Design for Recycling : Guidelines for Increased Recycling Efficiency and Recovery Rate of Materials

Abstract: The manufacturing industry faces a rapidly growing problem which is the increased stream of electronic waste. Due to the fast evolving technology, the innovation cycles have been shortened and the demand for various electronic products has increased. This development requires increasingly advanced material combinations and assemblies to meet both product and customer requirements, which at the same time leads to products becoming more difficult to recycle. Ericsson is one of the world's largest companies in manufacturing and sales of telecom equipment and wants to gain knowledge in how their products are recycled, and how their products should be designed to facilitate the recycling process. As of today, Ericsson has a document from 2004 with design guidelines with a broad focus on the environment. The purpose of this master thesis has been to develop these guidelines, but with a focus on when the product has reached its end of life and is to be recycled. This has been done through an initial collection of secondary data from the literature regarding design for recycling guidelines. These guidelines have been evaluated using a mixed method, where both qualitative and quantitative data have been collected, analyzed and compiled. The biggest focus has been on discussing with recycling experts to get a deeper understanding of what is important for their process to work as efficiently as possible. Finally, a product evaluation has been performed where 3 products have been evaluated against the final set of guidelines to identify areas for improvement. This thesis has provided 30 design guidelines with a focus on increasing the efficiency of the recycling process of Ericsson's products. These guidelines cover 3 different areas: Material and material combinations, Fasteners and connectors, and Labels and markings. It is recommended that these guidelines should be implemented as early as possible in Ericsson's product development process to have the greatest impact on the final design of new products.