Important announcement

Dear visitor,

Please note that this OpenCourseWare platform will be replaced at the end of 2026 by a new platform (under the same url ocw.tudelft.nl).

Courses and their contents that are currently available the platform will partly be migrated. URL’s for this content will change and content might be unavailable for some time. In addition, some courses will not be available anymore.

If you are linking to specific courses on this platform (for instance for your students), please take timely measures to avoid problems with access. Possible actions are:

  • Download the materials to your local platform (laptop, server)
  • For educators only (including TU Delft lecturers): Contact us at ocw@tudelft.nl and inform us what course you are using in what context (institute, program, period of use, number of students). We will research (in collaboration with the authors of the course) and decide if we will migrate the course, and if yes, can supply you with a new url.

Thank you.

Home Courses Waste Management and Critical Raw Materials Course materials Lectures 4.4.1 Reverse logistics

4.4.1 Reverse logistics

Course subject(s) Module 4. Collection systems

In order to retrieve products for re-use and high-efficient recycling, the products have to be brought back to the producer or a to third party. In this video Michael Johnson presents the aspects of reverse logistics for the collection of equipment.

https://youtu.be/xwP9ZJDFIBI

Main takeaways

  • A look at logistical  processes associated with refurbishing and remanufacture, how equipment is sourced for refurbishment and some of the risks involved.
  • Reverse Logistics describes everything that happens to a product after a consumer buys it. It can include returns, repairs, refurbishment, recycling, reuse or re-manufacturing. Reverse Logistics aims to close the loop of product lifecycles and help transition to a circular economy.
  • The biggest logistical problem is being able to source a constant, steady supply of high quality laptops and equipment for refurbishment.
  • Issues such as data security, privacy and corporate secrets are huge concerns for businesses who decide to recycle their unwanted IT and computer equipment.

Some further reading, if you want to take this topic further:

Creative Commons License
Waste Management and Critical Raw Materials by TU Delft OpenCourseWare is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://online-learning.tudelft.nl/courses/waste-management-and-critical-raw-materials/.
Back to top
[sg_popup id=6]