The greening of products and production - a new challenge for engineers

Increasing concern for the environment induces a demand for products and processes that do as little damage to the environment as possible. Following a description of current legislation in Germany, the situation of waste is illustrated by the example of appliance scrap. With regard to complex electronic products, recovery of both valuable and harmful materials can only be achieved by means of disassembly. The future requirements of easing the situation of waste disposal are contrasted with the impact on European industry