Second chance for defective components

A new regulation for consumers regarding the return of electronic waste came into force in July 2016. Both stationary retail chains and online marketplaces are affected. They must take back small electronic devices up to an edge length of 25 centimetres, even without buying a new product. For larger devices, the regulation still applies that the old device must be taken back when a new one is purchased.

According to Federal Environment Minister Hendricks, the aim of the change in the law is to create a collection structure with which more electrical appliances can be recycled to a high standard. This reduces waste and saves raw materials and energy. The manufacturer must also take back industrial machines if the customer is unable to dispose of them properly.

Responsibility lies with those who produce waste

Nothing is as old as yesterday's innovation: the life cycles of electronic devices are sometimes short, a recycling concept conserves resources. Photo: Bizerba

However, the proper disposal of old electrical appliances in particular has become a problem for our society: Digitalization and automation mean that devices need to be replaced more and more frequently. In addition, the lifespan of computer-based systems is shorter, as the computing power of old devices is not sufficient to meet the requirements of new programs.

According to the Basel Convention of 1989, the resulting increasing quantities of e-waste may only be disposed of in countries that can process it properly. This means that the responsibility should remain with the countries that produce the waste.

However, the shipping of electrical appliances declared as "functional" to Africa is increasingly hitting the headlines. Some reports claim that two thirds of the electrical waste generated is 'disposed of' in this way. The population of the Agbogbloshie slum settlement in Ghana earn their income by extracting precious metals from the old appliances. Improper separation of the raw materials produces vapors and liquids that contaminate the inhabitants and the soil. These precious metals are then sold to dealers for starvation wages, who then sell these materials back to electrical appliance manufacturers. Although the materials are put back into circulation, the impact on people and the environment is immense.

Professional disassembly or repair

To break this cycle, manufacturers themselves need to show more responsibility and think about how appliances can be used as efficiently as possible. Companies should ensure that appliances are properly dismantled at the end of their service life. This includes the proper separation of stainless steel, cables and plastics, for example.

Photo: Bizerba

Bizerba

Bizerba offers customers in the trade, retail, industry and logistics sectors a portfolio of hardware and software solutions relating to the key parameter of "weight". This range includes products and solutions for cutting, processing, weighing, cashing, checking, picking and labeling. Comprehensive services ranging from consulting, service, labels and consumables to leasing round off the range of solutions. Bizerba has been shaping technological development in the field of weighing technology since 1866 and is now present in 120 countries. The customer base ranges from globally active commercial and industrial companies to retailers and the bakery and butchery trades. The headquarters of the group of companies, which has been family-run for five (!) generations and has around 3,900 employees worldwide, is in Balingen (Baden-Württemberg).

But before the machines are finally disposed of, there are ways to extend their service life. The long-established Swabian company Bizerba can repair around 75 percent of the electronic components of devices and systems as part of its range of services. Figuratively speaking, this means that since the 1990s, Bizerba has repaired electronic components with a total weight of around 500 tons - waste that was never generated in the first place.

Conserve resources

In order to decide which component of an appliance must be disposed of after replacement or which can be repaired, all individual elements of the machines are recorded in a central ERP system. The information as to whether a part can be repaired or not is also stored there. Bizerba makes the decision based on availability, complexity and repair costs in relation to the manufacturing costs of the product. If a component is repairable, the packaging is given a label and the service technician knows that he can send the defective element back to the head office for replacement, where it is then repaired and Bizerba returns it to circulation later.

Intra says: This is how it works

As a company, you could make it easy for yourself: What do I care about tomorrow's junk that I sell to the customer today (at that moment, of course, as a high-end frills-state-of-the art luxury solution)? Companies such as Bizerba, which, as you ever-attentive readers of Materialfluss now know, can repair 75% of its installed components thanks to a sophisticated recycling concept, show that there is another way. It's not just "ecologists" who think this is good, but anyone with half a brain. Well done!

In addition to resource-friendly management, another advantage is that Bizerba can also keep spare parts for older products in stock without having to go to the expense of re-producing them. Manufacturing companies in particular should make it a priority to produce sustainably and recycle wherever possible. Because: It pays off, both for the company and for the environment.

Robert Keller