IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v48y2006i3p249-262.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contribution to resource conservation by reuse of electrical and electronic household appliances

Author

Listed:
  • Truttmann, Nina
  • Rechberger, Helmut

Abstract

Extending the product life of electric and electronic equipment by reuse is considered as an effective means to contribute to the goal of resource conservation (materials and energy) since less appliances have to be produced to cover consumer demand. On the other hand, new products tend to consume less energy during use. Reuse of older products delays the launch of such efficient products onto the market. Hence, there is a trade-off between resource conservation in the production phase and energy consumption during the use phase making reuse not a priori a goal-oriented option. The paper focuses on eight relevant electric and electronic products such as refrigerators, washing machines, PCs, monitors and the like. The contribution to resource conservation is determined by materials and energy balances. Two extreme scenarios are compared: one scenario with no reuse of products (normal product life) and another scenario assuming that all selected products are reused resulting in product life extensions between 50 and 100%. The result is that even intensive product reuse of electric and electronic equipment reduces total resource consumption (materials and energy) of a highly developed industrial economy by less than 1%. It is shown, that efficient recycling is crucial for saving primary materials.

Suggested Citation

  • Truttmann, Nina & Rechberger, Helmut, 2006. "Contribution to resource conservation by reuse of electrical and electronic household appliances," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 249-262.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:48:y:2006:i:3:p:249-262
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2006.02.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344906000176
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2006.02.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tim Cooper, 2005. "Slower Consumption Reflections on Product Life Spans and the “Throwaway Society”," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 9(1‐2), pages 51-67, January.
    2. Graedel, T. E. & Bertram, M. & Fuse, K. & Gordon, R. B. & Lifset, R. & Rechberger, H. & Spatari, S., 2002. "The contemporary European copper cycle: The characterization of technological copper cycles," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 9-26, August.
    3. Rechberger, H. & Graedel, T. E., 2002. "The contemporary European copper cycle: statistical entropy analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 59-72, August.
    4. Graedel, T. E., 2002. "The contemporary European copper cycle: introduction," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 5-7, August.
    5. Bertram, M. & Graedel, T. E. & Rechberger, H. & Spatari, S., 2002. "The contemporary European copper cycle: waste management subsystem," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 43-57, August.
    6. Spatari, S. & Bertram, M. & Fuse, K. & Graedel, T. E. & Rechberger, H., 2002. "The contemporary European copper cycle: 1 year stocks and flows," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 27-42, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Allwood, Julian M. & Ashby, Michael F. & Gutowski, Timothy G. & Worrell, Ernst, 2011. "Material efficiency: A white paper," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 362-381.
    2. Kissling, Ramon & Fitzpatrick, Colin & Boeni, Heinz & Luepschen, Claudia & Andrew, Stefan & Dickenson, John, 2012. "Definition of generic re-use operating models for electrical and electronic equipment," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 85-99.
    3. Kissling, Ramon & Coughlan, Damian & Fitzpatrick, Colin & Boeni, Heinz & Luepschen, Claudia & Andrew, Stefan & Dickenson, John, 2013. "Success factors and barriers in re-use of electrical and electronic equipment," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 21-31.
    4. Van Eygen, Emile & De Meester, Steven & Tran, Ha Phuong & Dewulf, Jo, 2016. "Resource savings by urban mining: The case of desktop and laptop computers in Belgium," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 53-64.
    5. Siliang Yi & Chuyuan Zou, 2023. "Assessing Transformation Practices in China under Energy and Environmental Policy Goals: A Green Design Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-12, February.
    6. Buchner, Hanno & Laner, David & Rechberger, Helmut & Fellner, Johann, 2014. "In-depth analysis of aluminum flows in Austria as a basis to increase resource efficiency," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 112-123.
    7. Barba-Gutiérrez, Y. & Adenso-Díaz, B. & Hopp, M., 2008. "An analysis of some environmental consequences of European electrical and electronic waste regulation," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 481-495.
    8. Torsten Hummen & Stefanie Hellweg & Ramin Roshandel, 2023. "Optimizing Lifespan of Circular Products: A Generic Dynamic Programming Approach for Energy-Using Products," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-27, September.
    9. Laner, David & Rechberger, Helmut, 2007. "Treatment of cooling appliances: Interrelations between environmental protection, resource conservation, and recovery rates," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 136-155.
    10. Gianmarco Bressanelli & Nicola Saccani & Marco Perona & Irene Baccanelli, 2020. "Towards Circular Economy in the Household Appliance Industry: An Overview of Cases," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-23, November.
    11. Iakovou, E. & Moussiopoulos, N. & Xanthopoulos, A. & Achillas, Ch. & Michailidis, N. & Chatzipanagioti, M. & Koroneos, C. & Bouzakis, K.-D. & Kikis, V., 2009. "A methodological framework for end-of-life management of electronic products," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 329-339.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Torsten Hummen & Stefanie Hellweg & Ramin Roshandel, 2023. "Optimizing Lifespan of Circular Products: A Generic Dynamic Programming Approach for Energy-Using Products," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-27, September.
    2. Guo, Tianjiao & Geng, Yong & Song, Xiaoqian & Rui, Xue & Ge, Zewen, 2023. "Tracing magnesium flows in China: A dynamic material flow analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Kapur, Amit, 2006. "The future of the red metal—A developing country perspective from India," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 160-182.
    4. Chen, Wu & Wang, Minxi & Li, Xin, 2016. "Analysis of copper flows in the United States: 1975–2012," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 67-76.
    5. Fu, Xinkai & Ueland, Stian M. & Olivetti, Elsa, 2017. "Econometric modeling of recycled copper supply," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 219-226.
    6. Esther Thiébaud & Lorenz M. Hilty & Mathias Schluep & Heinz W. Böni & Martin Faulstich, 2018. "Where Do Our Resources Go? Indium, Neodymium, and Gold Flows Connected to the Use of Electronic Equipment in Switzerland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, July.
    7. Klinglmair, Manfred & Fellner, Johann, 2011. "Historical iron and steel recovery in times of raw material shortage: The case of Austria during World War I," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 179-187.
    8. Geyer, R. & Davis, J. & Ley, J. & He, J. & Clift, R. & Kwan, A. & Sansom, M. & Jackson, T., 2007. "Time-dependent material flow analysis of iron and steel in the UK," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 101-117.
    9. Shaoli Liu & Xin Li & Minxi Wang, 2016. "Analysis of Aluminum Resource Supply Structure and Guarantee Degree in China Based on Sustainable Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-17, December.
    10. Luca Ciacci & Ivano Vassura & Fabrizio Passarini, 2017. "Urban Mines of Copper: Size and Potential for Recycling in the EU," Resources, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-14, January.
    11. Sourabh, Shalinee & Pavithran, Sagar & Menon, Balagopal G. & Mahanty, Biswajit, 2023. "Econometric modeling for the influence of economic variables on secondary copper production in India," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    12. Simões, Pedro & Marques, Rui Cunha, 2011. "How does the operational environment affect utility performance? A parametric study on the waste sector," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 695-702.
    13. Taulo, J.L. & Sebitosi, A.B., 2016. "Material and energy flow analysis of the Malawian tea industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1337-1350.
    14. Tanimoto, Armando H. & Gabarrell Durany, Xavier & Villalba, Gara & Pires, Armando Caldeira, 2010. "Material flow accounting of the copper cycle in Brazil," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 20-28.
    15. Lanzano, T. & Bertram, M. & De Palo, M. & Wagner, C. & Zyla, K. & Graedel, T.E., 2006. "The contemporary European silver cycle," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 27-43.
    16. Harper, E.M. & Bertram, M. & Graedel, T.E., 2006. "The contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean zinc cycle: One year stocks and flows," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 82-100.
    17. Chen, Weiqiang & Shi, Lei & Qian, Yi, 2010. "Substance flow analysis of aluminium in mainland China for 2001, 2004 and 2007: Exploring its initial sources, eventual sinks and the pathways linking them," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(9), pages 557-570.
    18. Wang, Minxi & Chen, Wu & Li, Xin, 2015. "Substance flow analysis of copper in production stage in the U.S. from 1974 to 2012," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 105(PA), pages 36-48.
    19. Nadine Rötzer & Mario Schmidt, 2020. "Historical, Current, and Future Energy Demand from Global Copper Production and Its Impact on Climate Change," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-31, April.
    20. Daigo, Ichiro & Hashimoto, Susumu & Matsuno, Yasunari & Adachi, Yoshihiro, 2009. "Material stocks and flows accounting for copper and copper-based alloys in Japan," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 208-217.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:48:y:2006:i:3:p:249-262. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.