Researchers in Italy have developed a logistics model that could bring about more efficient recycling of mobile phones by means of product take-back regulations, such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations.
WEEE places the responsibility for disposal of goods on manufacturers instead of consumers, with the ultimate aim of achieving recycling and reuse of materials rather than disposal in landfill sites. However, the system is not working at its best because there is a tendency to concentrate on individual WEEE categories and the people and organisations involved.
The researchers from the Politecnico di Milano and Avery Dennison Italia say that the process could aim to tackle environmental pollution while at the same time ensuring recycling obsolete products and component retrieval for reuse is economically viable. However, the flow of defunct equipment requires the development of “reverse logistics” where the flow of goods from producers to consumers is turned about.
Reverse logistics covers a range of activities within and beyond logistics including return of products, refurbishment, recycling, substituting, reduction and reuse of materials, waste disposal, repair and remanufacturing.
In the EU producers are obliged to practice reverse logistics and they must take responsibility for the end-of-life phase of their products, add identification codes to their new products and provide recycling information. Producers are also required to have systems for separately collecting life-expired products. There is an option for producers of new products to be primarily responsible for take-back, but they are also able to establish partnerships with other producers to meet environmental obligations.