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The purpose of this paper is to explore how manufacturers can develop automatic end‐of‐life processes facilitated by product design methods, e.g. design for disassembly, recycling and remanufacturing. Also to illustrate this kind of product and end‐of‐life process development while maintaining economic and environmental values. Here, the cases of toner cartridges and liquid crystal displays are the focus.

The research methodology for this paper began with a literature study within the fields of design for automatic recycling and remanufacturing. It also includes the research performed at two different industrial companies using automation in their end‐of‐life processes. These companies were visited and interviewed several times, in order to understand their processes and what current problems they have in automation and product design.

Design implications on the end‐of‐life have been explored, and in particular, three general product trends are in conflict with automatic disassembly: products are getting more complex and more heterogeneous; products are getting sleeker; and products are using more proprietary joints. In addition, the three industrial cases describe different problems in industry and how they can be tackled. Although many manufacturers have adapted the design principles of DFM and DFE, there is still much to improve when it comes to designing for the product's end‐of‐life processes. These kinds of adaptations should increase in importance over time as more and more products and components are remanufactured and/or material recycled. These kinds of adaptations will also encourage an increase of products passing through more resource efficient end‐of‐life options.

Manufacturers reading what design problems other companies are experiencing and what solutions can be found would facilitate their own businesses and willingness to start their own and/or improve their existing manufacturing business. This could then be in shape developing products for end‐of‐life processes which also would encourage them to start their own end‐of‐life process facilities.

From a societal perspective, an increase in remanufactured products being placed on the market can increase the awareness and confidence of the consumers in non‐new products made from non‐virgin materials. This will increase the market for second‐life products and bring about economics of scale, which in turn will alleviate the problem of depletion of resources.

Most previous research in this area treats the different end‐of‐life processes separately; material recycling and product remanufacturing are but two examples. However, in this paper the focus is more on the overall view of end‐of‐life processes, along with examples of more specific and detailed end‐of‐life processes, such as disassembly and cleaning.

On the basis of empirical studies, the purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse product properties that affect performance of end‐of‐life systems for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

The research was carried out as case studies of end‐of‐life management of EEE. Case A focused on disassembly of computer screens and TV‐sets, whereas Case B addressed logistics systems for recycling of various types of EEE. Data collection methods include interviews, on‐site visits and observations, video recording, and studies of documents.

In total, nine product properties that affect performance of end‐of‐life systems for EEE are identified. The properties relate to three different product levels: the product assortment, the product structure, and the component levels. A model is presented which indicates that choices made and decisions taken in the product development process affect the end‐of‐life system performance. Application of modular product architectures and component standardisation are suggested as relevant design strategies during product development.

The implications for managers are that the findings presented in this paper provide strengthened arguments that modular product architectures and component standardisation are favourable approaches to apply in product development. Complementary to the benefits for manufacturing and logistics also end‐of‐life system performance will improve when these approaches are applied.

Previous research has indicated some product properties that are supposed to influence performance of end‐of‐life systems. These properties originate primarily from conceptual discussions rather than empirical studies. This paper adds to current understanding by presenting empirically‐based insights regarding which specific product properties affect performance.

This study aims to explore how green supply chain management (GSCM) strategies can be effectively implemented for business supply chain operations, relationship management and product design to gain green competitive advantages.

An exploratory in-depth case study was conducted with one of the largest Chinese electronics manufacturers that is considered a leading GSCM adopter in the industry, to understand how the company adopts green supply chain practices across its multiple product lines.

The findings show that businesses can build different green focuses across GSCM elements of green operation, green relationship management and green product design to form diverse hybrid strategic solutions. They include green control, lean, leagile, agile and clean innovation while taking consideration of supply chain type and product lifespan. A taxonomy of four key GSCM strategic combinations is proposed based on the findings. The strategies align with green demand and supply chain characteristics balancing a series of business competitive objectives in terms of reducing pollution and waste, improving green cost efficiency, enhancing green demand innovation and building green service effectiveness.

This study lends insight into the strategic alignment relationships between product supply chain types and approaches to GSCM.

The findings of this study can support industry practitioners in formulating aligned GSCM strategies based on product types to achieve optimal results.

Optimised green supply chain design, operations and relationship management incorporating product attributes can help further minimise negative impacts of business activities on the environment.

This research provides a systematic understanding of how product supply chain types can influence GSCM strategy formulation. It gives a holistic picture of how hybrid choices of strategies with green supply chain operations, relationship management and product design can be formulated based on product and supply chain characteristics.

The purpose of this study is to apply and extend the predictors within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand consumers' behaviour toward recycling end-of-life garments among Australian consumers. The predictors explored within this study include attitude, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, self-identity, general recycling behaviour eco-literacy, self-efficacy, intentions to recycle and behaviour to recycle end-of-life garments.

Data were collected from a sample of consumers across all eight recognised states/territories in Australia through survey questionnaires. A total of 481 usable responses were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Results show positive relationships between the factors explored with all hypotheses supported. The findings of this study have theoretical and managerial implications. They (1) provide an insight into the significant factors that influence consumers' recycling behaviour amongst Australian fashion consumers; (2) bridge the gap in the explanatory nature of TPB by extending this theory; (3) call to develop marketing campaigns to educate consumers on the impact of fashion waste; (4) suggest the need for provision of household textile collection bins at a national level and (5) highlight the need for policy reform on garment recycling enabled by the Australian government.

This study is part of the limited studies that focus on the recycling of consumer fashion waste within the Australian context. Little research has also applied the TPB to end-of-life fashion products with a focus on recycling. In addition, no study to the authors' knowledge has, in combination, explored self-efficacy, self-identity, general recycling behaviour and eco-literacy as predictors of intentions to recycle end-of-life garments.

Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured supply chain practices, lack of awareness of the implications of the sustainability concept and failure to recycle poultry wastes. The current research thus attempts to develop an integrated supply chain model in the context of poultry industry in Bangladesh. The study considers both sustainability and supply chain issues in order to incorporate them in the poultry supply chain. By placing the forward and reverse supply chains in a single framework, existing problems can be resolved to gain economic, social and environmental benefits, which will be more sustainable than the present practices.

The theoretical underpinning of this research is ‘sustainability’ and the ‘supply chain processes’ in order to examine possible improvements in the poultry production process along with waste management. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and ‘design science’ methods with the support of system dynamics (SD) and the case study methods. Initially, a mental model is developed followed by the causal loop diagram based on in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation techniques. The causal model helps to understand the linkages between the associated variables for each issue. Finally, the causal loop diagram is transformed into a stock and flow (quantitative) model, which is a prerequisite for SD-based simulation modelling. A decision support system (DSS) is then developed to analyse the complex decision-making process along the supply chains.

The findings reveal that integration of the supply chain can bring economic, social and environmental sustainability along with a structured production process. It is also observed that the poultry industry can apply the model outcomes in the real-life practices with minor adjustments. This present research has both theoretical and practical implications. The proposed model’s unique characteristics in mitigating the existing problems are supported by the sustainability and supply chain theories. As for practical implications, the poultry industry in Bangladesh can follow the proposed supply chain structure (as par the research model) and test various policies via simulation prior to its application. Positive outcomes of the simulation study may provide enough confidence to implement the desired changes within the industry and their supply chain networks.

The purpose of this study is to develop a holistic optimization model for an integrated sustainable fleet planning and closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network design problem under uncertainty.

A novel mixed-integer programming model that is able to consider interactions between vehicle fleet planning and CLSC network design problems is first developed. Uncertainties of the product demand and return fractions of the end-of-life products are handled by a chance-constrained stochastic program. Several Pareto optimal solutions are generated for the conflicting sustainability objectives via compromise and fuzzy goal programming (FGP) approaches.

The proposed model is tested on a real-life lead/acid battery recovery system. By using the proposed model, sustainable fleet plans that provide a smaller fleet size, fewer empty vehicle repositions, minimal CO₂ emissions, maximal vehicle safety ratings and minimal injury/illness incidence rate of transport accidents are generated. Furthermore, an environmentally and socially conscious CLSC network with maximal job creation in the less developed regions, minimal lost days resulting from the work's damages during manufacturing/recycling operations and maximal collection/recovery of end-of-life products is also designed.

Unlike the classical network design models, vehicle fleet planning decisions such as fleet sizing/composition, fleet assignment, vehicle inventory control, empty repositioning, etc. are also considered while designing a sustainable CLSC network. In addition to sustainability indicators in the network design, sustainability factors in fleet management are also handled. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no similar paper in the literature that proposes such a holistic optimization model for integrated sustainable fleet planning and CLSC network design.

Reverse supply chain (RSC) is an extension of the traditional supply chain (TSC) motivated by environmental requirements and economic incentives. TSC management deals with planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling a collection of organizations, activities, resources, people, technology, and information as the materials and products move from manufacturers to the consumers. Except for a short warranty period, TSC excludes most of the responsibilities toward the product beyond the point of sale. However, because of growing environmental awareness and regulations (e.g. product stewardship statute), TSC alone is no longer an adequate industrial practice. New regulations and public awareness have forced manufacturers to take responsibilities of products when they reach their end of lives. This has necessitated the creation of an infrastructure, known as RSC, which includes collection, transportation, and management of end-of-life products (EOLPs). The advantages of implementing RSC include the reduction in the use of virgin resources, the decrease in the materials sent to landfills and the cost savings stemming from the reuse of EOLPs, disassembled components, and recycled materials. TSC and RSC together represent a closed loop of materials flow. The whole system of organizations, activities, resources, people, technology, and information flowing in this closed loop is known as the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC).

In RSC, the management of EOLPs includes cleaning, disassembly, sorting, inspecting, and recovery or disposal. The recovery could take several forms depending on the condition of EOLPs, namely, product recovery (refurbishing, remanufacturing, repairing), component recovery (cannibalization), and material recovery (recycling). However, neither the quality nor the quantity of returning EOLPs is predictable. This unpredictable nature of RSC is what makes its management challenging and necessitates innovative management science solutions to control it.

In this chapter, we address the order-driven component and product recovery (ODCPR) problem for sensor-embedded products (SEPs) in an RSC. SEPs contain sensors and radio-frequency identification tags implanted in them at the time of their production to monitor their critical components throughout their lives. By facilitating data collection during product usage, these embedded sensors enable one to predict product/component failures and estimate the remaining life of components as the products reach their end of lives. In an ODCPR system, EOLPs are either cannibalized or refurbished. Refurbishment activities are carried out to meet the demand for products and may require reusable components. The purpose of cannibalization is to recover a limited number of reusable components for customers and internal use. Internal component demand stems from the component requirements in the refurbishment operation. It is assumed that the customers have specific remaining-life requirements on components and products. Therefore, the problem is to find the optimal subset and sequence of the EOLPs to cannibalize and refurbish so that (1) the remaining-life-based demands are satisfied while making sure that the necessary reusable components are extracted before attempting to refurbish an EOLP and (2) the total system cost is minimized. We show that the problem could be formulated as an integer nonlinear program. We then develop a hybrid genetic algorithm to solve the problem that is shown to provide excellent results. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the methodology.

New European environmental legislation requiring producers to recycle electrical and electronics products at so‐called “end‐of‐life” is likely to introduce new areas of competition to the global market for information technology (IT) products. This paper presents the findings of a study investigating the use and disposal of IT equipment by 151 companies in the UK. Although 71 per cent of companies disposed of their equipment as waste, other “disposal” routes were found to be of greater significance, such as charitable donations, transfer to employees, and resale to second‐hand dealers. Therefore it is argued that the current legal definition of “waste” may be too restrictive to be applied to end‐of‐life IT equipment within the commercial sector. In addition, it is argued that the provision of product “end‐of‐life management” services to commercial customers (in compliance with legislation or otherwise) could help IT producers add value to their existing support services beyond the immediate production and consumption of new technologies. Where only 5 per cent of companies replaced IT products within two years, 76 per cent of respondents identified a need for such services. Specific details of the type of services that would be required have also been investigated and evaluated.

In this chapter, a case of reverse supply chain is considered, where a product recovery facility receives sensors and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags embedded End-Of-Life (EOL) products. Sensors and RFID tags can capture and store component’s life cycle information during its economic life. This technology can provide data about contents and conditions of products and components without the need of actual disassembly and inspection. It also determines the remaining lives of the components which eventually translate into their quality levels.

The example considered here presents an advanced-repair-to-order-and-disassembly-to-order system. It disassembles the components to meet the components’ demands, repairs the products to meet the products’ demands and recycles the materials to meet the materials’ demands. The received EOL products may have different design alternatives. The objective of the proposed multi-criteria decision-making model is to determine which of the design alternatives is best in fulfilling the various criteria.

Previous research in lease finance and evaluation has given little consideration to environmental factors. The purpose of this paper is to add to the literature by analysing how leasing provides a more attractive option than selling and extended producer responsibility (EPR) in helping to close product life‐cycle loops, extend the useful life of products, and increase environmental benefits.

This paper revisits the accounting concepts of asset depreciation, residual value and cost of leasing and proposes methods to incorporate these concepts into the “closed loop” lease and service mode for product life‐cycle management.

For business, the “closed loop” lease and service mode changes asset values through the extension of the asset's useful life and in particular, the increase of the residual value of the product (i.e. recoverable value to the producer/lessor). Such changes reduce the cost of leasing to the advantage of both lessor and lessee. However, the argument about a “win‐win” monetary and environmental outcome being associated with leasing presents several challenges for current accounting standards in terms of recognition of lease and lease revenue, recognition of intangible assets and internalisation of environmental costs and impacts associated with the leasing process.

To date, accounting and finance literature seems to focus exclusively on the economic aspects of leasing strategies. This paper uses a different lens to make a call for a rethink about leasing with environmental considerations. It is expected that the findings and suggestions in this study will facilitate the adoption and diffusion of the “closed loop” lease and service mode in the business world for the benefit of the environment in the future.