The KERP projects cover the entire life cycle of electrical and electronic products – from design and manufacturing to consumer behaviour and recycling of electronic scrap. This comprehensive approach allows the Centre to optimise and cross-relate the findings from the various product life cycle stages. Its objective is to optimise the environmental friendliness of electrical and electronic equipment, while giving consideration to consumer behaviour and economic, technological, and legal settings.

The research topics of KERP include:

KERP research topics ‘end of life management’ and ‘eco design’ are succesfully implemented together with public and private partners. To prove evidence that eco design is a meaningful concept, KERP experts developed the prototype of an environmentally friendly, wireless computer mouse which meets the current EU-Directives.

In the field of end of life management, research has been carried out on the recycling of plastics from electrical and electronic waste. Plastics have to be sorted and cleaned both mechanically and chemically – a process which is very difficult in the case of dark and contaminated plastics.

Together with the German Fraunhofer Institute ivv Freising, KERP investigated the so-called Creasolv® process and carried out tests
at a pilot plant. The recycled sorts of pure plastics gained from the process have the same quality as new materials.

Furthermore, KERP is continuously coaching SMEs on how to meet EU-legislation from a national and international perspective.

KERP’s activities help to build up technological, environmental, legal, and socio-scientific know-how. The projects contribute to the creation of:

Thanks to intensive public relations and networking activities (nationally and internationally), KERP could raise the environmental awareness in the electronics industry. Businesses do not contact KERP only to solve current problems but also to anticipate future challenges.

KERP is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

This practice was presented at the Fourth Best Practice Conference New Horizons in Graz, Austria on 15 November 2006. The conference aimed at promoting exchange of experience and dissemination of best practice between authorities involved in the implementation on EU Structural Funds Programmes in Europe. It was destined to contribute to improving quality of implementation of Structural Funds on the basis of project presentations and visits.

KERP
Sabine Schwalbach (Public Relations Officer)

01/12/2001

case

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Environmental sustainability