Economic and ecological material index for end of life and design of electronic products

This paper presents a method to calculate economic and ecological indicators to evaluate waste in regard to material recycling. As material recycling is still a preferred option for closing the loop of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) it is important to have an indicator which offers the feasibility to evaluate the benefits and burdens of different recycling routes according to the contained materials and elements. Depending on the description of the economic and ecological potential of waste the requirements and calculation method is discussed.