The development of a remanufacturing platform design: a strategic response to the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Between 1980 and 1997, municipal solid waste in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries increased by around 40 per cent, and it is predicted to grow by a further 40 per cent by 2020. In response to these problems, the European Union has implemented (among other policies) the Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment, making original equipment manufacturers and importers legally bound to take significant responsibility for the treatment and disposal of post-consumer products. This paper presents the four main waste avoidance routes of repair, reconditioning, remanufacturing, and recycling. It concludes that remanufacturing may often be a strong strategy. This is based on the fact that it preserves both the embodied energy of virgin production (thus reducing the environmental impact) and the intrinsic 'value-adding' process of the producer (thus increasing the manufacturer's profitability). The paper then outlines the present major technical barriers to remanufacturing and outlines how a platform design strategy could remove some of these barriers. The paper explains the authors' definition of a platform design and describes how this could be applied to remanufacturing.