The Electronics Lifecycle ResourceTM

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The Electronics Lifecycle ResourceTM
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AER Worldwide - What we do

• Brand Protection
• Environmental Recycling
• Value Recovery

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Global Presence
Northeast
RENE Partner Facilities
Fremont, California
Illinois
Southeast
Guangzhou, China Hong Kong, China Shenzhen, China
Guadalajara, Mexico
Chennai, India
Penang, Malaysia
AER Worldwide Facility Subcontractor
Facility Rene Partner Facility
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StEP Task Force ReUse

• Current Projects
• Definition of ReUse
• Framework Conditions White Paper
• Business Principles White Paper
• Global ReUse Forum

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StEP TF Reuse Framework Conditions

• Why promote greater reuse of electronic products?
• What is the current situation regarding reuse?
• What are the barriers to reuse of electronic
  products?
• How can we overcome these barriers?

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StEP TF Reuse Framework Conditions

• 1) Why promote greater reuse of electronics?
• Environmental Reasons
• Economic Reasons
• Social Reasons

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Environmental Reasons

• Eliminate energy consumption used in the
  manufacturing and transportation of new products.
• Reduce GHG emissions if the product itself uses
  the same or less energy than a newly produced
  one.
• Reduced usage of virgin materials and thus
  reduced deleterious effects from extraction of
  those materials from the earth.
• Prevents (or delays) the potential release into
  the environment of potential toxics embedded in
  the parts of the product, particularly if the
  product is in a country or region that does not
  currently have a clean e-waste industry. The
  toxics stay embedded until a clean e-waste
  industry is created to process the products in an
  environmental manner.
• Reduces landfill and incineration.

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Economic Reasons

• Extends the economically useful life of a product
  and thereby provides more value to society for
  the cost to society of making the product.
• Micro-economically, the sale of a reused product
  provides a return to the owner who sells the
  product to someone who reuses it.
• The reuse industry provides jobs and money to the
  economy.

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Social Reasons

• Electronic products can be provided to segments
  of the population of both developed and
  developing countries who may not otherwise have
  had access to this technology.
• Can provide jobs to segments of the population
  who may not otherwise have had jobs.

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Proposed Definition of Reuse

• Reuse of EEE is to continue the use of EEE
  beyond the point at which any particular owner is
  ready to deposit it into the waste stream, or to
  put into storage and not use it anymore.
• Key points of this definition of Reuse
• (i) If the EEE specifications still meet the
  perceived needs of another potential owner/user,
  then the EEE should be transferred as the 1st
  consideration through some means to this new
  owner/user who then keeps the item in use as EEE
  and preventing it from becoming waste.
• (ii) The 2nd consideration should be to evaluate
  non-usable EEE to determine if any components can
  still be used economically. If so, components
  are harvested and the remainder of the EEE
  becomes WEEE.

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StEP TF Reuse Framework Conditions

• 2) What is the current situation of Reuse?
• Definitions
• Statistics for Reuse
• Whole systems
• Pieces
• Reuse in Legislation
• Legislation that may hinder effective Reuse.
• Legislation that may encourage effective Reuse.
• Situation in different geographies.
• Industry Analysis
• Market
• Where? How big?

Work in Progress
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StEP TF Reuse Framework Conditions

• 3) What are the barriers to Reuse of electronics?
• Lack of will
• Focus on recycling to comply with WEEE
  legislation
• Inefficient economic market for Reused electronic
  products
• Waste being disguised as products for reuse in
  order to move the waste to the developing world
  for non-environmental recycling
• Murky perception of Reuse vs. Clean/Good
  perception of Recycling.
• Lack of good clear standards for respectable
  Reuse.
• Perception by consumers that use of Reused
  products is bad.
• Legislative barriers to use of Reused components
  in products.
• Other Legislative barriers including Tax ones.
• Perception that Recycling is easier than Reuse.
• Global Reuse industry not fully developed.
• Little effort at Design for Reuse.
• No defined or recognizable standard for
  refurbishment.
• Long term storage by consumers due to lack of
  awareness.
• The rapid development of technologies and the
  fast changing fashion and functional design of
  devices.
• The limited professional knowledge about the
  goods and their components at B2C refurbishers.

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StEP TF Reuse Framework Conditions

• 3) What are the barriers to Reuse of electronics?
• Legislation definition confusion between
  Electronics for Reuse and E-Waste
• Inefficient economic market for Reused electronic
  products
• Waste being disguised as products for reuse in
  order to move the waste to the developing world
  for non-environmental recycling
• Lack of good clear standards for respectable
  Reuse.
• Global Reuse industry not fully developed.
• No defined or recognizable standard for
  refurbishment.
• Long term storage by consumers due to lack of
  awareness.
• Stagnation of excess, obsolete returned items
  in supply chain inventory
• Concerns on data management/destruction.
• Perception of cannibalization of sales by
  Producers

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StEP TF Reuse Framework Conditions

• 4) How can we overcome the barriers?
• Create a common nomenclature for Reuse.
• Create, publish and evangelize Best Practice
  Standards.
• Satisfy producer concerns regarding Reuse and
  provide an economic incentive for them to promote
  it.
• Warranty issues
• Brand protection issues
• Grey market issues
• Use potential to increase available market as
  incentive for producers to support increased
  reuse.
• Provide guidelines for legislators so that they
  do not pass legislation that discourages Reuse.
• Create a certified labeling program.

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Reuse in Action AER Worldwide

• What are we doing about it?
• It is our business
• Developing economic and environmental business
  models
• Active participation in StEP Task Force Reuse
• Member US EPA Reuse Coalition Working Group
• Tracking global governmental legislation

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Reuse in Action

• Principle 1
• Anything that can extend the life and usage of
  an electronic product or component prevents the
  waste of the global resources used up in
  production of that product.

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Reuse in Action

• Principle 2
• Frequently users discontinue use of a product
  because the product no longer meets their
  immediate needs, not due to the failure or
  technical end of life of the product.
• That product can still be used and frequently
  there is a demand for that product (either end
  product or components used to create an end
  product.)

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Foundation of Business Model

• An important mission is to connect this
  electronic material that is no longer desired by
  the first party and make it readily available to
  other parties (end users or producers) who still
  desire the material.

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Business Models for Reuse

• Inter-Company Reuse
• Supply Chain Excess Obsolete
• Parts Harvesting for Reuse
• Refurbishment
• Bridging the Digital Divide

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Inter-Company Reuse

• Internal Asset Redeployment Programs
• Electronic equipment both company branded and
  purchased no longer needed by the current company
  owner may be in demand in another part of the
  company bridge the gap logistically and
  communication-wise (web) to connect these two
  parties.
• Employee Resale Programs
• Consumer product company may have perfectly good
  product they do not want to sell for which there
  is an internal demand connect the inventory
  with the employee.

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Supply Chain Excess Obsolete

• Supply Chain Inventory Stagnation
• The Problem
• Demand reduction or Mis-forecasting causes
  buildup of new component inventory in supply
  chain.
• Inventory sits as OEM EMS debate who is liable
  and what to do now.
• Our Solution
• AER ties into SC ERP system such that eo
  becomes immediately visible and AER can market
  and move the material immediately.
• Return is maximized while material has value.

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Parts Harvesting for Reuse

• Industry has stopped production of a critical
  component.
• These critical components only exist in return
  inventories.
• AER will cull these critical components from
  returned equipment and make available to the
  service markets.

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Refurbishment

• Electronic products or components that have been
  used are no longer desired by the current user.
• Product is evaluated for potential market demand.
• Scrap or Resell decision is made.
• Product is tested/refurbished and data wiped and
  sold to users who still want the product.
• Can be B2B, B2C, or components.

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AER Value Recovery - Process

• Brand Protection
• Destruction of proprietary items
• Valuation
• Decision of Reuse vs. Scrap
• Testing/Refurbishment
• PC/Laptop testing
• Integrated Circuit refurbishment
• Data Destruction
• Hard drive and flash memory wiping
• Inventory
• Order Fulfillment

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Critical Aspects

• OEM contracts that clearly define what can be
  reused and what must be destroyed.
• Strict adherence to this split.
• Robust internal processes for sorting must be
  destroyed from can be resold.
• Environmentally sound certified destruction
  recycling processes for must be destroyed
  materials.

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Typical Value Recovery Process Flow
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Thank You!
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