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International audience ; Today, companies need to assess the recoverability of their products from the design phase, not only for legislative reasons but also to appraise how they will be able to recover all or part of their value when they reach end of life. The main reference calculation methods are both the norm ISO 22628, which addresses the automotive industry, and the IEC/TR 62635 report, which addresses the electrical and electronic equipment industry. Both reference methods only focus on mass preservation indicators (as legislation requires) but ignore important aspects such as material quality loss, environmental impacts, and economic value preservation. Indeed, multi-criteria assessment is needed as it can be a key factor for both improving product design and to help designers integrate recycled materials into their products. In that regard, several other studies exploring multi-criteria analysis (i.e. technical, economic and/or environmental-based) do exist. The aim of this paper is to (i) present a critical review of current recoverability assessment methods and (ii) find the existing gaps by comparing whether the used indicators meet the designer needs or not.

International audience ; Efficiency indicators have been frequently used to assess end-of-life chain performance. While legislations give a standard definition, sometimes stakeholders redefine them to fit their own scopes and objectives. It is therefore necessary to fully understand the indicators calculation scope in order to accurately interpret the results during a decision-making process. This work discusses the influence of scope definition when establishing performance rates using the French e-waste chain and recycling rate as an example. Complementary recycling rates to the one established by WEEE Directive are proposed.

Efficiency indicators have been frequently used to assess end-of-life chain performance, mostly. In terms of the percentage of mass sent to re-use, recycling, and/or energy recovery facilities. While legislation gives a standard definition for recycling and recovery rates, stakeholders sometimes redefine them to better fit their own scopes and objectives. Therefore, to accurately interpret the results of an efficiency indicator, during a decision-making process, it's necessary to fully understand the scope definition used to calculate it. This work discusses the influence of scope definition when establishing performance rates. It does this by introducing further alternative scope definitions and comparing them to those defined by legislation and stakeholders. As a case study, the proposed complementary scopes are applied to the recycling chain of flat panel displays in France.

Currently, in the European Union (EU), e-waste chain performance is assessed by technical indicators that aim to ensure system compliance with collection and recovery targets set by the WEEE Directive. This study proposes indicators to improve WEEE flow monitoring beyond the current overall weight-based approach, including complementary flows and treatment performance. A case study focused on the screen category in France is presented. In 2017, the collection rate of cathode-ray tube screens (CRT) was 68%, while for flat panel display (FPD) generated only 14% was collected. CRT screens have less precious and critical materials than FDP. Thus, elements like cobalt and gold highly concentrated in FPD, have a collection rate two to four times lower than elements such as copper (37%) which represents a high proportion in CRTs. Recycling is the main treatment in France. Nevertheless, the recycling rate per element varies significantly due to the low collection, and also the lack of technology and/or secondary raw materials market. The elements with higher recycling rates are base metals such as copper (28%), followed by precious metals like silver (23%), and gold (13%). Except for palladium, the recycling rate of the critical raw materials targeted in the study ranged from 6% (cobalt) to 0% (e.g. neodymium and indium). The results stress the need for indicators to support the development of WEEE chain from waste management to secondary (critical) raw materials suppliers.

International audience ; Currently, in the European Union (EU), e-waste chain performance is assessed by technical indicators that aim to ensure system compliance with collection and recovery targets set by the WEEE Directive. This study proposes indicators to improve WEEE flow monitoring beyond the current overall weight-based approach, including complementary flows and treatment performance. A case study focused on the screen category in France is presented. In 2017, the collection rate of cathode-ray tube screens (CRT) was 68%, while for flat panel display (FPD) generated only 14% was collected. CRT screens have less precious and critical materials than FDP. Thus, elements like cobalt and gold highly concentrated in FPD, have a collection rate two to four times lower than elements such as copper (37%) which represents a high proportion in CRTs. Recycling is the main treatment in France. Nevertheless, the recycling rate per element varies significantly due to the low collection, and also the lack of technology and/or secondary raw materials market. The elements with higher recycling rates are base metals such as copper (28%), followed by precious metals like silver (23%), and gold (13%). Except for palladium, the recycling rate of the critical raw materials targeted in the study ranged from 6% (cobalt) to 0% (e.g. neodymium and indium). The results stress the need for indicators to support the development of WEEE chain from waste management to secondary (critical) raw materials suppliers.