Reducing waste : repair, recondition, remanufacture or recycle?

King, Andrew M. and Burgess, Stuart C. and Ijomah, Winnie and McMahon, Chris A. (2006) Reducing waste : repair, recondition, remanufacture or recycle? Sustainable Development, 14 (4). pp. 257-267. ISSN 0968-0802 (https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.271)

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Abstract

Between 1980 and 1997, municipal waste in OECD countries increased by around 40%. This paper outlines the very real negative effects of this increase and then introduces the two main European Union policies that have been established to address this problem: a landfill directive and legislation on extended producer responsibility (EPR). The paper then describes and compares the four alternative strategies to reducing end-of-life waste within the context of extended producer responsibility: namely repairing, reconditioning, remanufacturing or recycling. It also introduces a more robust definition of remanufacturing, validated by earlier research, which differentiates it from repair and reconditioning. From a consideration of the different factors involved, it concludes that remanufacturing may well be the best strategy. This is because it enables the embodied energy of virgin production to be maintained, preserves the intrinsic added value of the product for the manufacturer and enables the resultant products to be sold as new with updated features if necessary.

  • Item type:Article
    ID code:5495
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    31 October 2006
    Published
    29 December 2005
    Published Online
    Notes:This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: King, A. M., Burgess, S. C., Ijomah, W. and McMahon, C. A. (2006), Reducing waste: repair, recondition, remanufacture or recycle?. Sust. Dev., 14: 257–267, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sd.271. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
    Subjects:Technology > Manufactures
    Department:Faculty of Engineering > Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management
    Depositing user: Miss Jan Manson
    Date deposited:19 Feb 2008
    Last modified:26 Apr 2024 00:15
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/5495
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