Application of the Electronic Product Code EPC to the Product Lifecycle of Electronic Products

According to the Manufuture Strategic Research Agenda 2006, the market is increasingly in demand of a business focus which has shifted from designing and selling physical products to supplying a system of products and services (‘product/services’ or ‘extended products’) that are jointly capable of fulfilling users’ demands, while also reducing total life-cycle costs and environmental impacts. The new focus calls for an integrated system that includes the entire lifecycle of creation, production, distribution and end-of-life treatment of products. This is imperative in particular to the manufacturers of electronic equipment sold in Europe, upon whom increasing regulatory pressure is being applied to provide support for the recycling, reuse and refurbishing of their products. Especially the introduction of the European Community directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) together with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS Directive) 2002/95/EC force manufacturers to act with regards to lifecycle management in order to retain the profitability of these products. The directives, which were adopted into European Law in February 2003, oblige the EU member states to transpose their provisions into national law by August 2004. In Germany, for example, both directives have been implemented as national law (Elektround Elektronikgerätegesetz ElektroG), which regulates the restriction of hazardous substances and the end-of-life treatment for electrical and electronic equipment.