic materials Recycling photocopiers involves mainly re using valuable components in new ones The recycling of household appliances is being developed due to the introduction of disposal regulations International recycling practice of household appliances As part of this project in February 1999 Consumentenbond carried out a small survey to investigate among other thin
79. e taken for all components of the standard television DFE analysis The disassembly data and material weights of the standard television were put into DFE and the resulting end of life evaluation graph is presented in Figure 5 In the end of life evaluation graph the disassembly time on the Date of printing 3 07pm Wed May 19 1999 Euro 30 00 20 00 10 00 KEY Euro Financial impact Environmental impact 0 00 0 0 50 0 100 0 150 0 r OO eS En ee ree DFE END LIFE EVALUATION TNO Industrial Technology Stephan Mulder TV 1 TVSTAND1 DFE 200 0 Time seconds 15 00 10 00 0 00 5 00 10 00 15 00 400 0 250 0 300 0 350 0 31 32 Green testing horizontal axis is plotted against the financial and the environmental impacts on the vertical axis Financial impact The financial costs benefits evaluation includes landfill and collection costs and with each disassembly step the disassembly costs and calculated financial returns of re use recycling or incineration Financial evaluation begins on the left without the application of disassembly The point at which the financial line begins on the left represents the landfill costs of the entire television After each disassembly step the financial line will rise with the removal of a valuable component that can be recycled The financial line shows the strongest rise with disassembly of the tube even though recycl
80. e work that underpins this handbook starts at the point where Green guidance finished taking the vital next step of incorporating the concept of sustainability into the practice of consumer information and testing This study which was part of the Consumers International Support to consumer organisations in promoting sustainable consumption project establishes a methodology for testing recyclability repairability and upgradability and includes a complete green test programme for televisions Until now product sustainability work by consumer organisations has usually concentrated on energy saving indeed the two have often seemed synonymous Consumer organisations have been testing the energy use of appliances for decades admittedly because of the link between energy saving and money saving rather than as an aspect of sustainability There is still scope to improve their energy use testing mainly by giving more importance to energy in the overall test result and by consequently looking more at small energy losses like those in the stand by or off positions of appliances But as Green guidance showed consumer organisations are already quite good at informing consumers and influencing manufacturers where energy saving is concerned Sustainability is about more than just energy saving however It also implies the absence of toxic or hazardous substances in products maximising a product s
81. ection on halogenated flame retardants is carried out subsequently as follows 1 Screening for presence of halogens CL Br by the Beilstein test 2 If halogens are present determination of amount if any of bromine Br antimony Sb by instrumental neutron activation analysis INAA or ICP MS 3 If bromine is present identification of flame retardants by pyrolysis mass spectrometry The research method for data collection of cadmium is by determination of percentage weights of cadmium Cd through instrumental neutron activation analysis INAA or ICP MS The research method for data collection on labelling is by product inventory Disassembly into main components KEY QUESTIONS 1 Is the appliance designed for disassembly 2 For which components is disassembly difficult 3 Can the appliance be disassembled with universal tools ASSESSMENT Disassembly The total disassembly time is in principle the most important criterion Critical components are those whose disassembly time differs greatly from model to model they are the components for which disassembly can be difficult The criteria for disassembly are e disassembly time e diversity of connection types e number of necessary tools e special or non universal tools e safety of disassembly 3 2 1 4 For each of these disassembly criteria the rating can be based on the differences found in the product test a rating on a 3 or 5 point scal
82. eg siojp uuoo sa qed euj x3 s jqe Iguj x3 lJu uoduioo J quinN ldues Jajaweip qn1 1e uononpoldg adh pueig Green testing 1 0 Sluepiue 91 owe jeuondo snopiezeH InjuueH Y00 gt alseM uoy00 L 0 oin3 anjen SIU Ju0O S T138V1 SISUIO Pieoq WIND u suojoey eu leuu uren SOlISE d Sno11 3J ssej qn _ AIqui ssesip Jaye 1 lu 0 lqissoq 10 99UU0D SaM jaued yoeg 10 99UU0D s jqe eu x3 Ire sM 19S jaued juol4 sluuq qnl_ si ye ds Buu 6uisne6 q yun aaljoayoq jeued yorg z luud Luud Buum euj lu j ued yoeg s jqe euj x3 lu uoduioo 22 Green test programme for colour TVs Appendix F Appendix F List of abbreviations to use when completing Disassembly form Connections with their letter codes CG Card guide BP Breaking points SC Screw CP Clamp CL Click EC Electrical connector TA Tape MC Material cut BF Bayonet fitting ST Staple GL Glue SO Solder WE Weld Tools with their letter codes Unscrewing TS Torx screwdriver FS Flat head screwdriver CS Cross head screwdriver OS Other screwdriver FW Fixed end wrench AW Adjustable wrench SR Socket with ratchet AK Allen key PW Power wrench Cutting and breaking KN Knife WC Wire cutter PT Pair of tongs SH Handheld shears DR Drill PG Handheld power grinder GW Grinding wheel HS Hacksaw JS Jigsaw BS Power band saw H
83. elling according to ISO 11469 and with components which contain 1 2 8 2 environmentally harmful substances In the future bar codes should be applied allowing the plastics to be sorted by laser scanners The bar code can contain information about material composition date of manufacture harmful substances and additives A hand scanner for identification of plastics has been developed Another technique for automatic sorting of the main recyclable plastics is infra red radiation Sony s technology centre in Stuttgart Germany has proposed that appliances should incorporate an electronic module containing retrievable data on product materials The module would be made to an industry wide standard and accessible through a diagnostic connector Material categorisation Collecting components of the same material implies the selection and categorisation of components as valuable components waste or chemical waste In this sense the maximum amount of material of the appliance that can be recycled is already determined to a certain level by categorisation components selected as waste are not recycled The category into which components are put depends principally on material value amount of pure material environmental harmfulness and labelling For complex appliances the diversity of materials should be as minimal as possible Valuable components are those for which the material reprocessing has economic bene
84. epair service 2 the quality of the repair service and 3 the customer service Waste collection recycling facilities and legislation Information about local facilities for recycling and waste collection and national legislation can be obtained by a survey of manufacturers This information may be important in the weighting of the different categories of assessment criteria An example of a questionnaire developed in an international test programme by International Testing on the recyclability and repairability of small domestic appliances such as shavers toasters irons vacuum cleaners deep fat fryers and microwave ovens is given in Appendix C More information about recycling facilities waste collection and legislation on recycling large domestic appliances is given in Sustainable Consumption in the Introduction amp background section of Green testing Green test programme for colour TVs Part 2 Part 2 Repairability Assessment of the repairability of colour television receivers within comparative testing falls into two main categories Diagnosis of defect Warranty coverage Selection of repair service HQ Nor Indication of costs of research on repairability DIY repair of televisions is not taken into account due to the fact that 90 of consumers use a repair service However information on troubleshooting and how to fix simple defects is very useful and a prerequisite for a good manual and for th
85. erts homogenous and many stickers homogenous Rating of non glass parts separable from the tube welded shrink belt plastic screen dubious if suitable for tube glass recycling shrink belt not welded no plastic screen Rating of the percentage weight of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards percentage weight of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards gt 15 percentage weight of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards 5 15 printed circuit boards without supporting non metals RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection of specialised reprocessing of components is by product examination and analysis of the material in the disassembled components 41 Recyclability module Appendix C Appendix C Requirements and procedures of the disassembly test on televisions Requirements for the preparation of disassembly test Experienced disassembler Record keeper e Disassembly location pneumatic tools e Stopwatch e Balance max 100 kg with a relative accuracy of 50 gram small weights are measured on a balance with an accuracy of 1 gram e Storage facility for samples many trays The appliance to be disassembled e Disassembly guideline for the product group disassembly level and sequence of disassembly e Standard disassembly form Disassembly test procedure 1 Select the component to disassemble 2
86. es in order to rate the assessment criteria Then a standard product is defined The final phase is a sensitivity analysis in order to weight the assessment categories The weighting of the assessment categories was done for televisions using DFE Design For Environment a software tool of TNO Institute of Industrial Technology 1 It was 2 4 1 2 4 1 1 2 4 1 2 developed for designers and enables them to make a financial and environmental end of life evaluation of a prototype Pilot research project on televisions The recyclability assessment method was carried out for televisions in a pilot research project Recycling scenario for televisions The component recycling scenario applies to televisions In the pilot research project on televisions a checklist for component recycling was developed This appears in Guidelines for recyclability section 3 Drawing up a disassembly form A disassembly form was devised to record the results of the disassembly test The form is an Excel program so data can be recorded using a laptop The disassembly form consisted of two parts one part to record the results of the Figure 4 Assessment method for recyclability Determine recycling scenario of product group i Draw up a disassembly form Y Research the product testing and recording Y Determine the critical variables Y Define standard product Y Execute sensitivity analysis using DFE
87. est Mechanical recycling material outcome e Percentage weight of valuable materials e Percentage weight of harmful materials e Percentage weight of waste materials e Is the metal of the housing laminated Component inventory after disassembly test This checklist was developed by the Consumentenbond in co operation with TNO Institute of Industrial Technology Recyclability module Guidelines for recyclability Table 7 Component recycling checklist stages criteria research methods Stage Criteria Research method Discarding the e Information about how Product inventory appliance and where to dispose of it e Recycling guarantee e Information about what elec tronic components and materials are used in the appliance e Information about avoiding harmful materials e Information about location of components with environ mentally harmful substances Components with environmentally harmful substances e Are there any rechargeable batteries e Do components contain cadmium or other heavy metals e Do the electronics contain cadmium e Do the housing and the printed circuit boards contain halogenated flame retardants e Material labelling percentage of components with environ mentally harmful substances labelled e Are labels correct Product inventory Halogenated flame retardants determination by pyrolysis mass spectrometry Product inventory Product inventory Disassemb
88. esthetics and image The main aspects of environmental design are efficient energy use e selective use of materials and material reduction e life span extension of appliances repairability upgradability recyclability 3 Environmental impact of consumer goods TemaNord 1997 609 Nordic Council of Ministers Copenhagen 1997 4 Brezet Han Handleiding voor milieugerichte produktontwikkeling SDU Uitgeverij s Gravenhage 1994 2 1 Green testing Life span extension and environmental impacts DEFINITION Life span The time between introduction of the appliance on to the market and final disposal of the appliance as waste DEFINITION Life span extension Longer or intensified use of an appliance Longer use of an appliance can be attained by repairing and or upgrading Intensified use of an appliance can be attained by shared use or leasing Technical economic and psychological life span The life span of an appliance is of course mainly determined by the behaviour of consumers themselves At the moment of disposal the decision to end the life span of the appliance has been made Distinctions can be drawn between the technical the economical and the psychological life span of household appliances Technical life span The end of a product s technical life span has been reached when consumers or retailers manufacturers second hand dealers or waste collection services assess that
89. fit These are components with a significant ferrous copper or aluminium content and printed circuit boards Waste is defined as the materials destined for landfill or incineration The cost of waste treatment of components in this category ranges from 0 100 Euros ton Chemical waste or special waste requires special processing which costs gt 200 Euros ton 1 Billatos Samir B Green Technology and Design for the Environment University of Connecticut Storrs C T Taylor and Francis 1997 1 www spectracode com index2 html 12 Burall Paul Product development and the environment The Design Council Gower 1996 133 Graedel T E Allenby B R Design for environment AT amp T Bell Laboratories Prentice Hall 1996 10 1 2 8 3 1 2 9 Green testing European Directive on waste The proposed European Directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment November 1998 says that member states shall take necessary measures to ensure that no later than 1 January 2004 the following targets are attained by producers here we mention only the product groups in the scope of this research for all separately collected end of life televisions the rate of recycling shall reach a minimum of 70 by weight of the appliance for all separately collected end of life washing machines the rate of recycling shall reach a minimum of 90 by weight of the appliance for all separately collected end of life computers the
90. for the different recycling scenarios and were based as before on literature review the practices of recycling centres and the expertise of both the Dutch Consumentenbond and TNO Institute of Industrial Technology The constituents of the product groups and the current recycling scenarios are discussed within each case study This section also covers the proposed method for assessing recyclability This recyclability assessment method describes in detail what steps have to be taken to assess the recyclability of household appliances The results are the assessment criteria ratings for the criteria and weightings for the assessment categories This method has been used for televisions and a pilot disassembly test for televisions was carried out for this purpose see Appendix 3A The weighting of the assessment categories was carried out using DFE Design For Environment a software tool of TNO Institute of Industrial Technology this software was developed for designers and enables them to make a financial and environmental end of life evaluation of a prototype Checklists and guidelines This section outlines general checklists and guidelines Different checklists were developed for the possible recycling scenarios The guidelines consist of the key questions for consumers assessment criteria and where applicable a proposal for rating and weighting and research methods for each phase of the recycling process
91. for computers with some components re used and others specifically recycled This scenario is currently practised on a small scale the disassembly process being the main obstacle for increasing the scale That is why for the case study on computers attention is given to optimal disassembly Unlike computers televisions do not contain valuable components A television contains components with several materials that cannot enter mechanical recycling The recycling scenario for televisions is component recycling in which components are specifically recycled Mechanical recycling is preferable for coffee makers Due to the low weight of components disassembly is not financially viable at present 1 4 Assessment categories for recycling The recycling process flowchart Figure 1 was designed to develop assessment categories of recyclability For each assessment category criteria are then developed On the basis of this flowchart the following assessment aspects are considered 1 information to consumers 2 environmentally harmful substances 3 recycling The assessment categories environmentally harmful substances and recycling consist of criteria that are different for each case study product group As mentioned the case study product groups demonstrate the different recycling scenarios for household appliances The recycling assessment consists of criteria for disassembly in cases of component recyc
92. gorisation involves collecting all undamaged valuable components with the same function If the components of an appliance contain different materials which cannot enter mechanical recycling together the destination is specific recycling The appliance is then disassembled until these components are separated for example the picture tube and the printed circuit boards of a television Categorisation involves collecting components of primarily the same material Disassembly DEFINITION Disassembly To take apart in constituent parts by means of various operations so that the obtained components are not broken and or damaged DEFINITION Economic disassembly Performing a disassembly process that transforms inputs discarded goods into outputs disassembled components every output has an added value compared to its input Starting points are landfill costs and collection costs DEFINITION Optimal disassembly Disassembly of an appliance with as high as possible financial gain Optimal disassembly involves removal of valuable components and specific recycling of the remainder The appliance is disassembled to the point where the valuable components are separated out Continuing disassembly increases the costs and is not financially beneficial DEFINITION Design for disassembly The aspect of the design methodology which takes into account future disassembly at the end of life stage of an appliance Design f
93. gs the current state of play on recycling in the countries involved in the project The result and information from other sources follow Pilot recycling projects have been carried out in Austria Germany the Netherlands and the United States Current recycling practice in Australia is focused on mechanical recycling the scrap metal being exported to Korea Germany has a number of recycling factories for discarded refrigerators In the Netherlands two recycling centres Coolrec Mirec recycle the current waste output of white and brown goods In the United States there are quite a few privately owned centres specially designed for recycling these are generally regional and have contracts with organisations or institutions which take in large numbers of products such as municipal or county based waste hauliers or com panies In the United Kingdom a major waste management company UK Waste and an electronics recovery firm R Frazier are working together to offer a national electronics waste recovery service Many of the collected items will be used as complete systems or disassembled to provide components rather than being scrapped and reprocessed In Japan the pioneering company Matsushita Electric has produced a washing machine that can be disassembled with a screwdriver alone Recycling scenarios As mentioned within the discussion of the phases of the recycling process above the current possible recyc
94. he basic components of a computer are a keyboard system unit and a monitor The two basic system types or classes of hardware are the older 8 bit personal computer extended class systems e 16 32 64 bit advanced technology systems today most of these systems would use a 486 Pentium or P6 processor 2 1 3 The main components of the system unit are 2 1 3 1 e motherboard and memory chips RAM working memory and SIMMS extra memory chips power supply graphics card I O card sound card hard drive floppy drive e CD ROM or DVD drive Computers with a 386 processor are not suitable for upgrading because too many components have to be upgraded Computers with a 486 processor of the first generation with a low timer speed of 25 33 MHz are borderline cases These appliances can be upgraded but the low picture speed can t be changed because modern fast video cards are not backwards compatible these modern video cards are compatible with PCI slots of the motherboard not with the old ISA and VESA LB slots Closing the functional gap improved components The main functions of computers that consumers want to improve are the working speed the working memory storage capacity and new features such as viewing photos and playing CDs or video clips see Table 1 To use Windows 95 consumers must expand the working memory the storage capacity and the speed of the computer Purchase di
95. hing machine is an example of a material amp energy product The consumer phase and the disposal phase both produce significant environmental impacts The use of an average washing machine over 20 years was chosen as the functional unit for this case study The environmental impact of four different strategies has been calculated based upon ecotoxicity energy and solid waste see Figure 1 In our example the average washing machine has been defined as one that has a life span of 10 years weighs 80 kg and has an energy use Figure 1 Life cycle analysis results for four product strategies washing machines 100 H Ecotoxity 80 E Energy Solid waste 60 40 20 0 amp se So Se 8 T J Geldhof en H Blaauwgeers Levensduurverlenging Onderzoeksverslag Consumentenbond 1996 European Proposal for a directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment 75 442 EEC November 1998 Green testing of 231 kWh per year Since the starting point is the usage of the functional unit over 20 years a new washing machine will be bought after 10 years and it will use 25 less energy than its predecessor The literature suggests this assumption is correct energy use of washing machines has been reduced by 25 in the past 10 years For the innovation strategy the assumption was a 25 lower energy use than in the reference situa
96. ical circuit of front loaders are timer 27 pump motor 17 door switch door security 16 The most vulnerable mechanical components mechanical defects are door clasp hinge 13 object to be removed 12 rubber cuff 12 2 2 6 For top loaders the most common symptoms are no water water everywhere unit continues does not work poor wash performance The most vulnerable components are the pump the timer and the motor transmission Warranties and extended warranties Warranties are generally for one year in a few cases they are for two or three years In general the vast majority of faulty household appliances 79 were not under warranty at the time they broke down 13 were covered by the regular warranty and 7 had an extended warranty According to the Consumentenbond survey 11 of respondents had taken out an extended warranty at the time of buying their washing machine Extended warranties are rarely worth having For major appliances the costs of service contracts and repairs were on average the same From a financial perspective service contracts and extended warranties seems to be of questionable value DIY repair According to the Consumers Union survey consumers are more likely to carry out DIY repair on faulty white goods and vacuum cleaners than on major electronic products Manufacturers gave Consumers Union information on how long replacement parts are stocked after a
97. ing a tube costs money This is caused by the size of the landfill costs of a tube due to its weight and the toxic substances it contains The recycling costs of the tube are overshadowed by the landfill costs The financial line rises because these costs are reduced by removing the tube The level of the financial line after all components have been disassembled is still negative and shows what level of removal is necessary for recycling an average television with a 60 cm diagonal tube Environmental impact The environmental impact is expressed by the MET score The MET score represents the contribution of an appliance to a set of environmental effects such as the greenhouse effect acidification smog eutrophication exhaustion of resources ecotoxicity and human toxicity The MET score is based upon a life cycle analysis with a distance to target approach to the goals set by the Dutch government The MET score is a one point score showing how close the appliance is to meeting the desired level In the MET score three categories of environmental aspects are taken together in a single measure namely material cycle energy use and toxic emissions the name MET is derived from the first letter of each category Material cycle takes into account the extraction and production of raw materials and solid waste and is related to exhaustion of resources Energy use is defined as the energy which is used in the phases of the appliance d
98. inutes per kg In their disassembly test the disassembly time of 2 7 minutes per kg was evaluated as too long Televisions case study on component recycling This case study covers colour televisions It includes descriptions of the constituents of televisions and the current recycling scenario for them 2 Atlantic Consulting Draft criteria version 1 2 EU Ecolabels for personal computers April 1998 2 3 1 2 3 2 2 3 2 1 Recyclability module Case studies Table 4 Disassembled parts in new picture tube holding brown goods Main components Weight Main materials External cables 0 2 Copper PVC flame retardant plastics Back and front panel 15 9 PS PS FR sometimes PP FR ABS FR Environmentally harmful 8 Epoxy resin cardboard copper electronic components plastics environmentally harmful substances Deflection units 2 6 Copper plastic Copper degaussing coil 0 6 Copper plastic Aluminium degaussing coil 0 3 Aluminium plastic Picture tube glass recycling route 62 2 Glass containing lead and barium oxide Ferrous part 5 3 Ferrous metals Various 4 3 Various materials Constituents of televisions Televisions weigh approximately 10 40 kg depending on the diameter of the picture tube 37 70 cm The materials and components in small and large televisions are similar Table 3 shows the disassembled parts of 781 new picture tube holding brown goods from the Apparetour pilo
99. inventory Components containing environmentally harmful substances KEY QUESTIONS 1 Are components with environmentally harmful substances found in the appliance 2 Are components with environmentally harmful substances identifiable and labelled 37 38 Green testing 3 Are components with environmentally harmful substances easy to disassemble 4 Does the material output still contain envi ronmentally harmful substances after disassembly of components with environ mentally harmful substances has been applied ASSESSMENT Environmentally harmful components The assessment of components containing environmentally harmful substances is according the European Directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment The assessment of components containing environ mentally harmful substances is on the following criteria are rechargeable batteries found does the tube contain cadmium do the electronic components contain cadmium and lead do the back panel and the printed circuit board contain halogenated flame retardants the material labelling percentage of components with environmentally harmful substances labelled are labels correct Rating of cadmium in the tube tube contains Cd in gt 50 mg kg tube contains no Cd in gt 50 mg kg tube contains no Cd Break factor if not in compliance with national legislation then evaluation lt Rating of cadmium and lead in th
100. ional legislation then evaluation Rating of other heavy metals can be based on national legislation We propose to use a five point rating scale as follows Concentration gt twice threshold value in legislation Threshold value lt concentration lt twice threshold value in legislation Threshold value lt concentration lt half threshold value Half threshold value lt concentration lt detection limit Concentration lt detection limit The overall assessment can be based on the worst heavy metal present in the sample Rating of halogenated flame retardants in plastic components in w w Back panel contains bromine gt 1 w w Back panel contains bromine in lt 1 w w Back panel contains no bromine Rating of the percentage of labels on components with environmentally harmful substances No labels found 20 60 60 80 80 100 100 Rating of the accuracy of each label Label not correct Label correct minimal requirements Maximal requirements 27 According to the Dutch Environmental Act Wet milieubeheer Besluit Aanwijzing Gevaarlijke Afvalstoffen 3 2 1 3 Recyclability module Guidelines for recyclability If more than one label is found this assessment is applied to each label RESEARCH METHODS The research method for data collection on rechargeable batteries is by product inventory The research method for data coll
101. irability Table 1 Repairability checklist phases or repair criteria research methods Stage Criteria Research method Broken or malfunctioning appliance e Most regularly occurring symptoms amp complaints e Age of broken or malfunctioning appliance e Most vulnerable components Survey of manufacturers and or consumer experiences laboratory experience literature review Diagnosis of the defect e Information to the consumer e troubleshooting list e repair procedures disassembly illustrations of repair disassembly instructions service addresses language used other information After sales support helpline Product inventory manual Mystery telephone survey Warranty coverage covering components and or labour Warranty period Costs in warranty period Benefit of extended warranty Product inventory warranty conditions Or survey of consumer experiences Repair decision DIY repair of respondents who repaired repair service importer manufacturer or local repair service of respondents who repaired e Reasons not to repair e Survey of consumers experiences e Purchase of spare components e Availability of new or second hand spare parts e Price of new or second hand spare parts e National regional availability of respondents repaired appliance Telephone questionnaire or retailer inventory Disassembly Total disassembly time
102. ired per disassembly operation 1 tool required for all disassembly operations Rating of special or non universal tools drill grinding wheel hacksaw power sabre saw gripping and fixing tools fixed end wrench adjustable wrench torcx screwdriver socket with ratchet universal tools are flat head screwdriver cross head screwdriver Rating of safety of disassembly air inlet is not possible directly after disassembly of back panel air inlet is possible directly after disassembly of back panel but obstructed air inlet is possible directly after disassembly of back panel 39 40 Green testing RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection on disassembly is by a laboratory disassembly test and product examination In the lab disassembly test the appliance is fully disassembled into its main components The disassembly guidelines for each product group identify these components and define a sequence for disassembly It may however be necessary to deviate from this sequence The aim of the disassembly test is record the times of standard disassembly actions and to record compiled data The collected data will be recorded in a standard disassembly spreadsheet The preparation procedure and disassembly spreadsheet are further described in Appendix A Collection of components of the same material material choice and labelling KEY QUESTIONS 1 What is the pote
103. is quality level can be lower equal to or higher than the original quality of the assembly i e when manufactured for the first time DEFINITION Recycling The recovery of materials from discarded 1 2 disassembly has been applied DEFINITION Recyclability The ability to achieve the required level of separation of the product into pure materials with the required purity of materials and level of recycling Recyclability is determined by the choice of materials used in the appliance by the length of disassembly time of the main components and of components with environmentally harmful substances and by the ease of identification of materials of these components Low recyclability appliances are not designed for disassembly and recovery the percentage of recovered materials is low given the current recycling processing for the product group Medium recyclability appliances are products with an improved design that facilitates the disassembly process High recyclability appliances are sustainable appliances specifically designed for disassembly This implies a high percentage of recovered materials and reduced environmental impact DEFINITION Rate of recycling The percentage of recovered materials by weight of the appliance Recovered materials are the materials resulting from the recycling process that can be delivered to the raw material industry The recycling process The phases of the recycling process
104. is normally given This period varies from country to country In the Netherlands the guarantee period is generally one year or more for white goods and six months for brown goods In some cases the standard guarantee can be extended with an extended warranty The extended warranty coverage can be for components and or labour Consumers need to ask whether an extended warranty has financial benefits Is the risk of failure in proportion to the premium paid for the extended guarantee An EU directive on warranty coverage is in preparation During the warranty period the consumer should have a free replacement or repair whatever the defect assuming the appliance was used normally In Figure 1 the check on warranty coverage may occur at the same time as or even before the diagnosis of defective components Moreover it is sometimes impossible for the consumer to make a diagnosis particularly with electronic devices 1 2 5 1 2 5 1 1 2 5 2 Repair decision When the consumer has diagnosed the defect s he should be able to make a balanced decision on whether or not to repair and to choose between DIY repair and using a repair service These decisions will differ for each product group and will depend on several aspects such as the guarantee or extended warranty coverage the age of the appliance in relation to its expected life span the purchase price of the appliance the possibilities for DIY repair and the estimated
105. ited Seriously restricted difficult removable parts connections difficult to disassemble the use of specific tools required accordingly disassembly is considered impossible for an average household and damage will occur if it is done Restricted but disassembly without damage is possible No restriction Consumentenbond s research on ten coffee makers found three that could be disassembled well two with restricted disassembly three that were considered too bad to disassemble and two that were impossible to open Replacement and re assembly Once an appliance has been opened and the vulnerable components are accessible consumers can perform DIY repair fairly easily The pin in the star shaped hole of the Torx screw is damaged by using a flat head screw driver 2 2 Repairability module Case studies Re assembly time 2 2 1 Re assembly time is measured from assembling the critical component that was replaced first until closing the appliance cover not including the time taken to test whether the appliance is functioning Re assembly of coffee makers is not always problem free In some cases parts are left over due to the complexity of the construction Repair service Consumer organisations recommend that consumers should always report the defect to the retailer where the appliance was bought or to the manufacturer Repair services 2 2 2 themselves are reluctant t
106. ituents of computers This case study concerns personal computers the basic components of which are a keyboard system unit containing among other things the motherboard and memory chips and a monitor Portable computers do not fall within this product group The components and materials of computers are represented in Table 3 Current recycling scenario for computers The recycling scenario for computers is partial 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 disassembly of valuable components destined for re use and recycling and or incineration of the remainder Re use of components is currently practised on a small scale Processors and memory chips are separated from discarded computers and re used in toys The other current recycling practice is division of the basic components of computers into two categories of household appliances the monitor goes with brown goods that contain a picture tube and the keyboard and system unit go with electrical and electronic equipment that does not The televisions case study also covers the recycling of computer monitors In general electrical equipment without a picture tube is mech anically recycled in bulk unlike monitors and televisions where component recycling is applied The keyboard and mouse are treated as waste to be incinerated This case study is concerned mainly with the system unit Mechanical recycling System units of computers are currently recycled mechanically in bulk unli
107. ke monitors and televisions The processing takes place in the same installation and generally the same specific way as the disassembled electronic components of televisions Mechanical recycling of computer system units is difficult because of the amount of plastic that needs to be separated from more valuable materials Components containing environmentally harmful substances According to the Apparetour study there is an 8 4 chance that a computer will contain a Table 3 Components and materials in personal computers picture tube system casing and keyboard Main components Weight Main materials Housing and construction 50 60 Ferrous metals plastics ABS PS SBR PP Picture tube assembly 20 30 Glass containing lead and barium oxide iron copper plastics Printed circuit boards and electronics 10 20 Epoxy resin cardboard or thermoplastic with various materials Wiring Copper PVC other flame retardant plastics Other components Steel nylon PVC various Remaining materials Copper zinc aluminium iron magnetic material plastics Total weight 15 25 kg 2 The data are based upon an interpretation of existing PCs including picture tube and keyboard 21 Ploos van Amstel Milieu Consulting Back to the beginning National pilot project for collecting recycling and repairing electrical and electronic equipment in the district of Eindhoven Apparetour September 1997 16 2 2
108. life cycle thus minimising the use of new raw materials and finally disposing of products in the least environmentally harmful way These aspects have been little recognised in the concept of sustainability in general and in consumer work in this field in particular They are also especially relevant to consumers who face problems when appliances break down and who need to dispose of them when they are no longer usable It is for these reasons that we have chosen to make recyclability repairability and upgradability the late 20th century alternative to repair the focus of this second project All three are less widely recognised and more in need of work than energy saving This project uses the same case study products as in Green guidance washing machines computers televisions and coffee makers and includes the first green test programme for colour televisions This handbook is not intended to be a fun read but an essential working document for testers and consumer organisations It gives definitions and preconditions of sustainability focusing on recyclability repairability and upgradability It gives case studies on the four product groups plus flow charts checklists and guidelines of processes life cycle scenarios sensitivity analyses assessment schemes and proposals for weighting and rating The objective of this project is to provide useful methodological tools to be used in a pra
109. ling For specific recycling and re use purposes disassembly of the critical and or valuable components is of particular importance For the scenario of mechanic recycling it is preferable not to have to disassemble components containing environ mentally harmful substances This is discussed in more detail in the case studies 2 2 1 2 1 1 Recyclability module Case studies Case studies Set out in this section are case histories based on washing machines demonstrating mechanical recycling computers demonstrating optimal disassembly and TVs Washing machines case study on mechanical recycling This case study is based on a review of the literature on the current recycling scenario for washing machines It considers which components have environmentally harmful substances which components can eventually be disassembled and collected and what conditions are necessary for high grade mechanical recycling Constituents of washing machines Front loading washing machines consist mainly of ferrous components 65 concrete blocks 19 5 plastics 6 and non ferrous components 3 Recycling of washing Main components 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 machines mainly involves recovering ferrous material Compared with other white goods washing machines contain the least amount of metals due to the concrete contra weights Table 2 shows the main components and materials of washing machines Current recy
110. ling scenarios are 1 mechanical recycling 2 component recycling in which some components are re used and others are specifically recycled and or incinerated 3 component recycling in which components are specifically recycled and others may be incinerated The case studies product groups washing machines computers and televisions are a model for possible recycling scenarios Each group follows one of the three recycling scenarios Table 1 shows the current recycling scenarios for each product group represented Table 1 Recycling scenarios for case study product groups Product group Recycling scenario Disassembly Case study Coffee makers Mechanical recycling No No Washing machines Mechanical recycling No Yes Computers Component recycling Optimal Yes re use of components disassembly Televisions Component recycling High disassembly Yes specific recycling degree 14 Sustainable Consumption Questionnaire response Australian Consumers Association 1999 15 Sustainable Consumption Questionnaire response Consumers Union of the US 1999 16 Sustainable Consumption Questionnaire response Consumers Association UK 1999 11 17 TNO MEP experience 12 Green testing Ideally washing machines are mechanically recycled in a metal shredder or disassembled when this is not economically viable Computers contain valuable processors and memory chips so component recycling is preferred
111. loor 111 Baker Street London W1M 1SE United Kingdom Tel 44 171 486 3200 Fax 44 171 486 5055 E mail intest which co uk Kim Healy UNITED STATES Consumers Union of U S Inc CU 101 Truman Avenue Yonkers New York 10703 1057 United States Tel 1 914 378 2303 Fax 1 914 378 2918 Web site http www ConsumerReports org Carolyn Nunley o Recyclability module Contents Recyclability module Contents Reader s guide Definitions and preconditions 1 1 Recyclability 1 2 The recycling process 1 3 Recycling practice 1 4 Assessment categories for recycling Case studies 2 1 Washing machines 2 2 Computers 2 3 Televisions 2 4 Assessment method for recyclability Guidelines for recyclability Appendix A Pilot research project for televisions Appendix B Guidelines for recyclability assessment of televisions Appendix C Requirements and procedures for disassembly test on televisions 11 12 13 13 15 16 19 23 29 37 43 Recyclability module Reader s guide Reader s guide The methodology for developing the recyclability checklists and guidelines consists of three parts 1 definitions and preconditions 2 case studies 3 checklists and guidelines The methodology development is shown in Figure 1 The checklists and guidelines are intended to be used by consumer organisations wishing to start a project on recyclability These guidelines are proposals for th
112. ls 23 24 Green testing Table 6 Mechanical recycling checklist stages criteria research methods Stage Criteria Research method Discarding the appliance e Information about how and where to dispose e Recycling guarantee e Information about what electro nic components and materials are used in the appliance e Information about avoiding harmful materials e Information about location of components with environmen tally harmful substances Product inventory Components with environmentally harmful substances e Do components contain cadmium or other hazardous heavy metals e Do components contain chlorine e Do the electronics contain cadmium or other heavy metals e Do housing and printed circuit boards contain halogenated flame retardants e Material labelling percentage of components with environ mentally harmful substances labelled e Are labels correct Product inventory Halogenated flame retardants determination by pyrolysis mass spectrometry Product inventory Product inventory Disassembly of environ mentally harmful components of components that may interfere with recycling e Total disassembly time e Type of connections e Diversity of connection types e Number of connections of one type e Number of necessary tools e Special or non universal tools e Safety of disassembly Laboratory disassembly test Component inventory during disassembly t
113. ly e removal of I O cards e removal of hard drive e removal of floppy disk drive 2 2 2 4 2 2 3 2 2 3 1 2 3 Potential specific recycling of components Computers have a potential for component recycling The most valuable components of the system unit are electronic components which can undergo specific recycling in the same way as the electronic components of televisions Besides the valuable electronic components computers contain plastic in abundance Computers are a prime candidate for recycling of plastics Optimal disassembly Optimal disassembly is an important issue for computers It means that the appliance is disassembled until the most valuable components are removed and the remainder is recycled and or incinerated This implies that the most valuable components should be easy to disassemble keeping disassembly costs as low as possible Design improvements Computers differ from many other products in that they are designed to be customised In general a system unit has a modular design however screws and cable connectors are used extensively many of them unnecessarily To attain optimal disassembly the design must be improved to eliminate them Another hindrance for optimal disassembly is the long disassembly time of plastics In the Apparetour study the criterion setting for the disassembly time of plastic components which are composed as much as possible of one single material was 2 m
114. ly into main components e Total disassembly time e Disassembly time of critical components e Type of connections e Diversity of connection types e Number of necessary tools e Special or non universal tools e Safety of disassembly Laboratory disassembly test Component inventory during disassembly test Collection of components with the same materials material categorisation and labelling e Percentage weight of valuable materials e Percentage weight of harmful materials e Percentage weight of waste materials e Material labelling percentage of plastic parts gt 25g labelled e Are labels correct according to ISO 11469 Component inventory after disassembly test Specific recycling of components e Suitability for high grade recycling e Diversity of incompatible materials used in component e Are parts of components with different incompatible materials separable Component inventory after disassembly test Plastic determination by Sink float behaviour and fire properties 25 26 3 2 1 2 Green testing used in the appliance available for the recycling plant eg a microchip containing this information in the appliance Evaluation of information on recycling in the user manual No information to consumers in the manual on recycling of the appliance General information about disposal of appliance Information on disposal addresses disposal of batteries typ
115. mple No seconds with average cuts needed seconds to disconnect Back panel 181 116 6 screws TV2 8 cuts 1 click Deflection unit 128 42 5 4 glue 1 tape TV4 1 screw Internal wiring 132 18 5 6 cuts 36 elect TV4 rical connectors Main printed circuit board 67 79 1 card guide TV1 1 material cut Total deterioration in disassembly time 256 To be able to perform the sensitivity analysis a standard television was defined based on the results of the pilot disassembly test The sensitivity analysis consisted of the investigation of the financial and environ mental impacts of disassembly and recycling Defining a standard television The results of the disassembly test were entered into software program DFE To compare the results of each television in DFE the disassembly sequence was structured according to current practice of disassembly in recycling centres A standard television was defined as a television with a diagonal tube size of 60cm This standard television consists of components Figure 5 End of life evaluation of a standard television generally found in a television The components of the standard television have the average material weights of the components of the investigated televisions The disassembly times of each component are the average of the investigated televisions In defining the standard televisions most and least optimally designed for disassembly the lowest and highest disassembly times wer
116. nation of percentage weights of antimony Sb bromine Br in back panel and main printed circuit board with instru mental neutron activation analysis INAA determination of presence of halogens CL Br in the back panel by the Beilstein test The research method for data collection of cadmium in the tube and electronic components is by determination of percentage weights of cadmium Cd with instrumental neutron activation analysis INAA The research method for data collection of labelling is by product inventory Disassembly into main components KEY QUESTIONS 1 Is the appliance designed for disassembly 2 For which components is disassembly difficult Recyclability module Appendix B 3 Can the appliance be disassembled with universal tools ASSESSMENT Disassembly The total disassembly time is in principle the most important criterion Critical components of which the disassembly time mutually show great differences are selected they are the comp onents of which disassembly can be difficult The criteria for disassembly are total disassembly time disassembly time of critical components back panel internal wiring deflection unit type of connections diversity of connection types e number of connections of one type the number of connections is identical to the number of performed tasks e number of necessary tools special or non universal tools safety of disassembly
117. nce in order to reach the defective component 3 What tools do consumers need for disassembly Are standard or special tools needed 4 Is disassembly difficult for consumers 5 Is it safe to disassemble the appliance RESEARCH METHOD The data can be collected through an inventory and a laboratory disassembly simulation test with an expert panel of up to three people Another way to collect data is a consumer panel test using at least 20 people ASSESSMENT Disassembly The assessment with a disassembly simulation test is based on overall disassembly time which automatically covers complexity of construction and difficulty of disassembly Besides overall disassembly time it is necessary to record the number and types of connections required tools and the difficulty of disassembly The assessment of disassembly consists of the following criteria total disassembly time type of connections e number of connection types e number of connections of one type e number of necessary tools special or non universal tools safety of disassembly EVALUATION Disassembly Disassembly not possible either because it is not possible to open the appliance or because it would destroy the appliance Problems with disassembly disassembly is difficult obstructed or requires high precision or much force long disassembly time for coffee makers more than 15 minutes special tools needed Possible pr
118. nd aluminium parts have to be removed before washing machines can be supplied to the white goods shredder Current recycling practice is that as mentioned complete washing machines are supplied to the metal shredder installation after compulsory disassembly of the capacitors Mechanical recycling of washing machines is used because disassembly is uneconomic Attaining a high recycling rate is problematic if the metal plates of housings are laminated rather than pure Laminated metal is generally difficult and uneconomical to recover and tends to be discarded 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 Recyclability module Case studies Computers case study on optimal disassembly Computers are a special product group they have a relatively short life span due to the fast development of hardware and software and world wide sales have increased dramatically in the past decade Recycling of computers is of increasing interest because of the sheer numbers that will be disposed of in the future the value of their components and the potential for plastic recycling This case study is based on a literature review It first describes the current recycling scenario for computers then lists the environmentally harmful substances that computer components may contain and which are valuable The disassembly sequence of the system unit is discussed next Finally it explores the design improvements that would achieve optimal disassembly Const
119. nents the percentage weight of environmentally harmful substances of components destined for recycling must be considered This also concerns the tube which must be free of cadmium Many televisions have back panels and printed circuit boards which contain bromine and chlorine containing halogenated flame retardants Incineration will yield noxious compounds and potential recycling is not possible For halogenated flame retardants in back panels alternatives are feasible for manufacturers 2 The average production year of new picture tube holding brown goods and thus also for new televisions was 1995 Karstadt AG Umweltgerechte produkgestaltung Leitladen f r die artikelgruppe Rundfunk Fernsehen juli 1998 17 25 Chemielinco Environmental aspects of 36 cm colour TVs projectnumber amp nbsp 94442 1995 Green testing Figure 3 Disassembly process for televisions currently applied in Dutch recycling facilities Disassembly process Collection of components Product registration U Removal of external cable x External cables Removal of back panel gt Back panels Air inlet Removal of internal wiring a Electronic components U Removal of printed circuit boards electronic components Environmentally harmful Y Removal of deflection unit Deflection units U Removal of degaussing coil
120. ng non metals on printed circuit boards gt 15 Percentage weight of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards 5 15 Printed circuit boards without supporting non metals RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection of specialised reprocessing of components is by product examination and material analysis of disassembled components Recyclability module Appendix A Appendix A Pilot research project for televisions Four televisions were chosen for the pilot disassembly test two were new televisions from the latest test the other two were old televisions from a collection and disassembly facility The goal of the pilot disassembly test was to ascertain which criteria were suitable to test on a quantitative basis and to get data for the rating and weighting of the criteria Analysis of disassembly The analysis of disassembly consisted of 1 which components are critical for disassembly 2 definition of the most and least optimal design for disassembly Components critical for disassembly The average disassembly times and the estimated standard deviations n 4 of the disassembled components are given in Table 1 The critical components whose disassembly time varies the most between the televisions investigated are in order of magnitude 1 back panel 2 deflection unit 3 internal wiring 4 main printed circuit board These components are not necessarily the components with
121. ng product groups shavers toasters irons vacuum cleaners deep fat fryers microwaves Do you have information about pilot projects on collecting and reprocessing white and brown goods in your country Please describe the situation in your country 15 1 2 1 3 2 1 10 11 16 Green testing Policy on disposal of white and brown 12 goods Does your organisation have a consistent policy or give consistent advice to consumers on the subject of disposal of old white and 2 2 brown goods in the most environmentally friendly way 13 Does your organisation have a point of view on the development of a future collection infrastructure of white and brown goods Future collection infrastructure could be 14 developed by specialised industries which collect and reprocess the producer collects and reprocesses expansion of the municipal waste collection service Waste generated by white and brown goods 15 Do you have any statistics or information about the amount of waste from white and brown goods in your country Please specify 2 3 Do you have information about the amount of white and brown goods taken back by 16 municipal collection points retail trade or possibly specialised recovery businesses Please specify Do you have information on the percentage of waste of shavers toasters irons vacuum 3 cleaners deep fat fryers and microwave ovens taken back Please
122. nsumer experiences of repairability The answers to the questions can be coded beforehand In order to find the mean age between purchase and the first defect it is important to find out when the first defect appeared as opposed to the second and third If unknown the assumption must be made that the answers refer to the most recent defect The number of times a defect will be experienced and repaired varies from one product group to another One washing machine can have as many as three defects repaired with coffee makers on the other hand only the first defect is likely to be repaired if at all Diagnosis KEY QUESTION Given the symptoms of the defect can the available information to consumers help them make an accurate diagnosis of the defect Consumer information given in the handbook RESEARCH METHOD The information is collected via an inventory of the repair section of the user manual ASSESSMENT User manual Assessment of the information on repairability available to consumers in the user manual consists of the following criteria are the most common symptoms mentioned in the troubleshooting list are the most vulnerable components mentioned in the troubleshooting list is the expected useful life span of vulnerable components mentioned are repair disassembly procedures for replacing the vulnerable components mentioned 3 1 2 2 are there illustrations of repair disassembly
123. ntial material reprocessing percentage 2 What is the percentage weight of components categorised as valuable waste chemical waste 3 Are materials labelled as to their content ASSESSMENT Collection of components The assessment of material choice and labelling is on the following criteria percentage weight of components with valuable materials percentage weight of components categorised as waste percentage weight of components with envi ronmentally harmful substances material labelling percentage of plastic parts gt 25 labelled are labels correct according to ISO 11469 Rating of percentage weight of components with valuable materials 0 0 16 16 33 33 50 gt 50 Rating of percentage weight components categorised as waste gt 32 24 32 16 24 8 16 lt 8 Rating of percentage weight of components with environmentally harmful substances this is the tube the reprocessing costs of the tube equal the costs of special waste gt 80 70 80 60 70 50 60 lt 50 Rating of material labels percentage on plastic parts gt 25g no labels found 20 40 40 60 60 80 80 100 Rating of label on plastic correct according to ISO 11469 material abbreviation not correct abbreviations for materials and harmful substances halogenated flame retardants correct date
124. ntly discarded contain a capacitor and 19 of washing machines have a capacitor containing polychlorobiphenyl Discovering whether a washing machine has an environ mentally harmful capacitor is not possible simply by knowing the make or model so the capacitor has to be removed from all washing machines to check visually whether it is environmentally harmful According to the Apparetour study capacitors made after 1984 are free of polychloro biphenyls This means that it will not be until 2015 that all washing machines suspected of containing polychlorobiphenyls will have been discarded and recycled It also means that no environmentally harmful capacitors will be found when testing new washing machines The non metal materials go for landfill or incineration for energy recovery Components which contain these non metal materials have to be clean for incineration i e the materials have to be free of chlorides and flame retardants in order to avoid harmful emissions of noxious compounds Disassembly of components Washing machines contain contra weights which are often concrete blocks According to the Apparetour study some of the concrete from washing machines can end up in the ferrous part because it has some magnetic properties This will then be contaminated and therefore either unmarketable or less marketable depending on the amount of concrete However the current practice is that washing machines with concrete blocks
125. nvolving switching the old one off by moving jumpers contact bridges Installing new processor It should be possible to replace the processor without replacing the entire motherboard If the processor is soldered on to the mother board as with the 486 SX replacement of the processor is not possible In some cases an expensive overdrive processor can be installed which switches off the old processor The documentation of the computer should contain information as to which processors and overdrives are compatible with the motherboard Sometimes the processor is not directly accessible other components must be removed to reach it A couple of jumpers contact bridges may also need to be moved Increasing hard disk memory A computer with a 1GB hard disk not a luxury Windows 95 requires 100MB just for itself If the hard disk already has a large memory capacity and there is enough space in the computer an additional hard disk can be installed Otherwise it is best to replace an This case study is based on 1977 data nowadays hard disks of 13 20 GB are available Upgradability module Case study old small capacity hard disk less than 100MB Currently it is preferable to replace a hard disk with one of the same brand Replacing a hard disk is easier than adding one When purchasing a hard disk it is important to consider what type of interface the link between the hard disk and the rest of the computer
126. o give repair prices so these have to be obtained via consumer surveys Washing machines case study on consumer experiences On the European market front loading washing machines are most common purchase price is 270 900 Euros In the United States by contrast top loaders are more common purchase price is 300 500 Front loaders are suitable for building in while top loaders are easier to fill Three out of four Dutch consumers buying a washing machine consider its life span an important aspect Compared with other product groups colour televisions vacuum cleaners and VCRs repairability of washing machines has high consumer interest In research by Consumentenbond in the Netherlands 72 of respondents had washing machines that broke down on average after nine years of these 81 repaired the fault Front loading washing machines five years old or less showed a defect in 25 of cases Consumers Union in the United States reported a rate of repairs problems of 23 for washing machines top loaders five years old or less This case study is based mainly on research reports by Consumentenbond and Consumers Union Constituents of washing machines A washing machine is made up of about 150 200 parts The main components of washing machines are housing console fuselage barrel contra weight drive mechanism e washing drum pump electric components timer electric motor prin
127. o replace the whole appliance Even if the upgrade produced an obvious improve ment it may not have been worth the cost 5 This definition is also given in the Repairability and Recyclability modules Behrendt Siegfried Jasch Christine Peneda Maria Constan a Weenen Hans van Life cycle design a manual for small and medium sized enterprises IZT Institute for Future studies and Technology Assessment 1997 7 Kroll Ehud Hanft Thomas Quantitative evaluation of product disassembly for recycling Research in Engineering Design Volume 10 number 1 1998 This appears as the definition of Re assembly in the Repairability module 9 Goffin The journal of product innovation management January 1998 2 1 2 1 1 Upgradability module Case study Case study Computers a case study on DIY upgrading Computers are expensive household appliances the purchase price is 1 000 3 000 or 1 000 2 500 Euros which go out of date quickly Most people keep their computer an average of four years before deciding to replace or upgrade in order to keep up with the latest technological developments Upgrading a computer enables consumers to keep fairly up to date for a reasonable price This case study is based on a review of the literature in particular reports by Consumentenbond and uses many technical terms it is taken for granted that the reader is familiar with computer terminology 2 1 2 Constituents of computers T
128. oblems with disassembly if problems in chassis and plastic parts or if there is a glued connection No problems for disassembly disassembly time is reasonably good arrangement of chassis and plastic parts cause no problem the connections are screw or click type Disassembly with few actions short disassembly time for coffee makers less than four minutes sandwich construction for disassembly the components are removed in one uniform direction 19 20 3 2 3 Green testing Replacement of defective part re assembly KEY QUESTIONS 1 Can consumers re assemble the appliance 3 3 without difficulties 2 Are disassembly and re assembly non destructive 3 Is the re assembly process the reverse of disassembly RESEARCH METHOD The data can be collected through inventory and disassembly simulation test in a laboratory with an expert panel of up to three people Another way to collect data is a consumer panel test using more than 20 people 3 4 ASSESSMENT Re assembly The assessment of re assembly is dominated 3 4 1 by the overall re assembly time as with disassembly A second criterion is the reversibility of re assembly The assessment of re assembly is on the following criteria e overall re assembly time is re assembly process the reverse of disassembly is disassembly a reversible process Are the same tools needed for re assembly as for disassembly is soldering of connecti
129. of manufacture trade name company name component registration number added If more than one label is found this assessment is repeatedly applied on each label RESEARCH METHOD The research method for data collection on choice and labelling of materials is by product examination and analysis of the material in the disassembled components Specific recycling of components KEY QUESTIONS 1 Are the components of the appliance suitable for a low or a high grade recycling route 2 Is the diversity of separable materials minimal 3 Are parts of components with different materials separable Recyclability module Appendix B ASSESSMENT Specialised recycling of components For the assessment of specialised recycling of components the criteria are e suitability for high grade recycling of large plastic components gt 25g tube printed circuit boards in back panel and front panel are a maximum of two types of incompatible plastics used in back panel and front panel are incompatible plastics separable are non glass parts separable from the tube is the amount of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards minimal Rating of diversity of used materials in back panel and front panel gt 2 incompatible materials 2 incompatible materials no diversity Rating of large plastic components gt 25g with 2 separable plastics glued welded compound component or ins
130. of repair the repair time e Customer service can consumers have an alternative appliance while theirs is being repaired does the repair service give a repair guarantee Satisfaction with repair KEY QUESTIONS 1 How satisfied is the customer with the repair service 2 Was the repair successful or not RESEARCH METHOD Collection of data on satisfaction with repair experiences is done along with the questions in the consumer experiences survey 21 Upgradability module Contents Upgradability module Contents Reader s guide 3 1 Definitions and preconditions 5 1 1 Upgradability 5 1 2 The upgrading process 5 2 Case study 9 2 1 Computers 9 3 Guidelines for upgradability 13 Upgradability module Reader s guide Reader s guide The methodology for developing the checklists and guidelines for upgradability consists of three parts 1 definitions and preconditions 2 case studies 3 checklist and guidelines The checklist and guidelines are intended to be used by consumer organisations wishing to start a project on upgradability These guidelines are proposals on how to assess upgradability and summarise the available methodological options for consumer oriented research This upgradability module is based on a literature review and on research reports by consumer organisations Definitions and preconditions This section gives definitions of upgradability and upgrading and disc
131. of the Dutch Government Removal of White and Brown Goods Act 1997 13 Sustainable consumption questionnaire Consumers Association 1999 14 The Journal of Sustainable Product Design October 1998 10 Green testing Table 1 Disposal regulations of white and brown goods in developed countries Countries In force In draft In effect Who pays Australia No none foreseen in the future Austria Electronic Since 1992 for For refrigerators Waste Act refrigerators consumers pay based mainly 7 3 Euros for a on German coupon at time regulations of purchase take back by retailers of other white goods costs consumers 14 5 Euros Belgium Regulations on From July 2004 As from 1 No charge for Flanders waste prevention retailers must July 1999 consumers and management take back all producer or old for new take appliances sale importer must back obligation not necessary pay at the end for removal Denmark Legislation in Taxation on new preparation appliances France Removal infra structure on voluntary basis Germany Closed Substances Draft ordinance Since 1996 Removal is Cycles Act on the recovery usually covered producer respon of waste from by municipal sibility for all electrical and waste fees appliances brought electronic equip ranging from on market after ment from 1992 100 350 Euros date of effect per household per year Netherlands Take back regu Since January Removal levy lation old
132. ommon complaints of functional gaps e Appliance suitable for upgrading e Components most commonly in need of improvement Survey of manufacturers and or survey of consumers experiences and or expert opinion Demand for improvement e Information to the consumer e improved components and upgrading strategy list upgrading procedures disassembly and installation illustrations of upgrading disassembly instructions service addresses language other information e Retailer supplier support Product inventory manual Mystery shopping survey Upgrading decision of respondents who upgraded old appliance DIY upgrade of respondents who upgraded upgrading service importer manufacturer or local retailer of respondents who repaired e Reasons not to upgrade but replace Survey of consumers experiences Purchase of improved e Availability of improved Telephone survey components components or retailer inventory Price of improved components e National regional availability Disassembly Total disassembly time Product examination or Type of connections e Diversity of connection types e Number of connections of one type e Number of necessary tools e Special or non universal tools e Safety of disassembly panel simulation Installing improved component re assembly Total re assembly time e Installation time Laboratory simulation or panel
133. onents Not available Long waiting time and high purchase price Poor availability Good availability Good availability and standardised Disassembly KEY QUESTIONS 1 Is it possible to reach the defective component in order to replace it 2 How much time do consumers need on average to disassemble the appliance in order to reach the defective component 3 What tools do consumers need for disassembly Are standard or special tools needed 4 Is disassembly difficult for consumers 5 Is it safe to disassemble the appliance RESEARCH METHOD The data can be collected through an inventory and a laboratory disassembly simulation test with an expert panel of up to three people Another way to collect data is a consumer panel test using at least 20 people ASSESSMENT Disassembly The assessment with a disassembly simulation test is based on overall disassembly time which automatically covers complexity of construction and difficulty of disassembly Besides overall disassembly time it is necessary to record the number and types of connections required tools and the difficulty of disassembly The assessment of disassembly consists of the following criteria total disassembly time type of connections number of connection types e number of connections of one type e number of necessary tools special or non universal tools safety of disassembly 3 2 3 Upgradability mo
134. ons needed 3 4 2 is the sequence of re assembly the reverse of disassembly possibility of parts left over e replacement of spare parts should be carried out in one possible way only EVALUATION Re assembly Disassembly is destructive or re assembly did not succeed Spare part is replaceable with special tools Reasonable re assembly actions the same as with disassembly Easy re assembly spare part replaceable in only one way Re assembly is the reverse of disassembly short re assembly time for coffee makers less than four minutes DIY repair weighting the criteria for repairability The proposed weighting factors are Assessment Weighting Break criterion factor Information to consumers 20 Availability of 20 if spare parts Disassembly 40 if Re assembly 20 if Repair services Selection of repair service KEY QUESTIONS 1 Can consumers make a balanced decision about which type of repair service to select 2 Do manufacturers give information and guidelines to consumers on what to do and where to go RESEARCH METHOD Information is collected by an inventory of the manual Consumer organisations can advise consumers which repair service to select by assessing them through a mystery shopping survey Service KEY QUESTIONS 1 What experiences have consumers had with the different types of repair service 2 Does the repair service giv
135. or disassembly is influenced by the complexity of the appliance detectability and accessibility of connecting parts number of connections variety of connecting parts number of components tool requirements and automation of disassembly In principle design for disassembly can be measured by disassembly time an appliance with a complex construction takes more time to disassemble than one with a simple construction Disassembly is rated difficult when the accessibility of the connections is troublesome when high precision is required to position the tool or when much force is needed to loosen the connections DEFINITION Disassembly level The level of disassembly applied in the disassembly process A high disassembly degree means full disassembly The disassembly degree depends on the intended goal If the goal is the lowest possible environmental impact of the end of life destination of the appliance this will often be obtained by specific recycling of the 8 Behrendt Siegfried Jasch Christine Peneda Maria Constan a Weenen Hans van Life cycle design a manual for small and medium sized enterprises IZT Institute for amp nbsp Future studies and Technology Assessment 1997 Kroll Ehud Hanft Thomas Quantitative evaluation of product disassembly for recycling Research in Engineering Design Volume 10 number 1 1998 1 2 7 1 2 8 1 2 8 1 Recyclability module Definitions and precondition
136. os The impact of the range of disassembly times for televisions with the best and worst design for optimal disassembly is represented in Table 6 The dramatic decrease in disassembly time affects the hourly rate of disassembly Since differences in the capacity of recycling centres is not covered by DFE the assumption has been made that the decrease in disassembly costs relative to the average affects the hourly rate by 5 Impact of recycling range The impact of the material choice for the deg aussing coil is shown in Table 7 Table 8 shows the impact of incineration versus recycling of the back panel and Table 9 shows the impact of high and low recycling grades of the tube 33 Green testing Table 6 Impact of disassembly time range of the most and least optimal design Design for Total Recycling Special Total profits Cumulative disassembly disassembly percentage waste costs environmental time impact seconds Euros MET Most optimal 228 83 2 9 8 08 7 872 Average 410 83 2 9 9 62 7 872 Least optimal 703 83 2 9 12 23 7 872 Difference 475 0 0 4 15 0 Table 7 Impact of material choice for the degaussing coil Material choice Total Recycling Special Financial Cumulative of degaussing disassembly percentage waste impact environmental coil time impact seconds Euros MET Aluminium 410 83 2 9 9 62 7 872 Copper 410 83 3 9 9 02 7 875 Difference 0 0 1 0 0 6 0 003 Table 8 Impact
137. oth by inability to do repairs themselves and by high costs When labour is expensive only high value items will be repaired However a substantial purchase price alone is not enough to promote repairability Satisfaction with repair When the appliance is repaired it has to function as before If there are still complaints of malfunctioning the repair has to be done again or the consumer may choose to continue to use the appliance with a minor malfunction 7 Behrendt Siegfried Jasch Christine Peneda Maria Constan a Weenen Hans van Life cycle design a manual for small and medium sized enterprises IZT Institute for amp nbsp Future studies and Technology Assessment 1997 8 Kroll Ehud Hanft Thomas Quantitative evaluation of product disassembly for recycling Research in Engineering Design Volume 10 number 1 1998 2 1 2 1 1 Repairability module Case studies Case studies Set out in this section are case studies based on coffee makers do it yourself repair washing machines consumer experiences and computers diagnosability 2 1 2 Coffee makers a case study on DIY repair Coffee makers are small domestic appliances with a purchase price of 20 70 Euros on which consumers often carry out DIY repair In a consumer panel survey by Consumentenbond 57 of the respondents who owned a coffee maker experienced a defect In this case study of coffee makers attention will be paid to the constituen
138. overy of electronic waste and to minimise the risks to and impacts on the environment associated with the treatment and disposal of end of life white and brown goods It further aims to harmonise national measures In the European Union disposal regulations for white and brown goods are at different stages of development from one country to another 1 Behrendt Jasch Peneda Weenen 1997 Introduction amp background Background In Germany integrated environmental legislation for avoiding waste and for re using recycling and disposing of it the Closed Substance Cycles Act became effective in 1996 Besides integration a major feature of this law is extensive waste management German companies must come up with a waste prevention plan and must regularly monitor and report on their waste flow The main principles in German environmental management are the prevention principle and the polluter pays principle The resulting responsibilities are product stewardship and take back obligations The new government recently put back on the agenda the 1992 draft ordinance on the recovery of waste from electrical and electronic equipment but there are major obstacles to its implementation such as whether municipalities or manufacturers should pay for collection and whether retailers should be obliged to take goods back In the Netherlands the Removal of White and Brown Goods Act came into effect on 1 January 1
139. pair once the decision to repair a coffee maker has been made most consumers in the Netherlands will do the repair themselves The coffee makers case study is based mainly on a product research project by Consumentenbond which consisted of an examination of the components most vulnerable to breakdown a product inventory a product examination and an environmental assessment performed with a quick life cycle analysis Since most consumers get their washing machines fixed by a repair service research concentrated on how consumer organisations set up surveys of consumers repair experiences The computers case study focuses on ability to diagnose faults and the manufacturer s technical support via a helpline or the Internet Checklists and guidelines This section includes the general checklist and guidelines The general checklist contains assessment criteria and research methods for each phase in the repair process for both DIY repair and repair services The guidelines are developed from the criteria in the checklist and consist of key questions for consumers assessment criteria and where applicable a suggested rating scheme as well as research methods for each phase of the repair process 1 Consumentenbond report Levensduurverlenging life time extension 1996 2 Consumers Union Consumer Reports May 1998 Fix it Your guide to repairs reliability Repairability module Definitions and preconditions
140. perience survey at least 1 000 to get data on the most frequent faults and tracing and mending times 17 16 As in the disassembly guidelines in the Repairability module 18 3 3 3 4 3 4 1 3 4 2 Green testing DIY upgrading weighting the criteria of upgradability The proposed weighting factors are Assessment Weighting criterion factor Information to consumers 20 Availability of improved components 20 Disassembly 40 Installation and re assembly 20 Upgrading services Requesting support KEY QUESTIONS 1 Can consumers make a balanced decision about which upgrading service to select 2 Do manufacturers give information and guidelines to consumers about what to do and where to go RESEARCH METHOD The information is collected via an inventory of the manual Consumer organisations can advise consumers which upgrading service to select by assessing them in a mystery shopping experiment Service KEY QUESTIONS 1 What experiences do consumers have of the different types of upgrading services 2 Does the upgrading service give a receipt beforehand containing diagnosis maximum price and date of delivery 3 What are the costs of the upgrade 4 What is the upgrade time 5 What is the quality of customer service given by the upgrade service 3 4 3 RESEARCH METHOD Data collected about consumers experiences of upgrading services are collected via a consumer survey
141. ponent aside Any released screws and other connectors are collected in a separate assembling tray after the test all the screws are collected and weighed For each disassembled component the record keeper writes down recorded disassembly time type of connections or connectors e number of connections or connectors needed to be loosened to be able to disassemble the component if several connections can be loosened with one action it counts as one connection special remarks safety during disassembly for example spring constructions under tension weight of the component composition of materials e labelling tools required e name and code of the component each component will be deposited in a separate tray Return to point 1 until the appliance is fully disassembled 19 Green test programme for colour TVs Appendix E Appendix E unu epoo jdwes 1SII Wo4 1SII WO as syw jeloeds uolsioaid p uinb i uononaysqo ped snolA91d g loo goo loo giunoue g d gz unowe g d punowe p adh oul Biy z wnipaw moj 0 Bul I pajquessesip suonosuuog Aiqwassesiq Moyebiqo ayeq Joyesibay Ja quiassesiq uonool Iqui ssesiq Disassembly form apoo ajdwes wo 21 WLOL Ile sM joS jaued 1uoij Sluuq eqn suayeads Buu Buisnebeq yun aayoayeq pued yorg z uud eqn uO L Wd siojp uuoo SaM Buum jeusau jury jaued yoeg jaued yo
142. ppendix A Appendix A Information on the vulnerability of colour television receivers Information on the vulnerability of colour television receivers can be obtained from the most frequent symptoms and complaints the most vulnerable parts and the age of broken televisions In the research below options are given for testing the vulnerability of appliances Most frequent symptoms and complaints most vulnerable parts Depending on the information available the following options are available to get information about the vulnerability of televisions 1 questionnaire to manufacturers questionnaire to consumers for qualitative indication n 100 3 expert opinion testing laboratories repair services 4 literature study 5 questionnaire to consumers n gt 1 000 The first four options give qualitative information The last option results in quantitative information based on consumer experiences An example of a questionnaire to consumers is available in Dutch from Consumentenbond Age of broken televisions Information on the age of broken televisions and consumer experiences can be obtained by a questionnaire to consumers n gt 1 000 In the survey attention can be paid to the repair decision consumers make when they have to deal with a broken colour television The costs of a consumer survey depend on the number of questionnaires Handling costs vary from 2 500 5 000 Euros for a test with 1 000 to 2
143. proved components which are compatible with the configuration of their old appliance Consumers should be able to acquire this information by reading the manual by asking the retailer s advice The improved components should be backwards compatible with the old appliance for a given period DEFINITION Backwards compatibility The possibility of connecting improved components to old appliances containing outdated connection techniques Disassembly In order to replace or install the improved component the construction of the appliance should be designed for disassembly The ideal situation is minimal disassembly with only a few actions In design for disassembly safety during disassembly must be considered And the quality and reliability of the product must not be affected after disassembly installing and re assembly EU Ecolabel for personal computers Draft Criteria version 1 2 1998 1 2 6 Green testing DEFINITION Disassembly process The process of separating into constituent parts by means of various operations so that the obtained components are not damaged DEFINITION Design for disassembly The aspect of the design methodology which takes into account future disassembly at the end of life stage of an appliance Design for disassembly is influenced by the complexity of the appliance detectability of the connecting parts accessibility of connecting parts number of connections
144. re are several regulations decrees mutuality agreements 18 Sustainable consumption questionnaire Consumers Union 1999 11 12 4 1 2 Green testing between governmental and industrial bodies and voluntary measures on waste reduction The most important ones are a decree and mutuality agreement on packaging waste regulations on car recycling a decree on the disposal of white and brown goods a decree on the disposal of batteries several other laws and decrees on harmful substances separate removal of organic waste glass paper metals and small household chemicals In France end of life white and brown goods are collected by the local community or by voluntary organisations and temporary dumps are provided on a regular basis Alternatively consumers can take appliances to local rubbish tips In the United Kingdom waste collection run at local level there are no formal national schemes for collection and recycling of appliances Local authorities have waste disposal sites civil amenity sites where consumers can take large household waste Some retailers will remove an old appliance when delivering a new one Quantity of waste The quantity of waste from electrical and electronic equipment is rapidly increasing as the number of electronic products grows dramatically In 1998 the countries of the European Union were expected to produce 6 5 7 5 million tonnes per year which represents approximately 1 of
145. rect influence on the disassembly time the more types of connection in a component the longer its disassembly time The number of one type of connection also affects the disassembly time for example the greater the number of screws used in connecting a component the longer its disassembly time this is partly accounted for by the time spent finding each screw Financial and environmental impact of disassembly and recycling A sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to be able to prioritise the different assessment aspects Priority setting was established with the help of the computer aided recovery analysis tool Design For Environment DFE This software was developed for designers enabling them to make a financial and environmental end of life evaluation of a prototype Table 2 Critical components most optimally designed for disassembly Critical component Disassembly Improvement Connections Television time over number type sample No average cuts needed seconds seconds to disconnect Back panel 12 53 2 screws TV4 Deflection unit 2 47 1 screw TV2 Internal wiring 68 21 5 13 cuts TV1 Main printed circuit board 30 18 5 3 screws 1 click TV2 Total improvement in disassembly time 140 Recyclability module Appendix A Table 3 Critical components least optimally designed for disassembly Critical component Disassembly Deterioration Connections Television time compared number type sa
146. rective on waste from electrical and electronic equipment November 1998 says that member states should ensure that the use of lead mercury cadmium hexavalent chromium and halogenated flame retardants is phased out by 1 January 2004 The European Directive also proposes that member states shall ensure that producers set up systems to provide for the pre treatment of end of life electrical and electronic equipment that is separately collected and destined for landfill incineration or recovery Components containing the following environmentally harmful substances have to be removed lead except in cathode ray tubes e mercury hexavalent chromium cadmium appears in rechargeable NiCad batteries and LCD screens e polychlorinated biphenyls appear in electrolyte capacitors on printed circuit boards of a height of more than 2 cm and a diameter more than 1 cm or comparable volume halogenated flame retardants can appear in printed circuit boards back panels of televisions and in the housings of computers radioactive substances e asbestos can appear in small domestic appliances such as coffee makers e beryllium Mechanical recycling DEFINITION Mechanical recycling The process of shredding an appliance and separating material types A shredder is a technical device consisting of a set of rotating hammers or knives that demolish the discarded goods and produce a mixed output of different materials From this mi
147. rial material choice and labelling KEY QUESTIONS 1 What percentage of the material has reprocessing potential 2 What is the percentage weight of components categorised as valuable waste chemical waste 3 Are materials labelled as to their content 27 Green testing ASSESSMENT Collection of components The assessment of material choice and labelling is on the following criteria percentage weight of components with valuable materials percentage weight of components categorised as waste percentage weight of components with envi ronmentally harmful substances material labelling percentage of plastic parts gt 25g labelled e are labels correct according to ISO 11469 The rating of percentage weight of components with valuable materials waste and environmentally harmful substances is based on an expert judgement and depends of the type of appliance An example for televisions is given in Appendix 3B Rating of percentage of labels identifying material on plastic parts gt 25g No labels found 20 60 60 80 80 100 100 Rating of correct labels on plastic according to ISO 11469 Material abbreviation not correct Abbreviations for materials and harmful substances halogenated flame retardants correct Date of manufacture trade name company name component registration number added If more than one label is found this assessment is applied to
148. riteria and the research methods used to assess them The rating and weighting of the criteria are proposals by Consumenten bond Specific guidelines developed for televisions are presented in Appendix 3B It is very important to realise that what the guidelines contain are proposals for weighting and rating the relevant criteria for recycling 3 2 1 3 2 1 1 The local situation such as intake logistics and treatment methods for white and brown goods waste may influence the weighting and rating of criteria Key questions assessment criteria and research methods Discarding the appliance KEY QUESTION Does the user manual give information to consumers on how and where to dispose of the old appliance so it can be collected for recycling ASSESSMENT User manual The assessment of recycling information to consumers consumer organisations and recycling plants in the user manual or other sources of information consists of the following criteria e information about how and where consumers can dispose of the appliance recycling guarantee does it mention whether a recycling guarantee is given when a new system is bought information about avoiding heavy metals like cadmium as well as harmful materials like PVC CFCs and halogenated flame retardants information about location of components with environmentally harmful substances full information about the different electrical and electronic components and materia
149. roubleshoot problems For colour television receivers the following criteria are relevant for the assessment of after sales support 1 2 1 menu of choices number of levels between the caller and the technical support representative waiting times Green testing 1 2 2 quality of customer service courteous and knowledgeable 1 2 3 toll free freefone 1 2 4 representative asks for zip code postcode name address and phone number on warranty card model number 1 2 5 procedure to verify the warranty ease of convincing manufacturers that the appliance was bought less than a year ago sales receipt not available because it was a gift 1 2 6 length of time on the phone 1 2 7 number of calls 1 2 8 quality of advice If available after sales service available on Internet can also be taken into account The quality of help lines is evaluated on a 5 point scale for the aspects accessibility by telephone service treatment and quality of Warranty coverage e Product inventory inventory of the manual e Check on the guarantee conditions Telephone survey of manufacturers e Survey of consumer experiences A critical analysis of the possible benefits of an extended warranty is carried out at the same time as the survey of consumer experiences Evaluation of warranty coverage is based on the ratio of the expected economic life span and the guarantee period given In general the policy of consumer organisations
150. route and high grade recycled if the tube glass is to be secondary raw material for tube glass production In this latter tube glass recycling route glass containing lead and barium oxide is separated from the delivered tubes Lead glass goes into glass production of the neck and conus of picture tubes barium glass goes into glass production for screens Harmful fluorescent powders are compulsorily separated from the delivered tubes Metals from electronic components are high grade recycled The current practice is that back panels and front panels are not recycled but incinerated or sent to landfill sites Assessment method for recyclability This describes the steps to be taken to assess the recyclability of household appliances The assessment method is presented in Figure 4 The results of this process are the assessment criteria the rating of the criteria and the 19 20 Green testing weighting of the assessment categories This method was used for televisions A pilot disassembly test was carried out for televisions see Appendix 3A Firstly the current recycling scenario of the product group is determined in order to acquire the assessment criteria The recycling scenario determines the type of checklist to be used the one for mechanical recycling or the one for component recycling The next phase is drawing up a disassembly form followed by product research and determination of the critical variabl
151. s components The appliance then has to be fully disassembled If the goal is the lowest possible reprocessing costs then the appliance will be disassembled to a certain point and the remainder recycled or incinerated Collecting components with the same function Components destined for re use are collected on the same function criterion On the disassembly line of a recycling centre the appliances are disassembled to the point where the valuable components are removed After disassembly valuable components must be undamaged Collecting components of the same material If the destination of the components is specific recycling then components of the same material are collected On a disassembly line of a recycling centre the appliances are disassembled one after another Disassembled components of the same materials are collected in large trays In general the following components are collected from electronic appliances e plastic housings e electrical motors e electronic components e ferrous components e aluminium components e glass components e cables e batteries Material labelling Quick and unambiguous identification of the materials used in a component facilitates collection This is of little concern where a manufacturer takes back its own appliances but recycling centres have to deal with appliances of numerous manufacturers Material labelling of components is mainly an issue with plastics lab
152. s currently on the market may want to upgrade it they are stimulated to do so by advances in technology Most old appliances are not suitable for upgrading if too many components have to be installed upgrading is not advisable Consumers have to establish which functions of the old appliance lack the latest technological developments and what they want to achieve DEFINITION Functional gap The functional gap is the complaint consumers have about the operational function of the outdated appliance relative to available advanced technology A functional gap is the difference between the current operation of the function and the operational function consumers want to acquire given the technological state of the art 1 Krikke Harold Recovery strategies and reverse logistic network design Thesis University of Twente Enschede 1998 2 The flowchart of the upgrading process was developed as part of this project 3 The term functional gap was developed as part of this project Green testing Figure 1 Flowchart of the upgrading process Appliance with old technology i Demand for upgrading U NO Continue use replace o U di x PoCo a s retire aged appliance decision YES DIY upgrading Influencing factors new technology available age and type of appliance possibility of self upgrading e estimated costs compatibility Upgrading service
153. sassembly and installation of improved components Disassembly preparations Before beginning disassembly the following precautions should be taken electrostatic discharge protection to prevent accidental static discharges to the components equalise the static charges 1 Fix it Your guide to repairs reliability Consumer Reports 12 19 May 1998 Mueller Scott Upgrading and Repairing PCs 5th edition Que Corporation 1995 12 Upgraden minder simple als het lijkt Consumentengids January 1998 13 This case study is based on 1997 data nowadays consumers may want to use Windows 98 10 2 1 3 2 2 1 3 3 Green testing Table 1 Functional gaps and improved components to close them Functional gap Upgraded component required Working memory RAM SIMMS and EDO or fast page chips Working speed Processor or overdrive processor Storage capacity Hard disk Picture speed Graphics card High resolution images photos Graphics card Play video CDs clips MPEG card or graphics card between the DIY repairer and the components by touching a grounded portion of the chassis such as the power supply case recording the set up and configuration of the system which can be found in the BIOS software recalled by pressing Del or F8 5 recording the physical configuration of the system unit and recording every action undertaken if it is your first time get help from someone who has often
154. simulation Tracing and mending faults Selection of upgrading service Total time required for tracing and mending faults e Authorised or not e Upgrade conditions Laboratory simulation or panel simulation Retailer inventory 15 Green testing Phase of upgrading Criteria Research method Upgrading service e Determination of consumer Survey of consumers demand for upgrading experiences e intake conversation description of complaint on receipt price estimation beforehand prepared listing of upgrading services performed e Costs of upgrade e Upgrade time e Customer service service guarantee exchange appliance during upgrade Satisfaction with upgrade e Damaged appliance Survey of consumers e Could not remedy faults experiences e Expected upgrade not attained more improved components to replace or install 16 3 2 1 1 3 2 2 Availability and price of improved components RESEARCH METHOD The data can be collected via a telephone survey of retailers who offer improved parts Another way to obtain relevant data is via a questionnaire on consumer experiences of upgradability Questions concern the price and the delivery period if improved components have to be ordered A comparison can be made between the availability of improved components suitable for only one product and interchangeable and standardised components Evaluation of the availability of spare comp
155. specific aspects of repairability of colour television receivers 1 Vulnerability of colour television receivers and consumer experiences of repairing broken televisions 2 Quality of repair services 3 Waste collection recycling facilities and legislation Vulnerability of colour television receivers Picture tube problems are the most common faults in colour television receivers A Consumentenbond study found that 61 of consumers n 1 400 had problems when their colour television receiver was on average seven years old Eighty per cent of owners repaired their broken television 90 of them choosing to have it mended by a repair service The most frequent symptoms were bad picture quality and colour deviations 29 and no picture at all 19 The research options for investigating the most common symptoms and problems the most vulnerable parts and the age of faulty televisions are given in Appendix A Quality of repair services 2 1 Consumer questionnaire 2 2 Mystery shopping exercise 2 2 Mystery shopping The quality of repair services can be investigated in a mystery shopping exercise Well briefed mystery shoppers take an appliance with a typical defect to repair services Acquiring appliances with the same defect and the same age will be difficult so it is better to use new appliances that have been deliberately given a well defined defect For colour television receivers a defect in the power
156. specify 3 1 Treatment of old appliances state of the art 17 Processing of white and brown goods waste in practice What happens to old white and brown goods discarded by consumers in your country Please describe the situation in your country Do you have information about the destination of disposed shavers toasters irons vacuum cleaners deep fat fryers and 18 microwave ovens percentage of products re used re manufactured refurbished recycled disposed of Please specify Can you mention anything about the treatment of discarded shavers toasters irons vacuum cleaners deep fat fryers and microwave ovens Repair and re use of products Does your country have second hand retailers where consumers can buy re manufactured refurbished white and brown goods Do you have any information on consumer purchasing habits of second hand appliances shavers toasters irons vacuum cleaners deep fat fryers and microwave ovens in your country In particular for each product group the numbers of second hand and new appliances bought Are there specialised disassembly plants in your country where white and brown goods are disassembled and repaired Please specify Recycling facilities Are there specialised recycling plants in your country where appliances are collected and disassembled in order to recycle the materials Do you have any information about the materials recycled
157. sted televisions The total disassembly time of such a notional television would be three minutes 48 seconds Similarly the television defined as least optimally designed for disassembly is a notional TV consisting of components from the tested television with the longest disassembly time its total disassembly time would be 11 minutes 43 seconds At present the greatest gain in disassembly time can be yielded by improving the design of its critical components The television defined as optimally designed for disassembly is a notional television whose critical components have the shortest disassembly time The connection types of the critical components with the shortest disassembly time are given in Table 2 A television with the best design for optimal disassembly has two screws to remove the back panel one screw to remove the deflection unit 13 cuts needed to remove the internal wiring and three screws plus one click connection to remove the main printed circuit board The connections of the critical components with the longest disassembly time are given in Table 3 Given the results of this pilot test the influence of the following items are striking The type of connection has a major influence on disassembly time if components are glued instead of being connected by screws as in the deflection unit this has the effect of increasing the disassembly time considerably The diversity of connection types has a di
158. t project 2 The majority 82 of this category of goods are televisions Current recycling scenario for televisions The current recycling scenario for televisions is component recycling with specific recycling of components Component recycling has to be applied because a television consists of components of different materials that require specific reprocessing Mechanical recycling is not advisable for televisions Components containing environmentally harmful substances In old televisions for which the average production year was 1975 the environ mentally harmful components are e rechargeable batteries e electrolytic capacitors with a minimal length of 3 cm which contain polychlorobiphenyl According to the Apparetour study these envir onmentally harmful components are not found in new televisions It is safe to assume that capacitors containing polychlorobiphenyl have been phased out However cadmium was still found at 115 ppm in the electronics The amount of lead found in the electronics 1 5 comes mainly from solder According to the results of the analysis in the Apparetour project it appears that disassembly of components with environmentally harmful substances has virtually no effect on the concentration of cadmium and lead in the electronics Consid ering the concentration of cadmium there must be other sources in new televisions This means that besides investigating the environmentally harmful compo
159. ted circuit boards wiring hoses e external cable Surveys on repairability For repairability surveys there are four points to consider target group of respondents manufacturers or consumers Consumers Union surveyed manufacturers in 1998 Consumer questionnaires concern experiences of DIY repair and or repair services and are the main subject of this case study sample size per product group This concerns surveys about consumer experiences of appliance breakdown or frequency of repair surveys If the survey is only about breakdowns the reliability of a given appliance cannot be inferred For frequency of repair surveys a larger sample size is required e product group s and or brands Product group based surveys concern repair of various product groups without any inferences for individual brands Brand based surveys usually concern a single product group for more product groups larger sample sizes are necessary The sample size of a brand based questionnaire depends on the various models within a brand which have identity for consumers In the case of washing machines successive models change very little and quality does not differ The sample size need not be as large as for surveys on cars 12 Consumentenbond Wasautomaten 1996 13 Montage und Demontage Aspecte erfolgreicher Product Konstruction VDI berichte 999 1992 11 Willemze Martien Wasautomaten repareren zonder
160. testing disassembly safety during disassembly must be considered In addition the quality and reliability of the product must not be affected after disassembly and re assembly DEFINITION Disassembly To take apart in constituent parts by means of various operations so that the components obtained are not damaged 1 2 6 1 DEFINITION Design for disassembly The aspect of the design methodology which takes into account future disassembly at the end of life stage of an appliance Design for disassembly is influenced by the complexity of the appliance the detectability and accessibility of the connecting parts the number of connections the number of kinds of connecting parts the number of components and the tools required In principle design for disassembly can be measured by disassembly time an appliance 1 2 6 2 with a complex construction takes more time to disassemble than one with a simple construction Disassembly is rated difficult when the accessibility of the connections is troublesome when high precision is required in positioning the tool or when much force is needed to loosen the connections Replacing failed components re assembly DEFINITION Re assembly Re assembly is in principle the reverse of disassembly Disassembly should be a reversible process In other words disassembly should not be destructive the same tools should be used for re assembly as for disassembly connec
161. th outdated technology RESEARCH METHOD Information on which functions of old appliances do not work to the standards of available advanced technology can be collected by expert opinion a panel of at least three or by sending a questionnaire to manufacturers or suppliers at least ten The same applies to information about which types of appliances are not suitable for upgrading and for borderline cases Most common functional gaps RESEARCH METHOD Information about the most frequent functional gaps and which components are most commonly improved can be collected by expert opinion a panel of at least three by sending a questionnaire to manufacturers or suppliers at least ten or by sending a questionnaire to consumers at least 1 000 Demand for improvement KEY QUESTION Given the functional gaps can the information available to consumers help them make an accurate assessment of how to close them Information to consumers in the manual RESEARCH METHOD Information is collected via an inventory of information on upgrading in the manual 13 14 3 1 2 2 Green testing ASSESSMENT User manual Assessment of the information on upgradability available to consumers in the user manual consists of the following criteria are the types of appliances that are not suitable and borderline cases mentioned are the most common functional gaps mentioned are the most often improved components and
162. the longest average disassembly time but the components whose disassembly times vary the most For instance the average disassembly time of the tube is relatively long but the disassembly times vary relatively little and the type and number of connections and the tools required are the same for all the televisions examined All examined tubes are connected with four screws for which a socket with ratchet is needed For this reason disassembly of the Table 1 Analysis of disassembly times Disassembly operation Average Estimated standard disassembly time deviation seconds seconds Removal of external cables 3 1 Removal of back panel 65 80 Air inlet 17 2 Removal of internal wiring 89 5 29 Removal of main printed circuit boards 48 5 21 Removal of deflection unit 49 59 Removal of degaussing coils 8 7 Removal of tube 73 17 Removal of speakers 27 2 Removal of small printed circuit boards 26 17 Remaining front panel 0 0 29 30 Green testing tube is not considered critical From the televisions examined it was decided that there is at present no way in which manufacturers can improve the design for disassembly of the tube although they should do more work on this Television optimally designed for disassembly The television defined as most optimally designed for disassembly is a notional TV all of whose components have the shortest disassembly time recorded from the te
163. tion This estimated innovation figure is fairly high However the difference between the energy use of the average and the economical washing machine is also large nowadays so the assumed energy reduction is easily attainable by new technological developments in detergents or with the use of hot fill In the repair strategy repairing the washing machine results in a life span of 15 years The extra energy used in making the repair is taken into account The second washing machine is 37 5 more economical as a result of innovation and will be expected to last for another 5 years In the upgrading strategy it is assumed that the appliance is taken back by the manufacturer after 10 years and returned to the market after modification This washing machine has an adapted washing programme and the newest technology means it will use 25 less energy For the modification extra energy namely 15 of the energy from the user phase is taken into account Where recycling of materials is concerned the starting point is that 100 of the materials used in the manufacture of the washing machine are recycled Extra energy is needed for transport dismantling and processing The washing machine is made of recycled materials mostly steel and aluminium From Figure 1 it appears that the innovation strategy reduces energy use by 23 as expected since the appliance is more economical and leads to 17 less solid 2
164. tion can become less detrimental to the environment Consumers can by their choices contribute to an increased demand for goods that are more environmentally friendly and thereby stimulate the development of more environ mentally friendly production in industry But they need accurate information about links between consumer behaviour and environmental impact Most consumers are aware of environmental problems from reports in the media but they often lack sufficient information to make the right choices Consumers need quantitative facts and figures to make a balanced choice between products they also need to be motivated to change wasteful or ecologically damaging lifestyles Sustainable consumption is achieved by e minimising energy consumption e sustainable use of resources and reduction of waste Sustainable consumption is a process of transition in which industrial processes products and services are adjusted to current and future needs and are detached from the development of long term environmental degradation It also implies changes in consumer attitudes and behaviour Much of the challenge in achieving sustainable consumption lies in better environmental design of appliances DEFINITION Environmental design The design methodology whereby design decisions are directed as much by the environment as by other more traditional values such as financial returns quality functionality ergonomics a
165. tions should not have to be soldered and the sequence of components to be re assembled should be the reverse of the sequence of components to be disassembled It should be possible to carry out the re assembly with no parts left over at the end if any are left the appliance has to be disassembled and re assembled It should only be possible to replace each component in one way Repair services When the repair is conducted by a repair service the following aspects are of interest to consumers accessibility of the service time to carry out the repair costs and customer service Selection of repair service When a consumer wants to contract out the repair s he can choose between the retailer where the appliance was bought a factory or dealer service centre or an independent repair shop in some cases s he is limited to the appliance importer s repair service If the consumer has to take the product to a specialised repairer s he may have to do without it for a long time while it is being repaired Consumers may prefer to have the choice of having appliances repaired at home Service Repairability is strongly determined by labour costs which in turn are determined by complexity and accessibility of construction If repair is too expensive practical repairability does not exist If mechanical or technical training is needed to carry out the repair consumers cannot do it themselves Consumers will be demotivated b
166. towards warranties is based on a balanced ratio between warranty period and expected economic life span Indication of costs of research on repairability advice Estimation of the costs for research on repairability is based on a study involving 20 30 products or repair services Type of research Duration PO time Costs 1 weeks hours Euros After sales service 1 16 500 1000 Mystery shopping exercise 2 6 120 10 000 20 000 Product inventory 1 2 8 lt 500 1 out of pocket costs excluding PO costs and sample costs Green test programme for colour TVs Part 3 Part 3 Recyclability The assessment of the recyclability of colour television receivers consists of three main categories 1 Information to the consumer on recyclability 2 Environmentally harmful substances 9 Disassembly 4 Indication of costs of research on recyclability We propose the following priority setting for assessment categories Weighting percentage Information to consumers 20 Environmentally harmful substances 20 Disassembly process 20 Material recyclability 40 Information to consumers on recyclability Assessment of the information on recycling available to consumers in the users manual and elsewhere consists of the following 1 1 information about how and where consumers can dispose of the appliance 1 2 manufacturer s claimed strategies for recycling collection of colour television receiver
167. ts of coffee makers their most vulnerable components and information to consumers about repairability This case study is based mainly on research reports by Consumentenbond Constituents of coffee makers The main components and materials of coffee makers are shown in Table 1 There is little difference in the construction and variety of coffee makers The heating element is part of the base plate which connects to the housing The housing and water reservoir are often integrated The housing is often screwed to the base plate Most vulnerable components The most regular complaints of malfunction in coffee makers and the vulnerable components which are most likely to cause them are e leaks 34 Caused by leaking cuffs leaking junctions or tubes hoses The repair procedure consists of replacing the rubber connection parts tubes or hoses no hot coffee 18 The heating element has broken down or is seriously coated in lime scale the hotplate and or the bi metal in the electronics is not working The repair procedure consists of replacing the entire heating element whether or not it is integrated with the heating element or the electronics short circuit 6 Poor or non existent insulation damaged or inadequate protection of electrical components Table 1 Main components of coffee machines Main components Weight Main materials kg Housing water reservoir 0 4 ABS Filter 0
168. ucceeded and the appliance is functioning as before Broken or malfunctioning appliance When a household appliance malfunctions or breaks down completely what consumers notice initially are the symptoms DEFINITION Symptom A symptom is the problem or complaint a consumer has with the malfunctioning appliance The most serious symptom is complete breakdown When a household appliance malfunctions ie it works only partially it will show symptoms that are either typical or atypical for that product group The starting point for research on repairability of appliances is to ask the following questions e What symptoms occur most frequently e How old was the appliance when the first defect occurred e Which components are most vulnerable These questions are relevant for consumers wishing to diagnose defects 5 Penev Kiril Dimitrov Design of Disassembly Systems a systematic approach 1997 Krikke Harold Recovery strategies and reverse logistic network design Thesis University of Twente Enschede 1998 5 The flow chart of the repair process was developed as part of this project Green testing Figure 1 Flowchart of the repair process malfunctioning appliance Broken or Y defective component Diagnosis of U warranty coverage Check on Retire the appliance NO DIY repair U Influencing factors age of appliance Repair
169. ule The rating on a five point scale is based on the differences found within the tested TVs Identification of plastics should be done visually with characterisation DIN 54840 DIN 7728 part 1 in combination with a copper wire test 3 2 2 Recyclability of materials 3 2 2 1 Suitability for high grade recycling of large plastic components gt 25g tube printed circuit boards 3 2 2 2 Presence of incompatible plastics in back and front casing 3 2 2 3 Separation of incompatible plastics in back and front casing 3 2 2 4 Separation of non glass parts from the tube 3 2 2 5 Amount of supporting non metals on printed circuit boards Estimate the potential material reprocessing percentage The rating on a five point scale is based on the differences found within the appliances tested An example for televisions based on the CB pilot study on four brands is given in Appendix B of the Recyclability module Indication of costs of research on recyclability Type of research Duration PO time Costs Costs per weeks hours Euros analysis Copper wire test Determination of plastics 1 2 2 4 40 100 10 25 INAA 4 4 320 80 Disassembly test 4 24 5 000 10 000 Product inventory 1 4 8 lt 500 1 based on a total number of 10 20 models in the test 2 estimated 4 samples per model excluding sample costs 3 total costs with one sample of each model in the test Green test programme for colour TVs A
170. und Appendix Appendix Participating organisations AUSTRALIA Australian Consumers Association ACA 57 Carrington Road Marrickville NSW 2204 Australia Tel 61 29 577 3218 Fax 61 29 577 3377 E mail ausconsumer choice com au Web site http www sofcom au Norman Crothers AUSTRIA Verein fiir Konsumenteninformation VKI Linke Wienzeile 18 A 1060 Vienna Austria Tel 43 1 588 770 Fax 43 1 588 7773 E mail konsument vki or at Web site http www vki or at vki Georg Daverda BELGIUM Association des Consommateurs Verbruikersunie VU 13 Rue de Hollande 1060 Brussels Belgium Tel 32 2 542 3241 Fax 32 2 542 3250 Isabelle Convi Bureau Europ en des Unions de Consommateurs BEUC Avenue de Tervueren 36 Bte 4 1040 Brussels Belgium Tel 32 2 743 1590 Fax 32 2 735 7455 E mail consumers beuc org Web site http www beuc org Barbara Moretti DENMARK Forbrugerradet FB P O Box 2188 DK 1017 Copenhagen K Denmark Tel 45 33 136 311 Fax 45 33 134 115 E mail fbr fbr dk Web site http www fbr dk Poul Wendel Jessen GERMANY Stiftung Warentest Liitzowplatz 11 13 10785 Berlin Germany Tel 49 30 26 31 2329 Fax 49 30 26 31 2424 E mail test stiftung warentest de Web site http www stiftung warentest de Frank Alleweldt and Hans Peter Brix Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Verbraucherverbande AgV Heilsbachstrasse 20 53123 Bonn Germany Tel 49 228
171. uring its life span and is related to the greenhouse effect acidification smog and eutrophication Toxic emissions are harmful emissions to water soil and air and are related to ozone depletion human toxicity and ecotoxicity Sensitivity analysis The sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to be able to prioritise the different assessment categories which are represented in the general flowchart of the recycling process Figure 2 The assessment categories are information to consumers components containing environmentally harmful substances disassembly and material recycling For the sake of convenience the assessment categories material choice and labelling and specific recycling are summarised under the term material recycling Priorities for these assessment aspects were established with the help of DFE The influence of these assessment categories on disassembly time recycling percentage financial impact and environmental impact forms the sensitivity matrix which is represented in Table 4 Information to consumers The category information to consumers has no influence on any of the factors Table 4 Sensitivity matrix Assessment category Disassembly Recycling Financial Environmental time percentage impact impact seconds kg Euro MET Information to consumers x x x x Harmful substances Disassembly process Material recycling Recyclability
172. us product strategies on the environment was investigated in the Netherlands by CEA Office on Communication and Advice on Energy and Environment for the Dutch Ministry of the Environment In the CEA study three different product strategies were considered the product innovation strategy the product life span extension strategy and the recycling strategy In the CEA study household appliances were divided into three relevant product groups material products energy amp material products and energy products DEFINITION Material products These need no energy or hardly any to operate Their environmental impact is determined entirely by their material content furniture for example DEFINITION Energy amp material products These use energy to operate while the environmental impact of the materials is also relevant washing machines and refrigerators for example 5 Scholten A H Kanis H Is levensduurbeleid levensvatbaar Swoka 1987 Cramer Jacqueline Workshop 11April 1996 on increasing sustainability of consumer electronic products Utrecht Netherlands 1996 7 Loep Levensduuroptimalisatie en de energie economie en ecologie aspecten van producten Rapportnummer 9560 Eindrapport CEA December 1995 2 2 1 2 2 2 Introduction amp background Background DEFINITION Energy products The environmental aspects of these products are mostly determined by their energy use during functioning light
173. usses the stages that household appliances undergo in the upgrading process The upgrading process is set out in a flowchart The scenarios of DIY upgrading and upgrading services are discussed Some definitions are the same as those in the Repairability module Case studies For upgradability one case study product group is investigated namely computers Upgrading applies mainly to high technology appliances such as computers and to a lesser degree to electrical household appliances such as washing machines The computers case study was chosen as a model for the DIY upgrading scenario and is based mainly upon a research report by Consumentenbond Checklists and guidelines This section gives general checklists and guidelines For the scenario of DIY upgrading a general checklist was developed This contains for each stage in the upgrading process the corresponding assessment criteria and research methods required The guidelines consist of the key questions assessment criteria and research methods for each phase of the upgrading process Upgradability module Definitions and preconditions Definitions and preconditions Upgradability Consumers can extend the life span of an appliance by upgrading components in it Upgrading applies especially to high technology appliances with a rapid rate of innovation such as computers DEFINITION Upgrading Extending the functions of a product by means of substituting improved
174. variety of connecting parts number of components and tool requirements In principle design for disassembly can be measured by the disassembly time an appliance with a complex construction takes more time to disassemble than one with a simple construction Disassembly is rated difficult when the accessibility of the connections is troublesome when high precision is required in positioning the tool or when much force is needed to loosen the connections Installation of improved components re assembly After disassembly improved components are substituted or added in order to upgrade the appliance Consumers need information on how to install the right components which are compatible with the configuration of the appliance Re assembly should be the reverse of disassembly Disassembly should be a reversible process In other words disassembly should not be destructive the same tools should be used for re assembly as for disassembly connections should not have to be soldered and the sequence of components to be re assembled should be the reverse of the sequence of components to be disassembled It should be possible to carry out the re assembly with no parts left over at the end if any are left the appliance has to be disassembled and 1 2 7 1 2 9 1 2 10 re assembled It should only be possible to replace each component in one way Tracing and mending faults After replacing or installing the improved
175. voorrijkosten Elektuur 1988 12 2 2 3 Green testing period of research Consumers Union s latest 1997 annual survey covered experiences from 1992 to 1997 based on 15 160 machines In the Consumentenbond survey on usage and sensitivity to defects of 1 250 washing machines respondents were asked only to respond when the washing machine was up to 20 years old Most vulnerable components Consumers Union asked manufacturers how long top loading washing machines last 11 20 years the age at which washing machines are usually replaced 9 20 years and the components most likely to fail the pump and the timer In the survey on usage and sensitivity to defects of 1 250 front loading washing machines held in 1995 by the Dutch Consumentenbond the possible symptoms 2 2 5 and defects were coded beforehand The most commonly occurring symptoms were leakage 15 entire appliance failing to function 14 and machine failing to perform programme properly 13 To infer sensitivity to defects by brand the frequency of repair and or brand related characteristic defects need to be researched that involves not only the number of faulty appliances but also the number of appliances in use for each period of the faulty appliance s life span and the year of its purchase For washing machines defects can be divided into electrical and mechanical defects The most vulnerable components in the electr
176. white and brown goods The starting point for these is that manufacturers and importers must take more responsibility for their appliances at the disposal phase The Environment Act 1995 is concerned with legal and institutional arrangements for waste management It also requires the development of a national waste strategy The strategy paper Making Waste Work published in 1996 provides an overall plan for waste and paves the way for a statutory National Waste Strategy as required under the Act Although this is advisory and non statutory local authorities must take it into account when drawing up their plans Disposal regulations in the US and other developed countries In the United States each state has some kind of appliance recycling programme Since 1997 21 states have banned white goods from landfill sites Only Massachusetts has taken steps to eliminate electronic goods from landfill sites and from July 1999 is banning the disposal of computers monitors televisions and other electronic goods In Japan the Appliance Recycling Law was ratified in 1998 with take back to be implemented on televisions refrigerators washing machines and air conditioning systems in 2001 and computers in five to ten years The disposal regulations of white and brown goods in many developed countries are summarised in Table 1 Sustainable consumption questionnaire AGV 1999 12 Staatscourant The official Journal
177. with a 0 low 1 medium or 2 high This rating proved to be relative so it was omitted from the final set of criteria difficulty of disassembly is in any case covered by the recorded disassembly time The part of the disassembly form to be filled in after disassembly of the appliance is for recording the inventory of all components The weight of each component is recorded Then the percentage weights of the materials of which the component consists are estimated 2 4 1 3 Any labels and their content are recorded Finally the disassembly form has a column in which to record whether the component is categorised as valuable waste or chemical waste Product research testing and recording Two people are needed to carry out the disassembly test one to record and one who is an experienced disassembler Alternatively one person can do the test combining disassembly and recording However we prefer an experienced disassembler to do the disassembly part The pilot disassembly test consists in principle of measuring the time to fulfil a disassembly step of each component until all components are disassembled and an inventory of the components For the pilot disassembly test four televisions were chosen two were new televisions from the latest test the other two were old sets from a collection and disassembly centre The requirements for the disassembly test are discussed in Appendix 3C 21 22
178. xed output different materials are divided up by a range of separation techniques The materials obtained may be ferrous materials 7 European proposal for a directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment November 1998 Green testing non ferrous materials such as copper and aluminium or glass or plastics Separation techniques used include fixed magnetic field separation for the ferrous metals eddy current separation by changes in a magnetic field for the non ferrous metals a wind sifter which separates solid particles of different density by means of an air flow and possible separation of the plastics The purity of the materials depends on the constituents of the product and the separation technique Component recycling DEFINITION Component recycling Component recycling is the process of disassembly of the appliance and catego risation of components with the purpose of re use or specific recycling Component recycling always implies disassembly Appliances to which component recycling applies should be designed for disassembly in order to minimise disassembly costs If the appliance contains valuable components which can be re used the appliance is disassembled to the point where the valuable components are removed for example the printed circuit boards of computers and the remainder goes for recycling or incineration The disassembled components are categorised according to their destination Cate
179. y suppliers and retailers The quality of product support is evaluated on a 5 point scale for accessibility by telephone service treatment and quality of the advice Upgrading decision KEY QUESTIONS 1 Can consumers make a balanced decision about whether to upgrade the appliance or not and subsequently to do DIY upgrading or to request upgrading service 2 What advice do manufacturers give consumers to help them decide whether or not to upgrade so they can make a balanced upgrading decision RESEARCH METHOD The data are collected via a survey on consumer experiences of upgradability The questions concern the reasons not to upgrade the percentage of respondents who upgraded an old appliance and the percentage of DIY upgrading versus using an upgrading service DIY upgrading Purchase of improved components KEY QUESTIONS 1 Are improved components available to consumers 2 Are the prices of improved components reasonable relative to the purchase price 3 Is the availability influenced by inter changeability and standardisation 4 When improved components have to be ord ered is there the awaiting parts syndrome 5 Are improved components backwards compatible Upgradability module Guidelines for upgradability Table 1 Checklist on upgradability phases of repair criteria and research method Phase of upgrading Criteria Research method Appliance with outdated technology e Most c

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