Ecodesign for end of product life
How to design products so that you or your customers can reuse or dispose of them in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way.
Ecodesign can help ensure that you can reuse your products at the end of their life cycle, or dispose of them in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way.
Making the most of end-of-life (EoL) products
Options for making the most out of end-of-life products include:
- Repair - this is useful for products that are difficult to replace or have a high sentimental value.
- Re-marketing - this can work for a product when it has reached its end of life because it has become dated. For example, you may be able to remarket used but still functional mobile phones to a less technologically advanced global region.
- Reconditioning/refurbishing - this includes replacing or repairing only critical components of the product, and not superficial damage to the appearance. This may be cheaper to carry out than remanufacturing, but the product's resale value will also be lower.
- Remanufacturing - this involves disassembling the product and using its core components to build an 'as new' product. See more on producing goods for remanufacturing and reuse.
- Repurposing a product for a different use - for example, using an obsolete MP3 player as a flash drive for data storage.
You can design your products to make these options more possible by using core components which do not wear or become obsolete quickly, and making the products easy to disassemble.
Disposing of end-of-life products
Options for disposing of end-of-life products that can't be reused, or prepared for reuse, include:
- Recycling - you should design your products using recyclable materials wherever possible. You can also use this as a marketing point, as recycling has a positive consumer image.
- Composting - may be a good option for organic goods or goods with organic components.
- Incineration - you may also be able to recover heat or power from the combustion process.
- Landfill - this should be a last resort for goods that you can't reuse, reclaim or dispose of any other way.
You should carefully consider any negative impacts of the product's design - for example, a non-recyclable coating on an otherwise recyclable component, or chemicals which could create toxic emissions if incinerated. Through ecodesign, you may be able to find more suitable materials or production processes.