Evaluating overall quality of recycling of e-waste from end-of-life computers

Primary constituents of e-waste from end-of-life (EOL) computers consist of glass, metals and plastics. Thus the quality of recycling of e-waste is dependent upon individual indicators like cathode ray tube (CRT) recycling, plastics recycling and recovery of metals which in turn is dependent upon various other attributes. The problem of assigning a single overall measure of quality to each system in a set of similar EOL computers recycling systems has not been duly addressed in literature. An aggregate measure of total quality of recycling system for EOI. computers would be helpful to top management in accessing overall development where different versions of recycled products are produced. Thus, the central idea in this research is to combine different types of recycling process parameters into an aggregate value representing the overall quality of recycling of each of the systems. In this research, we have used Multi-Attribute Global Inference of Quality (MAGIQ) technique for accomplishing this objective. Results of research conducted in a case company show that application of this technique can provide decision makers with a clear picture on the quality of various recycling systems under evaluation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.