Status of End-of-life Electronic Product Remanufacturing in China

Remanufacturing is an industrial process of returning used or worn-out products to an as-new functional state with an equal warranty to newly manufactured equivalents. In recent years, remanufacturing has become an emerging research area, a direction toward which China's economic development is tending as well. As the world's fastest-growing solid waste stream, the handling of end-of-life (EOL) electronic products has drawn global concern, and China is no exception. Although it is currently at a preliminary development stage, the remanufacturing of EOL electronic products is rapidly developing, supported by relevant policies. There is a critical need for properly structured management systems, especially when it comes to regulations and standards applicable to EOL electronic products-both at the stage of remanufacturing processes and end products. The status of EOL electronic product remanufacturing in China is reviewed from three perspectives: (1) policies, regulations, and standards; (2) research; and (3) industry. The scope for remanufactured electronic products hereby analyzed mainly covers the following products: cartridge; copier; and information technology (IT) servers. For these, there is an urgent development need of methods and/or tools enabling a standardized remanufacturability assessment. Consumers' willingness to buy remanufactured products could also be promoted through the improvement and dissemination of knowledge and know-hows related to remanufacturing. The rapid advances in technology and products, and the falling prices of electronic products, could result in an adverse impact on remanufacturing.