Influence of the service life of products in terms of their environmental impact : establishing an information base and developing strategies against "obsolescence" : final report

The overall aim of the project is to create a sound data base for describing and assessing the phenomenon of obsolescence, and trends on lifespan and use times, and based on this, to develop strategies against obsolescence. The results show that there are various reasons for replacing electrical and electronic appliances. Material, functional, psychological, and economic obsolescence operate in conjunction in highly complex ways. Even the causes of material obsolescence are quite diverse and pinpointing any one specific cause is difficult. However, the study confirms that the first useful service life of most of the analysed product groups has decreased over recent years. At the same time, increasing numbers of electrical and electronic appliances are being replaced although they are still in working order. In such cases, the desire to possess an even better appliance is key. It was also found that an increasing proportion of appliances are replaced or disposed of before they reach a first useful service life of 5 years. From an environmental perspective, long-life products perform better in all environmental impact categories than short-life products. The economic performance of long-life products depends largely on the difference between the prices of long-life and short-life products, as well as on costs for repair and upgrades required to achieve a longer use time. Against the background of technological development and innovations in electrical and electronic appliances, requirements pertaining to product lifespans and standardization build the core of strategies against obsolescence. Further requirements include innovative service models of manufacturers, minimum requirements for software, improved consumer information, extended obligations to inform by manufacturers, and improved reparability of the products.