Recycling of Cartridges in a Closed Loop Circular Economy

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2022
Typ of student thesis
Master
Course of study
Type
11 - Student thesis
Editors
Editor (Corporation)
Parent work
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Link
Series
Series number
Volume
Issue / Number
Pages / Duration
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW
Place of publication / Event location
Olten
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
This thesis evaluate s if used ink and toner cartridge s can be kept through recycling in a closed loop Circular Economy where both polymer s and electronical waste can be fed back into the loop for creating new cartridges In order to evaluate this closed loop approach qualitative data is gathered through interviews and interpreted so that necessary requirements and their respective prioritisation are identified for designing and developing a n appropriate recycling process. Based on the conducted interviews, it is outlined that depending on the recycling method different ways exist how cartridges can be kept in a closed loop. Therefore according to the prioritisation of the different requirements, the three different categories groups for processing and recycling cartridges are identified and discussed. Namely, these groups are the remanufacturers, the recyclers, and the refillers. A s a further result, a challenge that all three groups seem to face is the lack of customer awareness and the low return rate of cartridges. However, it is shown that by increasing the customer awareness and the return rate the profitability can be increase d and the environmental impact reduced all at the same time Eventually, this thesis identifies which requirements are relevant with r espect to the three groups as well as their specific prioritisation As other produ cts also contain polymers and electronical components, the requirements and their prioritisation may also be taken as reference for other similar recycling processes his thesis evaluate s if used ink and toner cartridge s can be kept through recycling in a closed loop Circular Economy where both polymer s and electronical waste can be fed back into the loop for creating new cartridges In order to evaluate this closed loop approach qualitative data is gathered through interviews and interpreted so that necessary requirements and their respective prioritisation are identified for designing and developing a n appropriate recycling process. Based on the conducted interviews, it is outlined that depending on the recycling method different ways exist how cartridges can be kept in a closed loop. Therefore according to the prioritisation of the different requirements, the three different categories groups for processing and recycling cartridges are identified and discussed. Namely, these groups are the remanufacturers, the recyclers, and the refillers. A s a further result, a challenge that all three groups seem to face is the lack of customer awareness and the low return rate of cartridges. However, it is shown that by increasing the customer awareness and the return rate the profitability can be increase d and the environmental impact reduced all at the same time Eventually, this thesis identifies which requirements are relevant with r espect to the three groups as well as their specific prioritisation As other produ cts also contain polymers and electronical components, the requirements and their prioritisation may also be taken as reference for other similar recycling processes
Keywords
Subject (DDC)
Project
Event
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
Conference start date
Conference end date
Date of the last check
ISBN
ISSN
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Review
Open access category
License
Citation
Wüthrich, J. (2022). Recycling of Cartridges in a Closed Loop Circular Economy [Hochschule für Wirtschaft FHNW]. https://irf.fhnw.ch/handle/11654/48644