Approach Two relies primarily on government statistics on sales of electronic products. It then uses the same lifespan data (with some modifications) as Approach One to estimate EOL quantities. From these EOL estimates, we subtract the quantity of selected electronics disposed to yield the quantity recycled. This approach also provides information on the composition of electronic products, as well as the number of select electronic devices entering storage/reuse annually.

Between 1980 and 1997, municipal waste in OECD countries increased by around 40%. This paper outlines the very real negative effects of this increase and then introduces the two main European Union policies that have been established to address this problem: a landfill directive and legislation on extended producer responsibility (EPR). The paper then describes and compares the four alternative strategies to reducing end-of-life waste within the context of extended producer responsibility: namely repairing, reconditioning, remanufacturing or recycling.

The electronics industry is learning to do without: it is having to abandon one of its long-time staples, lead-tin solder. For decades lead-tin solder has been used to attach electronic components to printed wiring boards. However, with the body of evidence pointing to serious adverse health effects of lead, the search for a replacement has spawned intense effort in the electronics industry and in universities.

New and pending regulations requiring product take-back by manufacturers at the time of disposal are intended to create a new era of industrial ecology and environmental sustainability. However, the intended benefits of the current legislation can be confounded by obsolescence in product design based upon advances in science and technology and also by the introduction of more environmentally benign product designs.

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Office of Technology Policy had a Roundtable in 2004 consisting of stakeholders. They examined recycling electronics.