Information about materials in electronics-a necessary condition for recycling and clean-construction of electronic devices

The software-based data-processing-tool COMA (Components and Materials) is described. Using this tool, aspects of recycling, resource recovery and impact on the environment of current and tomorrow´s electronics can be assessed readily. Thus, COMA represents a good starting point for a life cycle assessment and for attempts to establish energy- and material-flow-balances (ecobalances), based on reliable knowledge of the substances used in electronics. Manufacturers of electronic appliances will use the database to evaluate “green suppliers” of electronic components in the designing process of PCB´s, avoiding hazardous materials in a “begin-of-pipe” solution. Producers of electronic components are then held responsible for an improved construction of tomorrow´s products. Due to ecological requirements highly pollutant components will then be automatically removed from the free market by the rules of supply and demand, as soon as their chemical character becomes obvious