Planning “End Of Life” for Electronics Could Help Manufacturers

The Chicago Tribune recently reported on Harrison Kim, an assistant professor in the University of Illinois. Kim studied the lifecycles of electronic gadgets and the associated costs, “and found that the time to think about…’end of life’ issues is before the small electronics are even designed.” Specifically, Kim “analyzed how design differences affect product recovery and determined that manufacturers are losing money by not reusing components.” Fewer than 5 percent of retired phones “are recycled or reused.” Kim said, “These are profits currently neglected.” One way manufacturers could benefit, he said, is by designing products that were modular. Such products would also “appeal to the environmentally-savvy consumer.”

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