Making Recycling and Reuse More Efficient:
Tough New Regulations Call for Engineers to Think Green

by Terry Costlow

Engineers and engineering executives who continue to downplay the impact electronic products have on the environment had better bone up on the “green movement” quickly. The green movement involves finding ways to recycle and reuse components such as electronics, as well as incorporating alternatives to materials that create environmental hazards.

Governments around the globe are tightening measures aimed at keeping electronic products out of landfills by demanding that companies find ways to lengthen the products’ life cycles and make them less harmful to the environment. These tougher regulations will affect industry and engineering work tremendously in the coming years.

WEEE and RoHS Require Almost Immediate Response

Europe continues to be a driving force in the green movement. Legislators there have adopted two regulations that will affect every electronics company that ships products to Europe. These regulations call for more aggressive product recycling and for eliminating such commonly used materials as lead as soon as 2006. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulation primarily targets new product design, since it demands that recyclers be able to extract reusable and recyclable materials from products more easily. The Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) regulation, however, will affect engineering work even more.

To address RoHS, “engineers will have to turn themselves into pretzels to find out how to use alternative materials by 2006,” said Jennifer Guhl, director of international trade policy at the Washington, D.C.-based AeA (formerly called the American Electronics Association). RoHS demands a phase out of lead, halogen, bromide, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and some fire retardants. Ultimately, engineers will have to find reliable and manufacturable alternatives to these materials — and be able to implement them cost-effectively.

China Joins the Movement

International interest in ecology continues to rise, even among countries that traditionally looked the other way. China, whose lax laws have made it a veritable dumping ground for electronic products and other harmful materials, has taken uncharacteristically aggressive action. It adopted RoHS in its strictest form and does not plan to allow any of the exemptions or extensions that are already softening the regulation’s impact in Europe. China’s strict adherence to RoHS may pose “a real problem” in the coming years for companies that export RoHS-targeted goods to China, Guhl said.

The U.S. Equivalent

The green movement is far more varied here in the United States. More than 30 states have enacted electronic waste laws related to electronic product take back and recycling. Some states have also issued material bans for lead, mercury and other materials.

But are we doing enough? Varying state plans create logistics and bookkeeping problems at a minimum and interstate commerce problems at the extreme, since companies may now be able to sell their products in some states but not others.

Does the Answer Lie in a Set of National Standards?

Many observers believe the answer lies in establishing a uniform national standard for recycling and reuse. Not only would such a standard address the current problems created by state plan variances, but it might also help companies meet industry goals to make conservation efforts viable, efficient and environmentally sound.

“The volumes that would come with a national plan would help make recycling sustainable,” said Heather Bowman, director of environmental affairs at the Electronic Industries Alliance in Arlington, Va. Bowman explained that recycling won’t succeed without a steady supply of reusable materials, and a market for the castoff products and materials. Cooperative effort between industry and recyclers would make recycling and reuse efficient, which, in turn, would make the movement sustainable.

Finding Alternative Materials is Key

The industry will continue its push to develop cost-effective recycling techniques to keep electronic hardware out of the waste stream. It’s already doing well replacing lead and other hazardous materials with new, safer alternatives. According to Bob Pfahl of the Herndon, Va.-based National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, many Japanese firms and at least one North American company are producing lead-free solders in volume. Companies are also making the transition to lead-free surface finishes for components. Pfahl said most North American electronics manufacturers are already making lead-free prototypes, and expect to meet the 2006 deadline for removing lead.

With the green movement in full swing around the globe, those who haven’t incorporated environmental sensitivity in their work or their products need to shift their focus quickly — or face the consequences.

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Terry Costlow has written about the electronics industry for more than 20 years, covering a wide range of technologies and topics.