149
economy owing to the fact that no record exists for E-waste products in the national
statistics of goods produced, sold and traded in (Lau et al. 2013). To a degree, the
issue of deficient data can be circumvented by construction using the principle of
mass balance (Kahhat and Williams 2012). Hence implementing an inclusive
approach in assembling data for MFA could help minimize environmental hazards
and maximizing potential resources in a particular system (Agamuthu et al. 2015).
A primary step to be taken for the successful MFA for E-wastes in any country is
the creation of an inventory of E-wastes in that region. To accurately do this, sales
data (obtained during production, importation, exportation), stock data or quantity
of equipment currently in use (determined from households using these devices
and/or workplaces where E-waste can be found) and the average lifetime of the
items (this depends on the behaviour of each consumer) are required (Lau et al.
2013).
8.1.2.3 Life Cycle Assessment of E-Waste
Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be defined as a systematic strategy that can be
used to assess and quantify the environmental performance associated with the various phases of a product creation, processes and activities (Hong et al. 2015). LCA
also finds application in defining many environment impact(s) categories such as
carcinogens, climate change, the ozone layer, ecotoxicity, acidification, eutrophication and land use, to improve the environmental performance of products (Kiddee
et al. 2013).
LCA has also been used to design eco-friendly electronic devices and to curtail
E-waste problems (Kiddee et al. 2013). LCA can also be used to systematically
evaluate and identify environmental inventory, impact, key factors, decisions, optimization and improvement opportunities associated with all stages of system
boundary concurrently (Hong et al. 2015).
LCA can be used to recognize latent environmental impacts to develop ecodesign products such as printers, desktop personal computers, heating and air conditioner devices, washing machines and toys.
8.1.2.4 Multicriteria Analysis of E-Waste
Multicriteria analysis (MCA) is a decision-making device developed for considering tactical decisions and resolving multifaceted multicriteria problems that include
qualitative/quantitative aspects of the problem (Kiddee et al. 2013). MCA decisionmaking tool can be used by decision-makers to discover the most appropriate portfolio that consists of multiple measures for overcoming the barriers in the way of
sustainable E-waste management under the conditions of uncertainty and incomplete information (An et al. 2015).
8 E-Waste Management from Macroscopic to Microscopic Scale
economy owing to the fact that no record exists for E-waste products in the national
statistics of goods produced, sold and traded in (Lau et al. 2013). To a degree, the
issue of deficient data can be circumvented by construction using the principle of
mass balance (Kahhat and Williams 2012). Hence implementing an inclusive
approach in assembling data for MFA could help minimize environmental hazards
and maximizing potential resources in a particular system (Agamuthu et al. 2015).
A primary step to be taken for the successful MFA for E-wastes in any country is
the creation of an inventory of E-wastes in that region. To accurately do this, sales
data (obtained during production, importation, exportation), stock data or quantity
of equipment currently in use (determined from households using these devices
and/or workplaces where E-waste can be found) and the average lifetime of the
items (this depends on the behaviour of each consumer) are required (Lau et al.
2013).
8.1.2.3 Life Cycle Assessment of E-Waste
Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be defined as a systematic strategy that can be
used to assess and quantify the environmental performance associated with the various phases of a product creation, processes and activities (Hong et al. 2015). LCA
also finds application in defining many environment impact(s) categories such as
carcinogens, climate change, the ozone layer, ecotoxicity, acidification, eutrophication and land use, to improve the environmental performance of products (Kiddee
et al. 2013).
LCA has also been used to design eco-friendly electronic devices and to curtail
E-waste problems (Kiddee et al. 2013). LCA can also be used to systematically
evaluate and identify environmental inventory, impact, key factors, decisions, optimization and improvement opportunities associated with all stages of system
boundary concurrently (Hong et al. 2015).
LCA can be used to recognize latent environmental impacts to develop ecodesign products such as printers, desktop personal computers, heating and air conditioner devices, washing machines and toys.
8.1.2.4 Multicriteria Analysis of E-Waste
Multicriteria analysis (MCA) is a decision-making device developed for considering tactical decisions and resolving multifaceted multicriteria problems that include
qualitative/quantitative aspects of the problem (Kiddee et al. 2013). MCA decisionmaking tool can be used by decision-makers to discover the most appropriate portfolio that consists of multiple measures for overcoming the barriers in the way of
sustainable E-waste management under the conditions of uncertainty and incomplete information (An et al. 2015).
8 E-Waste Management from Macroscopic to Microscopic Scale