New system to revolutionise WEEE compliance?

Archiv – A group of EU manufacturers, recyclers and research centres has created a system to measure the environmental impact of electrical and electronic products during their entire life-cycle. It is argued that the tool could revolutionise compliance with the EU Directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and help the sector deal with a host of other current and future environmental laws.
A group of EU manufacturers, recyclers and research centres has created a system to measure the environmental impact of electrical and electronic products during their entire life-cycle. It is argued that the tool could revolutionise compliance with the EU Directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and help the sector deal with a host of other current and future environmental laws.
The key innovative element of the environmental life-cycle information management (Elima) system is the use of sensors mounted within products to monitor their activity during use. The data are stored in minute radio transmitters that can be read during servicing or at the end of the product’s life. The data could entail a simple bill of materials used to make the product, or more active information such as the condition of valuable components inside it and detailed disassembly instructions.
Supporters argue that, with this system, the WEEE directive will become a benefit instead of a cost to product manufacturers since it would also massively increase feedback from recyclers to manufacturers, boosting ecologically-friendly designs in line with the directive’€™s original principle of producer responsibility. Elima could help firms prepare for future legislation under the forthcoming energy-using products directive, as well as for other initiatives being devised under the EU’€™s integrated product policy. It could even help to track hazardous materials through the waste stream, to extend product life by diagnosing simple faults, and to encourage a shift to energy services by letting firms study product use patterns and propose alternative equipment to consumers.
Project leaders want the system to be perfected through standardisation and to be adopted voluntarily by firms. The sensor arrays currently cost up to ‘‚¬ 85 per item of equipment, but researchers say this could soon plummet to below ‘‚¬ 1. To encourage uptake, they are underlining additional benefits, such as the ability to determine whether product damage is caused by consumer negligence or faulty manufacturing.