Eco-industrial development as a new strategy for end of life management of electronic equipment

Over thirty communities in North America are creating eco-industrial projects as a new paradigm for environmentally sensitive economic development. These developments promise job creation, resource efficiency, and reduced municipal waste burdens through carefully designed and applied industrial ecology principles. This paper seeks to understand the evolution of eco-industrial developments and examine their application within the context of electronics disposition. It offers examples of operating and potential park developments and the various strategic and design approaches taken by different communities. It also highlights the potential synergies, both materially and economically, inherent in these types of developments and suggests a cluster or regional approach to electronics recycling efforts in general.