Improving recyclability by design: a case study of fibre optic cable

Elizabeth Wright, Adisa Azapagic, Gary Stevens, Warren Mellor and Roland Clift

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2005, vol. 44, issue 1, 37-50

Abstract: Producer responsibility and take-back legislation in Europe place responsibility on the manufactures for the recovery and recycling of end-of-life products. This will inevitably require the manufacturers to rethink the way products are designed and manufactured in order to improve their recyclability. This paper illustrates on the case of a fibre optic cable how this can be achieved in a practical and relatively easy way, leading to both environmental and economic benefits. The case study compares the current design the 96 fibre optic cable with several proposed design modifications with the aim of identifying the design option that would enable an easy end-of-life disassembly and recycling of component materials. The designs are evaluated on a life cycle basis for both economic and environmental impacts using the CHAin management of Materials and Products (CHAMP) methodology. CHAMP combines elements of process and design engineering with life cycle approaches to enable the user to explore technical, economic and environmental consequences of different material, process and technological options, including material recovery and recycling. CHAMP is therefore particularly well suited for addressing the requirements of the take-back and producer responsibility legislation.

Keywords: Environmental impacts; Life cycle assessment; Life cycle costing; Design for recyclability; Material recycling; Fibre optic cable (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:44:y:2005:i:1:p:37-50

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2004.09.005

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