Conceptualizing a safe, manual disassembly line for rechargeable consumer electronics batteries

Despite the large market for consumer products, progress on successful disassembly and recirculation of products at their end-of-life (EOL) stage remains inadequate. Factors contributing include the increasing complexity of product designs, the diverse range of materials used in manufacturing, unpredictable return volumes and unfavourable economic incentives for recycling and recirculation. For some products, such as batteries from rechargeable consumer electronics (RCBs), there is also a high risk associated with processing EOL-RCBs. This work systematically investigates the hazards associated with manual disassembly. A Fault Tree is generated from a Preliminary Hazard List, and Shortest Paths To Failure (SPTFs) on this tree are determined. Using these critical paths, measures to mitigate the risks identified are developed. This methodology is employed to design a safe, manual disassembly process for End-of-Life Rechargeable Consumer Batteries (EOL-RCBs).This approach is applied to EOL-RCBs to conceptualize a safe, manual EOL-RCB disassembly process, recognizing that such operations are likely to occur in low-wage countries. By focusing on worker safety as the primary concern, the approach aims to create protocols that protect those involved in the disassembly while minimizing unnecessary landfilling of still-functional products.