We are facing the challenge of rapid growth in waste from electrical products (e-waste). In Europe, handling e-waste is regulated by the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, which is based on the extended producer responsibility (EPR) model as a regulatory tool forcing manufacturers and importers to take responsibility for their products throughout their lifecycles. However, the directive allows for great variations in implementations in each country, causing e-manufacturers and e-waste handling operators to face challenges in their transition to more sustainable operations. To identify the challenges involved, this study investigates the effect of the WEEE directive from a manufacturer’s perspective. A case study of an e-manufacturer operating subsidiaries in several European countries and the associated producer responsibility organizations (PROs) is presented. The case study includes interviews from 17 stakeholders in 12 organizations in eight European countries. Key findings are as follows. First, the WEEE data reported are not harmonized. Second, the calculations of the environmental fee differ across countries. Third, following up on different national WEEE obligations sometimes leads to over-reporting to avoid negative effects on environmental corporate social responsibility, brand reputation, and profitability. Fourth, outsourcing end-of-life (EoL) treatment responsibility to PROs is seen as positive by the manufacturer but results in a decoupling of the EPR and the operational EoL treatment, which may reduce efforts to transfer to a higher circularity level of its EEE products. Fifth, WEEE is considered a way for e-manufacturers to handle waste not to adopt a circular focus. This paper contributes to both practitioners and researchers within reverse logistics and sustainability by adding knowledge from real-life context of how EPR is implemented in WEEE.
In the transition to a circular focus on electric and electronic products, manufacturers play a key role as the originators of both the products and the information about the products. While the waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive’s contemporary focus is on handling the product as waste after its end of life, the circular economy focuses on retaining the product’s value with a restorative system. The polluter-pays principle requires producers of pollution to bear the costs of handling the pollution, leading to the extended producer responsibility (EPR) principle. This requires manufacturers to change their focus from their current passive role of out-sourcing end-of-life treatment to taking explicit responsibility for product management over an extended period of time. This paper investigates how a manufacturer can assume its responsibility to achieve circularity for its products. Based on our findings, three fundamental circularity principles, the circular electric and electronic equipment (CEEE) principles, for manufactures of electronic and electrical equipment are defined: (1) Serialize product identifiers, (2) data controlled by their authoritative source at the edge, and (3) independent actors’ access to edge data via a distributer ledger are the foundation of the Edge and Distributed Ledger (Edge&DL) model. We demonstrate the model through a case study of how to achieve circularity for lighting equipment. The CEEE principles and the demonstrated model contribute to building new circularity systems for electronic and electric products that let manufacturers undertake their extended product responsibility.
Summary This paper presents an overview of causes and frequency of failures of submarine and cross-country pipelines handling petroleum and natural gas. A breakdown of the causes of failure has been carried out. The most significant causes are: outside-force/ third-party damage, corrosion, and mechanical failures (materials failure and construction defects). The effect on failure frequency of factors such as pipeline age, location, diameter, and commodity pipeline age, location, diameter, and commodity transported have been investigated and discussed. The data have been used for calculating pipeline failure rates. Introduction Pipelines are a safe and reliable mode of transportation. Pipelines are a safe and reliable mode of transportation. Fatalities per ton kilometer transported are much lower than for any other means of transportation. The amount of oil spilled per unit transported is also very low. Pipelines in general therefore represent a small risk to Pipelines in general therefore represent a small risk to human life and to the environment. However, pipelines represent large capital cost, and any pipeline failure has significant economic impact because of the cost of repair and the loss of transportation capacity. For gas pipelines a failure can also directly affect the availability of gas to consumers. The pipeline networks around the world are increasing steadily and new pipelines are being built in new areas. In southeast Asia and Australia there are new gas pipelines under construction and in planning both pipelines under construction and in planning both onshore and offshore. In the North Sea some of the existing pipelines have been designated to handle new pipelines have been designated to handle new transportation requirements and will require a prolonged lifetime. Each year there are hundreds of pipeline failures, resulting in pollution, loss in transportation capacity, loss of gas availability, and costly repair expenses. Of course, most of the failures occur on onshore pipelines, because they cover a much greater area, but failures on offshore lines normally take longer to repair and therefore are more serious in terms of business interruption. A better understanding of the causes and characteristics of pipeline failure will provide important information to improve inspection and maintenance activity for existing pipelines and to aid in selection of design criteria for new pipelines. The purpose of this paper is to compare the failure data from the various pipelines to see if there is a common trend regarding failure rates, causes of failures, aging characteristics, and failure-rate dependence on essential pipeline parameters. A comparison between onshore and pipeline parameters. A comparison between onshore and offshore pipelines is also made to see what experience with onshore pipelines can be applied to offshore lines. Pipeline failures in the U. S., western Europe, the Gulf of Pipeline failures in the U. S., western Europe, the Gulf of Mexico, and the North Sea are examined. In this paper, a pipeline failure is usually defined as an incident that has led to a significant pipeline leak or has otherwise required immediate repair. Failure rates per kilometer year of operating experience--i. e., pipeline length times years in operation--have been calculated for the pipelines where a sufficient data base is available. The paper is based mainly on the results presented in two reports by Det norske Veritas, with some additional information from the original sources. JPT P. 709
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) as a reverse supply chain (RSC) has a low degree of circularity, mainly focusing on recovering or recycling. Targets to increase the circularity have recently been introduced in the EU WEEE directive. In this case study, we have investigated how WEEE is handled within an electric and electronic (EE) equipment manufacturer. The case study includes findings from two different Nordic countries, Norway and Denmark, with interviews of six stakeholders. The case study shows that there are significant differences in how the case company fulfills its extended producer responsibility (EPR), especially related to reporting. The study also found that there is a mismatch between the ambitions in the WEEE directive and a company’s approach related to circularity in the end-of-life phase of an EE product. Based on the results of this case study and from the literature we propose recommendations on alignment with other directives and on a common information regime within the WEEE RSC.
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