A decision-making model for materials management of end-of-life electronic products

Currently, there is increasing attention to the environmental impact of the recycling scenarios used for end-of-life electric and electronic (E&E) products. In anticipation of future disposal and recycling concerns due to the increasing consumption of E&E equipment, a systematic management tool is essential to effectively maximize the recyclability of end-of-life products and minimize the environmental impact of recycling and disposal. In this paper, a generic decision-making methodology is developed for material recycling and disposition of E&E products. The research results in an optimal recycling scenario for general end-of-life E&E products based on the combination of environmental impact, recycling feasibility, and intensity of resource recovery. Three major factors are considered during decision making: environmental impact, related cost, and recoverable materials. These three factors are integrated through a fuzzy membership function and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The research is based on a project supported by the Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium. A computerized prototype decision-making model is developed based on the proposed methodology. The research result can be extended to the recycling process of all kinds of electromechanical scraps. Potentially, the proposed methodology can be adopted for assessing various recycling alternatives to provide environmentally friendly solutions.