THE ECONOMICS OF PERSONAL-COMPUTER REMANUFACTURING

Personal computers (PCs) are among the durable goods of shortest life cycle. Given the increased population of PCs, and their quick turnover , their disposal represents a considerable environmental concern. Howe ver, many users do not require the latest technology for running their applications. This opens an opportunity for renovated or remanufactur ed machines. This paper addresses the complexity of PC manufacturing a nd the difficulties in developing adequate recovery processes. A recov ery process is proposed and evaluated. It allows the coexistence of tw o markets: one for remanufactured PCs and another for all-new PCs. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.