Title :
Modeling the economic and environmental performance of recycling systems
Author :
Dahmus, Jeffrey B. ; Fredholm, Susan A. ; Olivetti, Elsa A. ; Gregory, Jeremy R. ; Kirchain, Randolph E.
Author_Institution :
Mater. Syst. Lab., Massachusetts Inst. of Technol., Cambridge, MA
Abstract :
A general model for evaluating the economic and environmental performance of electronics recycling systems is developed. This model comprehends the three main functions in a recycling system - collection, processing, and system management - and aims to enable quantification of the impact of context and system architecture on the performance of electronics recycling systems. Different modeling techniques are used, including process-based cost models, to evaluate economic performance, and life cycle assessment tools, to evaluate environmental performance. A case study, based loosely on Maine, is presented to show the utility of such a model in evaluating electronics recycling systems.
Keywords :
economics; life cycle costing; recycling; Maine; economic modeling; economic performance evaluation; electronic waste; electronics recycling systems; environmental performance evaluation; environmental performance modeling; life cycle assessment tools; process-based cost models; system architecture; Context modeling; Costs; Electronic waste; Environmental economics; Laboratories; Power engineering and energy; Power generation economics; Recycling; Reverse logistics; Supply chains; electronic waste; electronics recycling systems; environmental performance; process-based cost models;
Conference_Titel :
Electronics and the Environment, 2008. ISEE 2008. IEEE International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2272-2
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2298-2
DOI :
10.1109/ISEE.2008.4562896
