International Research Activities for Green Electronics

E-waste processing in developing nations has only recently emerged as an important issue, thus

relevant research remains scarce. The overarching issue of assessing and managing the environmental impacts of electronics, however, has a history of research and implementation, especially from the 1990’s. Terming this field of research “Green Electronics”, major areas of research and activity include:

Design for environment,

Recycling processes and systems,

Eco-labelling,

Disassembly,

Greening supply chains,

Life cycle assessment.

In recent years, meeting the requirements of the European Union’s Waste Electronic and Electronical Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directives have dominated. For stance, the challenge of finding economically and performance alternatives for lead-based solders has becomes a major target in design for environment.