Growth in the consumer sector is a reason for us to celebrate and a signal for us to change.

The consumer sector is arguably the most powerful aspect of today’s immense electronics industry, influencing our quality of life and our perception of it. The standards of functionality, appearance and quality are far above the norms of just a few years ago, and many of us own far more of these luxuriant items than previous generations could have dreamed.

The consumer electronics market is worth $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion today and could hit $3 trillion by 2030. That represents 30-50% of the total global electronics market, which is about $4 trillion right now. This is a success worth celebrating, as it indicates rising standards of living worldwide as economies develop and prosperity increases. We all benefit from this.

But what defines consumer technology? In the past, one might have said that consumer items are relatively simple, low-grade and low-cost, especially when compared to cutting-edge markets like defense systems or civil avionics. This is no longer the case, as our homes and pockets now contain some of the world’s most advanced and state-of-the-art technology. One thing that does seem to connect these devices and differentiate them from other types of products is their expected lifetime. Typically, consumer products have a life of about three to five years before they fail or people replace them with newer models. Televisions and washing machines can last for longer, from five to 10 years on average.

This means about half of the vast number of electronic devices emerging from our factories are discarded after only about five years. We can equate this to as much as 80 million tons of e-waste every year, and it’s increasing by 4-5%. It could reach 100 million tons by 2030.

We have been trying to deal with this growing problem for some time, with sparse success. Initiatives like takeback schemes have arrived and disappeared, and repairability has gained little traction. Repairing and incrementally upgrading – instead of discarding – our gadgets is an attractive idea, particularly to the thrifty among us. In reality, products like smartphones simply are not designed to be repaired, and there are more barriers to consider: the styling quickly becomes outdated, the technology is no longer compatible with networks and standards, the software has moved on and upgrading these satisfactorily demands specialist knowledge and equipment.

Still, cultural norms are shifting, and consumers are concerned about the impact their gadgets are having on the environment. On the other hand, popular demand for shiny new things that offer more features, faster performance and the latest styles continues unabated.

We might consider the types of materials used to build consumer electronic products, and move towards biodegradable or lower environmental impact materials. Many of these short-lived products are robustly engineered, which communicates a reassuring sense of quality. Many of the components, including chassis, enclosures, PCBs and connectors, could last for hundreds of years. And yet, within 60 months, most of them have been superseded and relegated to the back of a drawer or thrown into the local electronic waste pile.

We could consider new design approaches, such as design for recyclability, design for reclamation and design for biodegradability. There are interesting new material technologies and processes developing, including materials made from stacked and pressed paper or natural fibers, impregnated with a biodegradable binder, that can be strong enough to build load-bearing and electrically safe components. As a potential replacement for materials like plastics and aluminum, we could see ecologically circular concepts like these transform the look and feel – and environmental footprint – of numerous home and office products. It’s also somewhat “circular” to reflect that resin-impregnated paper is the main material in the brown circuit boards of some mid-20th-century equipment now residing in museums of ancient technology.

In the PCB industry, we have long sought to develop fabrication processes that can effectively reduce the waste generated when producing typical circuit boards. Etching away vast quantities of copper to leave the circuit traces we want is time-consuming and energy-intensive. Although some of that copper can be reclaimed, this, too, is a cost for the PCB producer to bear. High-quality digital printing can now deliver sufficient accuracy and repeatability to offer a viable alternative to etching, and some companies are positioning themselves to provide usable solutions.

It’s also worth considering the waste from the 1" border that manufacturers always keep around the perimeter of each panel and discard after singulation. In an 18x24" panel, this represents 18% of the material. Moreover, each layer is already cut and trimmed before the panel is pressed. In total, about 30% of the highly engineered prepreg sheet material is discarded before the board leaves the shop. And the useful remainder is discarded five years later.

Solving these challenges is not easy. Finding a satisfactory response could depend on fundamental shifts in manufacturing approaches and perhaps also our concepts of consumer satisfaction. Consumer concern is growing, although interests are conflicted. Government regulations have proved effective in some areas, with the adoption of electric vehicles one notable success. This sector is now growing quickly and accounts for some 30% of new car registrations.

On the other hand, regulation can be slow to arrive while the problem is growing in lockstep with the market. Those companies leading the quest for circular, environmentally benign or neutral materials, as well as more ecologically friendly processes, could open the way forward and drive faster progress toward a more sustainable model.

Alun Morgan is technology ambassador at Ventec International Group (venteclaminates.com); alun.morgan@ventec-europe.com. His column runs monthly.

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