A decomposition of the end of life process

New legislation on electronics waste in Europe will set formal requirements for product end of life (EOL) processes. These include producer responsibility for obsolete product take-back, pre-treatment and recycling. A structure is needed for the complex interactions between technical, environmental, socio-economic and legislative factors in product take-back and EOL treatment. EOL process can be divided into three distinct stages with different characteristics and stakeholders. The first stage is the organization of an effective take-back process. The second is the structural pre-treatment and fragmentation of the product. The third stage is the recycling and disposal processes of the product material content. In this paper we propose a simplified economic model for an EOL process for mobile terminals. We use the model to create a step-by-step EOL process. Furthermore, we present through examples, technical as well as engineering process solutions in promoting economic implementation of the EOL processes. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.