The Role of Repair and Refurbishment in Extending Lifetime of Electrical Electronic Equipment in Nigeria

Abstract

The adaptation of traditional linear economic system for electrical electronic equipment (EEE) has a significant impact on the active use time and the rate of electronic waste (e-waste) generation. The management of e-waste requires an understanding of the quantity and rate of transition of EEE to electronic waste (e-waste). This study used data generated from household survey to develop a life time model which reflects the specific reuse (often with repair and refurbishment) traditions common in developing countries and discusses how these influence ewaste generation – using Nigeria as a case study. The repair and reuse tradition in Nigeria deviated from the "linear economies" which often use and dispose electronic devices without co nsidering reuse options. Result shows that 74 % of respondent indicated that faulty EEE could be repaired and reused more than twice before disposal. Lifetime of the studied devices are extended by an average of 11 years for TVs, 9 years for refrigerators, 5 years for laptops, 7 years for desktop computer and 6 years for DVDs when compared to previous lifetime estimate in literature Longer value reuse of EEE is arguably one of the smartest ways to keep materials out of the waste stream and landfill.