Product Lifecycle Information Flow in E-waste Handling: a Means to Increase Circularity?

Area of Science:

• Supply Chain Management
• Environmental Science
• Circular Economy

Background:

• Electronic waste (e-waste) is a significant and growing global waste stream.
• The European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive mandates manufacturer responsibility for e-waste end-of-life (EoL) treatment.
• Current e-waste management often follows a linear economy model, contrasting with circular economy principles aimed at waste elimination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically investigate the flow and utility of product lifecycle information in improving circularity within e-waste supply chains.
• To examine the willingness of stakeholders to share information and its perceived usefulness for e-waste end-of-life treatment.
• To assess the impact of digital technology on enhancing information transparency and visibility for circular supply chain management in the context of e-waste.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a case study involving a manufacturer, its subsidiaries, and producer responsibility organizations (PROs) across eight European countries.
• Investigated the product lifecycle information flow specifically related to electronic waste management.
• Analyzed the perceived usefulness and barriers to utilizing product lifecycle information for e-waste end-of-life treatment.

Main Results:

• Product lifecycle information is accessible but primarily serves purposes other than e-waste handling.
• Stakeholders express willingness to share information, yet it is not considered valuable for end-of-life treatment due to potential delays and performance issues.
• The findings challenge the optimistic assumption that digital technology automatically enhances circularity in supply chains.

Conclusions:

• The current application of product lifecycle information does not effectively support circular economy goals in e-waste management.
• Actors in e-waste handling perceive product lifecycle information as detrimental to efficient end-of-life treatment.
• The implementation of digital technology for improving information flow in circular supply chains should be reconsidered until a clear demand and perceived utility exist among involved actors.