Sustainable End-of-Life Operations

End-of-life operations cover all operations that support a circular economy or waste disposal. They include collection, pre-processing, re-use, repair, refurbishing, remanufacturing, recycling, energy recovery, measures to reduce or remove any negative impacts of (hazardous) waste as well as processes that support biological recovery processes like composting. Final disposal is the alternative to circular economy. Sustainable end-of-life operations optimize the environmental, economic and social value of products and services. The overall aim of sustainable end-of-life operations is to maintain material flows in the useable technosphere for as long as possible, maximize the environmental, social and economic benefits of these and minimize any negative implications. This chapter demonstrates the organization of material flows in various circularity approaches within or between product life cycles to allow efficient material utilization cascades. Natural materials, fiber reinforced polymers, EV batteries and rare earth containing magnets illustrate these principles.