Repair vs. replacement: Selection of the best end-of-life scenario for small household electric and electronic equipment based on life cycle assessment

This study presents a methodology designed for selecting, from an environmental point of view, the best end-of-life scenario for electric and electronic equipment which breaks before the end of its life span. To this end, the environmental impact of the life cycle of the equipment is evaluated for two different end-of-life scenarios: repair & reuse vs. replacement. As a case study, the proposed methodology is applied to a representative sample of nine categories of small household electric and electronic equipment (120 appliances). Repair & reuse scenarios consider the life span and the typical failures and repairs associated with each electric and electronic equipment category and the use of the repaired equipment until the remaining life span after its breakage. Replacement scenarios also consider the life span associated to each electric and electronic equipment category and the replacement of the broken equipment by an equivalent during the remaining life span after its breakage. The environmental impact obtained for both scenarios for each small household electric and electronic equipment category is compared in order to identify the best end-of-life scenario. To do so, the life cycle assessment methodology is applied, using CML and ReCiPe as midpoint- and endpoint-impact assessment methods, respectively. The results indicate that for all the analysed categories, the repair & reuse scenarios generally prove environmentally better than replacement scenarios, as Directive 2012/19/EU promotes. However, for some types of failure, e.g. those related to motors or printed circuit boards, if the failure occurs at the end of its life span, replacement is a better option than repair & reuse, since the environmental impact of the repair activities is not offset by the environmental benefits of extending the useful life until the end of the life span.