Materials Science & Technology
ICTs: from Cradle to e-WasteA Life Cycle Assessment Study of Desktop PC Systems
M.Sc. Martin EugsterTechnology and Society Lab (TSL)Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and ResearchSt. Gallen, Switzerland
www.empa.ch/tsl
Hilfe2
Slide 1
Hilfe2 Diese Folie enthält zwei Mastergruppen (Master und Titelmaster), welche den Corporate-Design-konformen Auftritt definieren. Der jetzt zugewiesene Empa-Master 1 sieht für die Titelfolie das Empa-Logo vor. Den weiteren Folien ist kein Logo zugewiesen. Für längereVorträge mit Zwischentiteln empfehlen wir, den Folien mit Zwischentiteln den Empa-Master 2 (mit Logo unten rechts) zuzuweisen. Dazu öffnen Sie via Ansicht > Aufgabenbereich > Foliendesign-Entwurfsvorlage rechts die Masterauswahl. Nun markieren Sie im linkenAnsichtsfenster die Folien, denen Empa-Master 2 zugewiesen werden soll (mindestens zwei, ansonsten für den ganzen Satz Empa-Master 1 verwendet wird). Weitere Hilfe erhalten Sie bei Monika Ernst, 4995 (Empa, Dübendorf)M. Ernst, 04/02/2005
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 2
Materials Science & TechnologyProblem:Society is overusing the services providedby Nature What is the role of ICT?
ICT is a necessarypart of the solution
ICT is part of theproblem
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 3
Materials Science & Technology
A Conceptual FrameworkLCA of Desktop PC Systemse-Waste – the Key Problem
Findings and Conclusions
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 4
Materials Science & Technology
ICT as part of the solution
Technology
Application
Societalchange
Optimization effects
Substitution effects
Making more from less
Deep structuralchange toward a
dematerialized economy
3rdordereffects[systemic]
2ndordereffects[indirect]
1stordereffects[direct]
enables
enables
Production
Use
End-of-life treatment
Life cycle of ICT hardware
ICT as part of the problem
Induction effects
Rebound effects
New critical infrastructure
Conceptual Framework
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 5
Materials Science & Technology
ICT as part of thesolution
Technology
Application
Societalchange
Optimization effects
Substitution effects
Making more from less
Deep structuralchange toward a
dematerialized economy
3rdordereffects[systemic]
2ndordereffects[indirect]
1stordereffects[direct]
enables
enables
Production
Use
End-of-life treatment
Life cycleof ICT hardware
ICT as part of theproblem
Induction effects
Rebound effects
New critical infrastructure
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 6
Materials Science & TechnologyMaking More from Less
Moore‘s Law (Source: Mattern, 2005)
Moore‘s Law in terms of energyefficiency (Source: Mattern, 2005)
If other industries would make the same progress in efficiency…
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 7
Materials Science & Technology
ICT as part of thesolution
Technology
Application
Societalchange
Optimization effects
Substitution effects
Making more from less
Deep structuralchange toward a
dematerialized economy
3rdordereffects[systemic]
2ndordereffects[indirect]
1stordereffects[direct]
enables
enables
Production
Use
End-of-life treatment
Life cycleof ICT hardware
ICT as part of theproblem
Induction effects
Rebound effects
New critical infrastructure
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 8
Materials Science & Technology
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies calculate the relevant environmental impacts of the life cycle per functional unit.
ProductionPhase
UsePhase
End-of-lifePhase
DesignPhase ResiduesResources
ICT Services
Life Cycle of an ICT product
Recycling
The Life Cycle of ICT Hardware
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 9
Materials Science & Technology
A Conceptual Framework
LCA of Desktop PC Systemse-Waste – the Key Problem
Findings and Conclusions
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 10
Materials Science & Technology
Method
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method/tool for the estimation of the ecological effects that are connected with a product / with a service / with a process / with a technology / etc.
Basic principle is a 2-step procedure with:(i) Collection of the interactions of a system with its own environment (Input-Output-Analysis), plus
(ii) Assessment of each single environmental impact
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 11
Materials Science & Technology
Functional Unit
The complete life cycle of a desktop PC system (50% CRT, 50% LCD screen), used in China during 6 years, including e-waste treatment (state-of-art).
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 12
Materials Science & Technology
Inventory Analysis
Desktop Computerproduction, China
Use Desktop PC(China)
LCD, finalassembly (China)
CRT production(China)
keyboardproduction (China)
mouseproduction (China)
Chinese electricityproduction
Legend:level 1 data (new data)level 2 data (adapted data)
Desktop Computer(import to China)
LCD, final assembly
CRT production
keyboardproduction
mouseproduction
LCD module
Printed WiringBoards (various)
Electroniccomponents
EoL treatment(State-of-Art)
etc. etc.Raw
mat
eria
ls
level 3 data (third party data)
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 13
Materials Science & Technology
The Life Cycle’s Cumulative Energy Demand
Example: 81 Mio desktop PCs produced in China in 2005
Production: When these PCs are sold, they havealready consumed 54‘000 GWh of energy
Use: When they are used under average conditions, they consume 18‘000 GWh/a
End-of-Life: Material recycling can theoretically save20-25% of the production energy, mainly by avoidingprimary production of the metals recovered.
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 14
Materials Science & Technology
The Life Cycle’s Greenhouse Warming Potential
-400
-200
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Manufacturing Distribution Use End of Life
kg C
O2-
Equi
vale
nts
/ uni
t
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 15
Materials Science & Technology
The Life Cycle’s Greenhouse Warming Potential vs EIP-Total
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Manufacturing Distribution Use End of Life
Eco-
Indi
cato
r'99
poin
ts
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 16
Materials Science & Technology
The Life Cycle’s Greenhouse Warming Potential vs EIP-Total
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Manufacturing Distribution Use End of Life
Eco-
Indi
cato
r'99
poin
ts
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 17
Materials Science & Technology
The Life Cycle’s Aggregated Environmental Impacts
-30
-15
0
15
30
45
Manufacturing Distribution Use End of LifeEco-
Indi
cato
r'99
poin
ts
Human Health Ecosystem Quality Resources
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 18
Materials Science & Technology
Manufacturing Phase
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 19
Materials Science & TechnologyEnvironmental impacts of a PC - Results
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 20
Materials Science & Technology
Production of a Desktop Personal Computer in China
0
2
4
6
8
10
12m
othe
rboa
rd
flopp
y di
sk
HD
D
CD
-RO
M
PSU
hous
ing
cabl
es
pack
agin
g
prod
uctio
n
Eco-
Indi
cato
r'99
poin
ts
Human Health Ecosystem Quality Resources
floppy disk4%
motherboard54%HDD
6%
CD-ROM8%
PSU11%
housing8%
production3%
packaging1%
cables5%
Environmental Loads of PC Components
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 21
Materials Science & Technology
Production of the LCD-Screen (17-inch) in China
0
3
6
9LC
Dm
odul
e
elec
troni
cs
hous
ing
pack
agin
g
prod
uctio
n
Eco-
Indi
cato
r'99
poin
ts
Human Health Ecosystem Quality Resources
production19%
packaging2%
housing3%
LCD module60%
electronics16%
Environmental Loads of LCD Components
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 22
Materials Science & Technology
Environmental Loads of other Devices
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
160%
PC CRT TV Air conditioner Washing machine Refrigerator
Eco-
Indi
cato
r'99
(in %
of D
eskt
op P
C)
Plastics Aluminum
Copper Steel
Glass Other
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 23
Materials Science & Technology
Environmental Impacts of other Devices in the Use Phase
0
10
20
30
40
50
PC CRT TV Air conditioner Washing machine Refrigerator
Eco
-Indi
cato
r'99
poin
ts/u
nit
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 24
Materials Science & Technology
A Conceptual FrameworkLCA of Desktop PC Systems
e-Waste – the Key ProblemFindings and Conclusions
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 25
Materials Science & Technology
1. Large household appliances2. Small household appliances3. IT and telecommunications equipment4. Consumer equipment5. Lighting equipment6. Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale
stationary industrial tools)7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment8. Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected
products)9. Monitoring and control instruments10. Automatic dispensers
e-Waste Categories
Source: EU WEEE Directive. (2003)
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 26
Materials Science & Technology
1. Large household appliances2. Small household appliances3. IT and telecommunications equipment4. Consumer equipment5. Lighting equipment6. Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale
stationary industrial tools)7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment8. Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected
products)9. Monitoring and control instruments10. Automatic dispensers
e-Waste Categories1994: ~ 20 Millionen PCs obsolete2004: ~ 100 Millionen PCs obsolete
180 Millionen PCs sold
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 27
Materials Science & Technology
Source: Behrendt et al. (2007) 57 elements
Elements Used in Electronics
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 28
Materials Science & Technology
Composition of e-Waste (WEEE)
Ferrous Metals 39.1 %Non-Fe Metals (Aluminium, Copper, Silver, Gold…) 21.0 %Plastics 14.2 %CRT Glass 13.4 %Mixed Materials with Plastics 5.8 %Cables 2.2 %Printed Circuit Boards 1.9 %Others 1.6 %Hazardous Fractions 0.8 %
Source: Empa
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 29
Materials Science & Technology
Composition of e-Waste (WEEE)
Source: Empa
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 30
Materials Science & Technology
e-Waste in Switzerland (Electronics)
Source: Swico (2007)
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 31
Materials Science & Technology
Imports and e-Waste Generation in Switzerland
Source: Swico (2007)
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 32
Materials Science & Technology
Growth and Saturation
Source: World Bank (2004)
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 33
Materials Science & Technology
Metals Production since 1900
Source: Johnson et al. (2007)
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 34
Materials Science & Technology
World‘s Copper Deposits
Source: Singer et al. (2002)
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 35
Materials Science & Technology
ProductionPhase
UsePhase
End-of-lifePhase
DesignPhaseResources
ICT Services
RecyclingResidues
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 36
Materials Science & Technology
e-Waste is valuable ...
Component reuse in China
Iron
e-Waste Recycling
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 37
Materials Science & Technology
Copper sludge
Precious Metals
e-Waste is valuable ...
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 38
Materials Science & Technology
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 39
Materials Science & Technology
... creates employment ...
Disassembling of devices / components
Plastic sorting
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 40
Materials Science & Technology
... can be dangerous …
De-soldering of components fromprinted circuit boards
Sorting of valuable fractionsfrom burning residues
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 41
Materials Science & Technology
... and is polluting.
Water pollution
Emission to air
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 42
Materials Science & TechnologyInformal e-Waste Recycling: Gold Extraction Process
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 43
Materials Science & Technology
A Conceptual FrameworkLCA of Desktop PC Systemse-Waste – the Key Problem
Findings and Conclusions
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 44
Materials Science & TechnologyFindings
‘Desktop PC Production’ to ‘1 year of use’ is ~ 3:1 for energy and ~6:1 for aggregated environmental impacts.Recycling of e-waste clearly pays off in environmental terms due to the metals recovered, saving energy otherwise used for their primary production.There are substantial concerns regarding health and safety risks in informal recycling and recovery processes.The ICT life cycle problems are global, but developing and emerging economies are particularly affected since
e-waste volumes are growing on rapid pace,often large e-waste quantities are imported,there are generally many low skilled and cheap labor forces and, rules and regulations are not clear or poorly implemented.
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 45
Materials Science & TechnologyConclusions
Energy efficiency in the production and use phase should be improved in order to reduce the overall ecological footprint of electronics. Nevertheless, the type of energy used is also crucial and may be more relevant with regard to the overall environmental impacts.Recycling the metals contained in electronic waste can contribute to the reduction of the overall environmental impacts because the primary production of these metals is avoided. But uncontrolled,critical processes should be phased out.The dissipation of scarce metals contained in electronic products will become a much greater problem in the long run than the energy consumed over the whole life cycle.
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 46
Materials Science & TechnologyConclusions
As a consequence, the antroposhere will become a more and more important source of material resources. Cities will be the mines in the future.However, globally, the collected e-waste quantities are still on a low level and there are large efficiency losses.For avoiding unsound e-waste treatment practices, the e-waste flows must be monitored and the processes controlled.Reducing the ICTs environmental impacts requires a global multi-stakeholder problem solving process including the producers, importers, consumers / NGOs, recyclers and the government.
Martin Eugster, Empa, Switzerland ITU Symposium, London, 17.06.08 Slide 47
Materials Science & Technology
Thank you!
Martin EugsterSustainable Technology Cooperation (sustec)
TSL - Technology & Society LabEmpa - Materials Science & Technology
Lerchenfeldstrasse 5CH-9014 St. Gallen
phone +41 71 274 78 55mobile +41 79 691 38 00
skype [email protected]
www.empa.ch - www.empa.ch/sustec - www.e-wasteguide.info