Product Self-Management: Evolution in Recycling and Reuse VALERIE M. THOMAS* Princeton Environmental Institute, Guyot Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 This paper explores the potential to make product recycling and reuse easier by shifting responsibility for product management toward the product itself. Examples range from barcode-enabled Internet sales of used products to RFID-enabled garbage trucks that identify recyclable items and provide rebates. Initial steps toward product self-management have made opportunistic use of product bar codes and Internet markets. In the United States, Internet markets are driving increased reuse of products. In the European Union, recycling and waste management policy is driving the use of radio electronics in waste management. Prospects for product self- management are assessed from both a technological and an economic perspective. The technological analysis indicates that radio-frequency tags offer some advantages over bar codes, but their application to product self- management requires considerable investment in the waste management infrastructure. This suggests that early applications of advanced product tags are most suitable for Germany and other countries where the waste management industry has already integrated information technology into its operations. The economic analysis indicates that increased reuse of products can reduce consumption of new products and materials, although on a less than one-to-one basis, simultaneously reducing costs for consumers and deriving more value from existing products. 1. Concept of Product Self-Management What is the future of environmental management of prod- ucts? Will many more types of products be recycled? Will there be much greater use of second-hand products and parts?Willmunicipalwaste management go high-tech?What will drive change? The obstacles to product recycling and reuse are widely recognized.Productsare widelydispersed amongconsumers, so finding and collecting products for recycling is difficult. Each consumer and business is faced with a complexproblem of trying to optimize the management of many types of products.Moreover,there are manydifferent modelsofsome types of product, each requiring different end-of-life pro- cedures. Thispaper exploresthe proposition that product recycling and reuse could be made easier and cheaper by shifting responsibilityfor product management to the product itself. Thatis,a combination ofinformation technologyand product design could allow products to more or less automatically manage their end-of-life. Product self-management could include a wide variety of activities. It could include not only end-of-life management,which is emphasized in this paper, but also management of energy consumption and mainte- nance throughout the life of the product. For end-of-life, products could contain information on how they can be recycled, repaired, or sold. At a more developed level, products set out in the trash could sell themselves on the Internet or to scrap dealers.Consumersand businessesmight automatically search the content of recycling bins and schedule delivery of items via a combined recycling/resale service. Optimistically, it is possible that waste flows would be reduced and that waste management would become profitable for consumers. Presented as a pure concept, product self-management is an ideal that is unlikely to be realized. Under the guise of product self-management, it is possible to imagine a wide range of systems that would be expensive and unpopular. The actual development of product self-management will be constrained bycosts;technology;public acceptance;and the economic, environmental, and social benefits. Environ- mentally motivated product self-management is only one aspect ofa more general evolution toward the integration of information technology into everyday life (1). The purpose of this paper is to explore what is technically feasible and to begin to explore what might happen if products are set free to manage themselves. 2. Steps toward Product Self-Management Although today’sself-managingproductsare limited to those that biodegrade, there are some examples of steps toward product self-management for durable products. These include the resin identification codes for plastic bottles, use of product bar codes for recycling information, and develop- ments in Internet markets.These are discussed in turn below. Plastic Resin Identification Codes. It is widelyrecognized that labels on products can make recycling easier. For example, the 1988 development of the plastic resin identi- fication codes enabled the widespread implementation of plastic bottle recycling programs (2). The labels on plastic bottles make it easier for consumers and recyclers to sort bottles for recycling,and in this sense,the plastic resin codes were an early step in the direction of product self-manage- ment. Bar Codes for Recycling Information. Bar codes on products can provide more detailed recycling information. For example, as shown in Figure 1, bar codes on cell phones can be linked to web-based information for recyclers and dismantlers (3). Cell phones in Europe and many other countries use the GSM networking system, in which each phone is identified by a unique 15-digit number (the IMEI number). The first nine digits of this number identify the make and model of the phone. Most GSM cell phones have alabelunderneath thebatterythatcontainstheIMEInumber both as a printed number and as a bar code. This IMEI numbercan belinked toadatabaseshowinghowtodismantle each modelofcellphone.This system was developed for use in the European Union where the recycling of cell phones and other electronic devices is expected to be mandated. This application depends on the fortuitous existence of a standard bar code on GSM cellphonesthat identifythe make andmodelofthephone.Nootherelectronicproductisknown to have a standard, cross-manufacturer label such as this. Internet Markets. A progression toward product self- management can also be seen in the evolution of sales of second-hand goods on the Internet. On eBay, one of the most successful Internet businesses, people can auction off *E-mail: vmthomas@princeton.edu; telephone: (609)258-4665; fax: (609)258-1716. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 5297-5302 10.1021/es0345120 CCC: $25.00  2003 American Chemical Society VOL. 37, NO. 23, 2003 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 9 5297 Published on Web 10/24/2003