GOALI: Remediating E-waste Problems by Considering Consumer Behavior in Design for Multiple Life Cycles and Design for Ease of Return

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Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest growing pollution problems in the US and worldwide. With increasing population and increasing per capita product penetration rates, the e-waste stream continues to grow by close to 5 percent annually, three times faster than any other type of municipal waste. One solution to this problem is to recover discarded electronics from consumers for refurbishment or material recovery. However, there are a number of reasons that make product recovery in the US unprofitable including the cost of collection, the quality of received products (which may be stored for months, or even years, in a variety of non-optimal home environments), product obsolescence, and an inability to plan due to a lack of data about expected number of products being returned. These problems can be alleviated by having more information about the number and timing of used products available for collection from end users. This Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) award supports fundamental research to quantify the impact of design features and consumer behavior on the total volume, timing and quality of returned discarded items as well as the uncertainties in the return flows. Additionally, the research will assess consumer preferences and changes in consumer interests over time in order to design sustainable products that not only can meet the needs of the first consumer but also are re-marketable to satisfy the requirements of future consumers. This research has two main objectives. First, it will provide a fundamental understanding of the role of consumer behavior and designer decisions on the amount of discarded electronics annually generated nationwide. More accurate estimation of the amount of discarded devices will assist in developing systems and infrastructure that facilitate e-waste collection and recovery processes. Second, the research will create a novel class of design evaluation techniques with the aim of creating artifacts that ensure long term solutions to control waste. The research team will use three groups of methods to accomplish these aims: (1) Design for multiple life cycles: incorporating preferences of several stakeholders or product owners in the early stage of design, (2) Design for dynamic preference: modeling market demand of a specific design alternative based on changes in consumer preferences and choices over time, and (3) Design for ease of return: Incorporation of the interests of channel members (e.g., recyclers or collectors), distributors and final consumers when designing a product.