An analysis on how Deposit Refund and End-of-Life Management Systems could be initiated to close the loop around finite resources for the future

摘要

This study investigates how new system initiatives around deposit-refund systems (DRS) and end-of-life management (EoLM) could merge and possibly lead to a circular and sustainable transition path ofmetal resources embedded in information and communications technology (ICT) products. Seen through the object of mobile phones, the cardinal objective has been to find ways of approaching full recycling and recovery of the finite metals and to see how these could be cycled back into the supplychain. In this way, bypassing environmental and social externalities in the pre-manufacturing phase from the use of virgin resources. Inspired by the transformative approach in backcasting methodology, this study builds a vision for asustainable future of ICT products, by analyzing approaches to circular economy (Boulding) (Stahel) and how it conforms to the sustainability approach in environmental and ecological economicsrespectively. This vision is used to make a sustainable gap analysis of the present postcommercialisation ICT product life cycle, and to define a set of goals along information transfer, resource and value transfer and needs of technological innovation, for increased recycling and recovery of metals. This leads up to a scenario analysis for a DRS on mobile phones and the search for new opportunities in EoLM. Empirical studies for the analysis are based on a larger consumer surveyaround mobile phones and formal semi-structured interviews of individuals in relation to the present collection, pre-processing and end-processing stages of e-waste. The main conclusion is that a DRS system is deemed able to create a solid foundation for effective endcollectionthroughout the post-commercialization product life cycle and is able to transfer valuable resources and information to the EoL phase. EoLM can ensure better recovery if original equipment manufactures (OEMs) engage by using the opportunities of reversed logistics and sub-contracting the scrap-resource to end-processors. Here, there is a need to certify the processing of e-waste and to provide eco-rating systems of products, to ensure sustainability in the system and provide measurable and transparent lifecycle product profiles in the future. If such system initiatives are broadly adopted, the analysis shows that needed technological eco-innovation of products could emerge as a result of efficient collection, symbiotic network possibilities in EoL and possible push-effects from politicalconsumers. Therefore, this study contributes to the planning field of sustainable production and consumption systems by qualifying a combined scenario on how to design and approach the opportunities in DRS and EoLM.