Europe’s consumption in a circular economy: the benefits of longer-lasting electronics
The electrical and electronics industry has been socially and economically contributing to Europe for almost 100 years. However, the production, use and disposal of electronics are resource intensive activities that turn out to have significant environmental and climate impacts. The magnitude of these impacts depends very much on consumption patterns and how long products are used for.
The briefing by Eea (European Environment Agency), describes how increasing product lifetime and improving ‘circularity’ are essential steps towards reducing impacts from electronics.
Eea has pointed out that there are already significant margins to extend the average life of electrical and electronic products. However, it is also essential to develop a design of the asset that facilitates repair and recycling.
