Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Sustainable Production and Consumption journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/spc Investigating a repair workshop: The reuse of washing machines in Barcelona Laura Talens Peiró a,∗, Beatriz García Fernández a, Xavier Gabarrell i Durany a,b a Sostenipra (2017SGR 01683), Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Unitat Excelencia Maria de Maetzu MDM CEX2019-000940-M), 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain b Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Catalan Biotechnology Reference Network - XRB Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: The reuse and repair of products are often good strategies from a holistic resource conservation perspec- Received 2 July 2021 tive. Many organizations active in reuse concentrate in cities where a greater share of wasted electrical Revised 2 October 2021 and electronic equipment is generated. The number of companies active in the reuse of these products Accepted 4 October 2021 is still limited, and information about the procedures and, more importantly, about the equipment effec- Available online 6 October 2021 tively reused is not publicly available yet in many cases. This leads to imprecise knowledge about reuse Editor: Prof. K. Tsagarakis in these organizations and unreliable data about the progress to a circular economy in cities and regions. The release of new standards on material efficiency represents a big step towards the harmonization of Keywords: Reuse methods and indicators to monitor reuse and repair of products, but its use is challenging for existing Repair workshops workshops. This study examines the reuse of washing machines (WMs) at a local workshop with the Material efficiency objective of understanding the internal procedures for repair and reuse and defining indicators suitable Circular economy to monitor these activities. The assessment at the company level shows that in 2018, approximately 77% E-waste of the WMs collected were recycled, 10% were repaired (80% of these needed multiple parts) and 2% Circularity were refurbished. At the product level, the proportion of reused components varies greatly from 4% to 14% when calculated by number on products to 60% when considering number balance. An economic analysis shows that using spare parts from wasted WMs increases the economic benefits up to 3-fold. In conclusion, the indicators proposed are useful to understand the performance of these workshops and potentially useful to quantify reuse at the city and regional scales. © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) 1. Introduction agement at their end of life represent two major concerns glob- ally. WEEE is the fastest-growing type of waste, increasing annually Technological advances in electrical and electronic equipment from 3% to 5% (Balde et al., 2017; Guo and Yan, 2017). According to (EEE) have deeply influenced society since the beginning of the The Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report (Forti et al., 2020), the 1990s (Baldé et al., 2015). EEE make daily lives easier. However, world generated 53.6 million metric tonnes of WEEE, and it is ex- there are many environmental and social impacts associated with pected to increase to 74.7 million metric tonnes by 2030. In 2019, them. For instance, the environmental impacts are generated by only 17% of the total WEEE generated was collected through appro- the extraction and processing of materials required for their manu- priate collection schemes, while the end-of-life management of the facturing (Williams et al., 2002). Additionally, social impacts linked remaining 83% was not documented (Balde et al., 2017). Eurostat to occupational health and safety in informal collection and recy- estimated that from the WEEE collected in 2016, 68% was recycled, cling (Sharma, 2015) in addition to employment quality are gen- 2% prepared for reuse and the remaining 30% was incinerated or erally characterized by low wages, excess overtime and a lack of landfilled (Eurostat, 2016). Globally, almost 50% of WEEE generated social security systems (Manhart, 2007). The continual increase in by developed countries ends up in developing countries. Conse- the amount of wasted EEE hereafter referred to as WEEE and man- quently, the management of WEEE continues to be a frequent un- resolved issue in developing countries (Awasthi and Li, 2017). Some authors suggest that the continual increase in WEEE is the result ∗ Corresponding author. of the lack of measures to counteract products with shorted life- E-mail address: laura.talens@uab.cat (L. Talens Peiró). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.10.003 2352-5509/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 times and with limitations of technological updates (Bakhiyi et al., studies about social organizations active on reuse and repair is lim- 2018; Morris and Metternicht, 2016; Tansel, 2017). ited as well (Curran and Williams, 2010; Ongondo et al., 2013). To During the past decade, the European Commission (EC) has the best of the authors’ knowledge, the existing literature focuses launched a set of new directives with the aim of moving towards extensively on the discussion of CE indicators with little contribu- more sustainable products and reducing the amount of WEEE. tion from practice about the existing procedures at companies and Some of the most relevant policies include the 2009/125/EC ecode- how these companies need to be adapted to improve their perfor- sign directive (European Commission, 2009) to improve the dura- mance. The lack of these analyses can represent a lost opportunity bility of products and make them easier to repair, reuse and re- to prepare existing workshops for the reporting of CE indicators cycle, the 2011/65/UE Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) useful to assess reuse at greater level (i.e., cities, regions). Directive (European Commission, 2011) to limit the use of six haz- Following the recommendation of (Saidani et al., 2019), this ardous materials found in EEE, and the recast of the WEEE Direc- study proposes the development of specific indicators tailored to tive (European Parliament and The Council Of The European Union, a specific context with the objective of further encouraging the 2012) on the End of Life (EoL) management of wastes to incen- measurement of the performance of organizations contributing to tivize the collection and improve recovery and recycling of WEEE. CE strategies. As an example, this study analyses the repair and Although these directives include several strategies towards more reuse of washing machines (WMs) in a local independent repair sustainable products, the development of specific regulations tradi- workshop in Barcelona. The study starts with a literature survey of tionally focused on the energy efficiency of products (Gabarrell Du- existing studies analysing CE at the microlevel and the existing in- rany et al., 2017) and then the collection and recycling targets by dicators to monitor reuse and repair. Then, a detailed description EU members (Lee et al., 2017). The publication of the first Circu- of the processes inspired by the methodology material flow anal- lar Economy Action Plan (European Commission, 2015) motivated ysis (MFA) was used to assess the performance in terms of repair, the development of new regulations that include material effi- refurbishment, and reuse rates at the company level. A more de- ciency implementing measures to be compulsorily implemented tailed analysis of the internal processes allows for the calculation at the design phase of new manufacturing products and therefore of some of the CEN/CENELEC material efficiency indicators at the enhance their repairability, remanufacturing, durability and reuse product level. An economic analysis was further developed to un- (Ardente et al., 2018). According to the latest information avail- derstand the economic benefit of harvesting and using spare parts able from the EC website, nine out of the 31 product groups regu- for repair. The study continues by discussing the use of the CE indi- lated for ecodesign include implementing measures related to ma- cators proposed in workshops and how they can be used to assess terial efficiency (European Commission, 2021). Such implementa- reuse at a higher level to give more comprehensive information to tion measures vary from product group to product group. For ex- public administrations willing to monitor progress towards CE. ample, the ecodesign regulation of welding equipment has require- ments on the availability of spare parts, access to repair and main- 2. Literature review tenance information, delivery time of spare parts, information for dismantling, and information requirements in the instruction man- Although CE strategies are progressively considered to de- uals (European Commission, 2018). The ecodesign regulation of cir- velop more sustainable products, case studies illustrating the in- culators and pump devices includes only a request on information ternal procedures that products undergo in organizations to allow on how to install, use and maintain the product and the availabil- reuse and repair are rarely available (Curran and Williams, 2010; ity of information freely available on websites (European Commis- Ongondo et al., 2013). CE indicators, in many cases referred to as sion, 2012). Including material efficiency requirements in the lat- circularity indicators, fail to measure every possible CE strategy. For est ecodesign regulations demonstrates a clear commitment to ad- example, the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) combines in one vance towards product policies that support more sustainable EEE index information of the mass (virgin and recycled materials and in the EU. The effective implementation of such regulations will be waste) and product lifespan (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015). reflected in an increasing amount of EEE reused and repaired and Total restored products (TRPs) simultaneously account for products therefore a reduction in the volume of WEEE in the next years. reused, refilled, refurbished, redistributed, and remanufactured at To investigate the impact of new ecodesign regulations in in- the end of life (EoL) (Pauliuk, 2018). Kristensen et al. revised 30 creasing the amount of reused EEE, it is necessary to obtain more indicators at the micro level, most of which referred to recycling, comprehensive information on the processes, including the avail- end of life or remanufacturing (Kristensen and Mosgaard, 2020). ability and typology of data along with indicators for the per- Two out of the 30 indicators analysed focus on reuse at the prod- formance of reuse and repair workshops (Parajuly et al., 2017). uct level: the potential reuse index (PRI) (Mesa et al., 2018) and the In this context, the CEN/CENELEC in close collaboration with circularity calculator (CC) (IDEAL&CO Explore, 2016). At the prod- original equipment manufacturers (OEM) has published a new uct level, there are several CEN/CENELEC standards published in re- series of eight standards that include methods and indicators cent years relevant from a repair perspective: EN45553 to assess to evaluate the material efficiency aspects, such as repairability, the ability to remanufacture products (European Committee for reusability and remanufacturability of new energy-related products Standardization, 2020b), EN45554 to assess the ability for repair, (European Committee for Standardization, 2020a). These standards reuse and upgrade score described in EN45554 (European Commit- aim to help normalize and further promote preparation for reuse tee for Standardization, 2020c), and EN45556 to assess the propor- within the extended producer responsibility (Grunow and Gobbi, tion of reused components (European Committee for Standardiza- 2009; Kunz et al., 2018; Zacho et al., 2018). However, although tion, 2020d). In the next section, the applicability of some of the they represent a step forward, investigating their applicability to indicators proposed will be discussed. already existing equipment and defining additional indicators to Regarding the analysis of WMs, Tecchio et al. developed a case assess reuse activities at the organization level are required. Sev- study on WMs and dishwashers in collaboration with the Austrian eral studies have analysed the impact of the circular economy (CE) independent repairer Reparatur und Service Zentrum (RUSZ) located in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (Prieto-Sandoval et al., in Vienna (Austria) (Tecchio et al., 2019, 2016). Most of the analy- 2018; Thorley et al., 2019) and revised indicators of a circular econ- sis was performed at the product level. However, it includes some omy at the microlevel (Kristensen and Mosgaard, 2020; Rincón- data at the company level, which can be useful to assess the per- Moreno et al., 2021). All these studies highlighted the small num- formance of the workshop. For example, RUSZ successfully repaired ber of practical studies at the micro level. However, the number of 5106 WMs from 2009 to 2015, which represented approximately 172 L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 75% of the WMs with a declared failure. At the product level, the Moriguchi, 2002). Mass balances allow us to ensure the consis- study includes a detailed analysis of aspects such as the durability, tency of the analysis. reusability and reparability of WMs. Regarding the reuse of WMs, the study discusses the design for disassembly, the availability of I j = O j + s (1) spare parts, the provision of information by the original WM man- Fourth, it was generally desirable to perform an uncertainty ufacturer and the possibility of reprogramming the product’s soft- analysis to avoid the misinterpretation of the results and to help ware and erasing error codes after repair services. In addition, it identify the weaknesses of the model and therefore enhance the proposes the reuse index, expressed by a set of 15 different envi- robustness of the results and interpretations (Allesch and Rech- ronmental impact categories commonly used in life cycle impact berger, 2018). However, in some cases, the goal of the MFA does assessment (LCIA), as an indicator to assess the potential environ- not require describing the inherent uncertainty, and sensitivity mental impact of the WMs. Although the method proposed is ro- analysis and/or scenario modelling become more important ele- bust and replicable, the use of LCA represents a major difficulty in ments to be taken into consideration. Fifth, based on the system performing a regular calculation of the reuse index in a small in- definition, a list of indicators can be developed. Indicators were dependent repair workshop due to the lack of resources and skills used to measure the performance of a system or to capture the on the use LCA. Johnson et al. analysed the preparation for reuse essence of a system with numbers (Bringezu and Moriguchi, 2002; of washing in Ireland (Johnson et al., 2020). The study includes a Villalba Méndez et al., 2018). When investigating the material detailed flow diagram of the procedures of the company where flows of products, indicators at the process level are useful to ex- the trials were. However, it lacks detailed information about the amine the advances in reuse and recycling goals. At a greater scale, flows of WMs in process streams, which impedes the quantifica- they can also support the decision-making process for the develop- tion of additional indicators related to reuse. From 327 WMs col- ment of strategies from governments, authorities, and industries. lected, only 1.5% were successfully prepared for reuse and sold in Table 1 shows the list of proposed indicators defined for this anal- the market. This value was far from the result of the study devel- ysis. Please note that they have been defined based on similar oped at RUSZ in Austria. macrolevel indicators and data availability at the company level. The recycling rate refers to the number of units sent undergoing 3. Materials and methods recycling processes to recover materials and energy. Reuse refers to any operation by which products or parts thereof are used again As previously discussed, this study aims to analyse the repair for the same purpose for which they were conceived. Refurbish is the and reuse of WMs at the company level and at the product level. functional or aesthetic maintenance or repair of an item to restore to The methods used for each purpose differ from one another. At the its original, upgraded, or other predetermined form and functionality company level, the application of the mass balance principle was (CEN/CENELEC, 2019). In this study, refurbishment was monitored a powerful tool to provide a clear definition of indicators and to as the refurbishment rate (Rf) and refers to the units that need quantify reused products and those reaching recycling. At the prod- aesthetic and cosmetic treatment. Repair was the process of return- uct level, the applicability of indicators included in new standards ing the product the ability to perform a specified function. It might to assess reuse and repair was examined. The following section ex- require the use of single or multiple spare parts. The repair indi- plains in further detail the methods proposed for each typology cators include the repair rate (Re), the single repair rate (Re1), and of the analysis and the potential list of indicators useful to moni- the multiple repair rate (Ren). Last, Sankey diagrams, which repre- tor future performance. Remanufacturing, a CE strategy in which a sent the inputs and the outputs while giving the magnitude of the used product (or its components) was returned to at least its orig- flow (Cullen and Brazel, 2018), were the most accepted form to vi- inal performance level, was not considered as it was generally per- sualize the total material flows and the stock of the system. The formed by the original manufacturer (Ardente et al., 2018), which reason Sankey diagrams were so useful, it was because at a glance was not the case of the company selected for this study. one can gauge both the scale of a flow and how it connects with other flows. 3.1. Analysis at the company level 3.2. Analysis at the product level At the company level, a powerful tool to obtain a more compre- hensive understanding of the stocks and flows of products is ma- An initial review of data regularly collected in the workshop re- terial flow analysis (MFA) (Brunner and Rechberger, 2004). Based vealed that data about repair generally only referred to the typol- on the mass balance principle, diverse key performance indicators ogy and that the number of ‘spare parts’ and ‘pieces’ needed to can be defined to assess repair, refurbishment, and reuse from a be repaired or replaced in products, in addition to the sale price general perspective. This information is useful to obtain a gen- of the product once repaired. Although the repair workshop had eral idea about the relevance of repair and reuse and to follow an internal procedure to perform the disassembly of products, de- up the progress. This study, in line with the methodological hi- tailed information regarding the typology of procedures and the erarchy framework proposed by the EU H2020 project MinFuture number of steps required to perform the repair of products was (https://minfuture.eu), follows five main steps. The first step was not registered. As a result, from the initial list of indicators defined to define the system boundaries along with the processes included by the CEN/CENELEC standards (see Table a1 of the appendix), only within the system (Villalba Méndez and Talens Peiró, 2014). When the ‘proportion of reused components by number on product level the focus of the analysis was to study the circular economy indi- (Rpn ) and by number balance (Rbn ) as defined by the EN 45,556 cators, it turns necessary to define concepts within the system as are possible to estimate. ‘new product’, ‘used product’, ‘reused product’ and ‘wasted prod- Along with the reused component indicators, it was possible to uct’ and identify their stocks and their flows within the system. evaluate the economic feasibility of the repair of products in repair Second, data were gathered and reported in their system context; workshops. In this study, the economic feasibility can be assessed thus, the location of data about products was clear. Third, the mass by comparing the sale price of the repaired product using spare balance principle, which stands that the sum of all inputs in year j parts harvested from wasted products to the cost of new spare (Ij ) into the system must equal all outputs in year j (Oj ) plus/minus parts. Table 2 shows a summary of the indicators possible to quan- the changes in stock (࢞s), as illustrated by Eq. (1) (Bringezu and tify with already existing data collected in repair workshops. 173 L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 Table 1 Suggested list of indicators to monitor reuse, repair and refurbishment at the company level. Set of indicators defined at company level Indicator Definition Formula Recycling rate (%) The number of units recycled over the number of units collected. Rc (% ) = Recycled units Col l ected units Reuse rate (%) The number of units reused over the number of units collected. The number Ru (% ) = Reused units Col l ected units of reused units is calculated as the sum of the number of refurbished units and the number of repaired units Refurbish rate (%) The number of the total units refurbished over the number of units collected R f (% ) = Re f urbished units Col l ected units Repair rate (%) The number of the total units repaired over the number of units collected Re (% ) = Repaired units Col l ected units Single repair rate (%) The number of units needing a single spare part to repair over the total Re1 (% ) = Single spare part to repair units Repaired units number of units repaired Multiple repair rate (%) The number of units needing multiple spare parts to repair over the total Ren (% ) = Mul tipl e spare parts to repair units Repaired units number of units repaired Table 2 List of indicators to monitor repair and reuse at the product level. Indicator Definition  R pn = ( kntotre_k ) × 100 n Proportion of reused components by number on product level (Rpn ) nre is the number of the used components or groups of components in the assessed products ntot is the total number of components in the product Rpn is the proportion of reused components by number of the product Proportion of reused components by number Rbn = ( nunits ×nncomponents bt ) × 100 balance (Rbn ) nbt is the total number of used components or groups of components used in the defined period nunits is the number of units in the defined period ncomponents is the total number of components per unit Rbn is the total proportion of reused components or groups of components by number in the defined period for the assessed products  n Economic feasibility of repair using new spare E Frepair = P Pr p − Psp i i parts (EFrepair ) PPrp is the sale price of the repaired product using reused spare parts (€) Psp is the total cost of the new spare parts (from ith to n) needed to repair the product (€) 4. Results cycle. The feasible repair WMs were sent to Solidança’s authorized repair workshop. At Solidança premises, the WMs were registered This study analysed the reuse of washing machines at a local (including the use of labels for traceability) following internal in- workshop in Barcelona (Spain). Solidança is a social Catalan-based structions about the selection of equipment and based on operator company working in the recovery and resale of clothing and elec- knowledge. Amongst the information completed in the form, the trical and electronic equipment (EEE). This company collects these registration number, the date, the collector’s vehicle plate, and the products upon request from diverse users. Then, these products origin. In the tracking file, the technician completes some descrip- were stored, tested and, if feasible, repaired within their facili- tors of the WM: front/upper load, width (60/40 cm), load capacity ties. When they meet internal quality criteria, they were sold as (in kg), energy efficiency and motor typology (induction, univer- second-hand equipment in one of Solidança’s second-hand stores sal with brushes and brushless). The form includes a list of de- in Barcelona. The EEE collected and repaired includes refrigera- scriptors of the physical conditions of the WM (see Table a3 in the tors, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, microwaves, hobs, appendix). The WMs with a mechanical time controller and small ovens, televisions, screens, monitors and small appliances. Accord- door were separated to disassemble and to harvest other parts they ing to their annual report, Solidança managed over 1500 used EEE contain and then to be recycled. This was done because spare parts (weighing approximately 60 tons) in 2017. An average of 30% of all are no longer available from the OEMs, and therefore they were the types of EEE collected were recovered annually. Solidança has not reparable from a practical view. The WMs with broken drums an internal record about each of the EEE collected, repaired, recy- and worn bearings were sent to disassemble and later to recycling cled, and sold. This study indeed aimed to perform a more pre- as well, as their repair was difficult, especially when the bearings cise analysis of the flows and the stock of WMs using the MFA are forced into the tub of the drum. WMs with minor aesthetic methodology as described in Section 3 and to provide a more de- damage was refurbished or repaired using spare parts from other tailed analysis of the repair and reuse of WMs at the product level WMs. The WMs with high damage was disassembled to harvest using indicators about the proportion of reused components and spare parts that will be either stocked or sent to recycling if they the feasibility of repair. are damaged. Table a4 of the appendix shows the list of parts (pic- tures using code numbers) checked to more precisely evaluate the 4.1. Analysis at the company level feasibility of repairing and refurbishing WMs. One of the reasons for not repairing some of the WMs is the cost of the time needed Solidança collects used WMs from four diverse suppliers: a net- for reparation, as in some cases, it exceeds the economic value of work of original equipment producers, households, retailers and lo- the repaired WM. cal collection points in municipalities. WMs were first visually in- All the refurbished and repaired WMs were cleaned and sub- spected before collection to select those with no or little aesthetic jected to quality control to ensure their correct functioning. Qual- damage that were more likely to be repairable. Table a2 in the Ap- ity control is performed to ensure the correct state of certain parts, pendix includes a short list of features considered at the on-site especially the detergent drawer (3), the door and hinges (6), the selection. WMs with greater damage or with one of the features readability of the list of programs in the user control board (2), feet listed were collected by local authorized WEEE companies to re- (5), the filters (9,17) and the power cable (1). In addition to check- 174 L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 Fig. 1. Overall material flow analysis of washing machines at Solidança in 2018. ing the state of components, WMs were tested using a portable ap- fer to WM units, while discontinuous orange arrows represent the pliance tester (i.e., Fluke 6200–2) to check the WM power and load spare parts of WMs that were harvested, stocked, used for repair current, the earth bonds and. The ground continuity test to ensure or sent to recycling. Once the system boundaries were defined, the that the power cord resistance (voltage) of the WM should not ex- input and output flows were tracked and quantified for the latest ceed 0.2 Ohms. The dielectric resistance ensures isolation of the available year (2018). The quantity of WMs collected that under- WMs. The resistance of a WM at 500 Volts must exceed 0.1 Ohms. went refurbishment and repair was tracked using the registration All washing programs were tested to ensure the correct function- files of the WM collected and reused by Solidança. For each WM, ing of the WMs and checked for their cosmetic appearance. Ensur- a technician recorded manually in one tracking file information re- ing its operation and achieving an appearance close to its original garding the model, the brand, the mass, the Solidança label for the state was highly relevant for the future sale of the WM. WMs that traceability, the repairs undergone, and the quality control dates. comply with both requirements were stored and delivered to one The tracking files were updated as the WM went through the di- of Solidança’s second-hand stores. WMs that do not comply with verse processes in the repair workshop. This information was gen- the quality control and aesthetic requirements were returned to erally kept at Solidança archives to facilitate the follow-up during the repair workshop where spare parts are harvested and stored the one-year warranty once the WM was sold. for future repairs. The remaining parts of the WMs were trans- Fig. 2 is also useful for identifying the most critical processes ferred to waste authorized companies where they were further re- and locating potential areas to improve the implementation of cir- cycled. cular economy strategies. For example, during the research, it was Fig. 1 shows the input of WMs from diverse sources and the noted that some difficulties, especially in keeping the record of output of WMs to second-hand shops and to recycling for 2018 tracking files for some of the reused and stocked WMs. The pre- (the latest year for which data were available). As shown, a total sented research contains some limitations, as data were only avail- of 211 were collected. Nearly half of the WMs (47%) were collected able for 10 WMs out of the 21 WMs repaired. As a consequence, from a network of WM manufacturers. Nearly 30% of WMs were the results are representative of the 10 WMs whose data were collected from households, 23% from retailers and the remaining available. 1% from local collection points. A mass balance was performed to estimate the number of WMs to reuse, to recycle and to stock. The 4.1.1. Recycling rate recycling rate (Rc) was 77%, while the reuse rate (Ru) was 12%. The first step was the preselection of WMs to be collected by Fig. 2 shows the system boundary of Solidança represented by Solidança staff at the collection point. Unfortunately, not all the a yellow discontinuous line. The system includes all the processes requests for the collection of WMs were registered, and therefore, represented by dark blue rectangles: the collection, registration, the indicator for recycling is based only on the WMs collected and testing, disassembly and harvest of parts, storage of spare parts taken to Solidança facilities. The WMs collected that did not meet (stock), repair and refurbishment, quality control and commercial- the requirements defined internally were sent to recycle. According ization in one of its second-hand shops. Light blue diamond shapes to available data, the recycling rate (Rc) was 77%. Approximately represent key questions related to refurbishment and repair at Sol- half of the WMs reaching recycling were collected from the net- idança. The processes outside the system are represented by yel- work of WM manufacturers. Retailers and households contributed low rectangles and include the use, the preselection performed by equally to the share of WMs to recycle. Unfortunately, Solidança Solidança staff at the collection point, the collection by local au- did not register the volume and typology of spare parts harvested thorities and the recycling of WMs. Flows denoted in dark blue re- from the WMs sent to recycling. As a result, performing a more 175 L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 Fig. 2. Detailed flow diagram illustrating the flows and stocks of washing machines at Solidança in 2018 (all values in units of WMs). detailed analysis of the reuse of parts from such WMs was not Single spare parts were needed for 20% of the WMs repaired, possible. However, further accounting for spare parts from these while 80% of the WMs needed multiple spare parts; in most cases, WM could represent an extra activity that could provide additional repair was performed by using two spare parts (see Table a6 in economic benefits by increasing repair activities. the appendix). The data available allowed us to examine the spare parts more frequently requested. The spare part most frequently 4.1.2. Reuse rate needed was the door seal (14%), followed equally by the power ca- According to Table 1, the reuse rate was the sum of the number bles, detergent drawer, plinth, feet, drum, pump filter, printed cir- of WMs repaired and the number of WMs that refurbished WMs cuit board and drive belt (see Table a7 in the appendix). Carbon to the total number of WMs collected. In 2018, the reuse rate (Ru) brushes and shock absorbers were replaced in a few cases as well. of WMs was 12%. As shown in Fig. 1, the reused WMs were those According to the analysis of Tecchio et al., 2016, approximately collected from the network of WM manufacturers and households. 70% of the repaired WMs had a single failure, while the remaining There was a great discrepancy in the reuse rate at Solidança when 30% had multiple failure modes. It also concluded that in almost compared to the reuse rates in Austria (75%) (Tecchio et al., 2019) 60% of the cases, the WMs required a spare part. The highest re- and Ireland (1.5%) (Johnson et al., 2020), which emphasizes the pair rates were observed for doors (including handle, hinges, lock need to develop more detailed case studies and great potential for and seal), printed circuit board, and carbon bushes (Tecchio et al., improvement in some cases. 2016). Therefore, the door seal appeared to be one of the most fre- quent parts to replace, followed by the printed circuit board. The 4.1.2.1. Refurbish rate. At Solidança, refurbishment basically con- removal of foreign objects was reported by Tecchio et al., 2016 as a sists of applying touch-up paint working in the direction of the frequent repair (8%); however, this was not registered by Solidança. scratch to work the enamel paint into the cut marks and letting the paint dry completely before using the appliance (Clark, 2017). The refurbishment rate (Rf) refers to the number of WMs that 4.2. Analysis at the product level needed aesthetic and cosmetic treatment to return the WM to its original state. In 2018, the refurbish rate was 2%. In all cases, these At the product level, the two indicators possible to calculate in WMs were rejected when they first sold, as they had one or several Solidança are the proportion of reused components and the eco- scratches on their external housing. Indeed, many of these WMs nomic feasibility of repair. To calculate the proportion of reused were never used. Solidança refurbished the front panel and/or the components, it was estimated that the total number of parts con- housing and put them back to sale in its shops. tained in a WM was 28. Table a5 of the appendix shows the list of spare parts replaced in each of the 10 WMs repaired. In ap- 4.1.2.2. Repair rate. According to Table 1, repair is defined as the proximately 60% of the WMs, the number of spare parts for re- process of returning a faulty product to a condition where it can pair was generally two parts, 20% only one part, and 10% three fulfil its intended use (CEN/CENELEC, 2020). Single or multiple spare and four parts, respectively. As a result, the Rpn varies from 4% to parts may be needed for repairing the product. In Solidança, the 14% in 2018. The proportion of reused components by number bal- repair rate (Re) was 10%. Further aspects related to repair were ance (Rbn ) was estimated to be approximately 60% based on the to- analysed to identify those relevant to improving the repair rate. tal number of reused spare parts (21 parts) and the total number One limiting factor was the lack of detailed data from each of the of WMs repaired (10 units). Although this information was use- WMs repaired (only available for 10 units out of the 21 units), as ful to monitor the performance of reuse, an additional investiga- some of the forms were not kept on archives. Consequently, the tion about the parts reused and the reasons for their replacement analysis of the need for single or multiple parts was limited to the would be useful. Tables a6 and a7 in the supporting information information available. show additional information about the most frequently replaced 176 L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 Table 3 Economic profit of reuse when using new spare parts. Economic profit when using new Spare parts Spare part price (€) Price of reused WM at spare parts (€) Sample replaced∗ Solidança’s store with Lowest Highest reused parts (€) Lowest Highest WM1 3,7,10,14 30 258 160 130 −98 WM2 8, 15 56 148 213∗∗ 157 65 WM3 1, 4 27 98 213∗∗ 186 115 WM4 1, 3 25 137 225 200 88 WM5 5, 13 95 338 220 125 −118 WM6 5, 7 46 113 240 194 127 WM7 4, 10, 19 28 114 213∗∗ 185 99 WM8 13 57 279 350 293 71 WM9 19 8 36 250 242 214 WM10 7, 8 56 148 300 244 152 Total economic benefit (€) 1956 715 ∗ A full description of the parts including pictures can be found in Appendix Table a4. ∗∗ An educated guess based on sale prices within Solidança. parts and the list of parts more frequently replaced in 2018 at Sol- 5.1. Definition and applicability of reuse indicators in existing repair idança. workshops In 2018, Solidança repaired WMs using only spare parts har- vested from collected WMs. However, the repair of WMs can be- The study of the internal procedures for repair and reuse at Sol- come a service to expand in the coming years, and therefore ex- idança has helped define a list of suitable indicators at the com- amining the economic feasibility of repair using only new spare pany level and test the applicability of a set of CEN/CENELEC in- parts is useful (as proposed in Table 2). To assess such an eco- dicators at the product level. The results demonstrate the feasibil- nomic scenario, data were taken from a company supplying new ity of defining and calculating reuse and repair indicators without spare parts for WMs and other electrical and electronic products a large effort whenever a detailed flow diagram of the internal (see Figure a1 of the Appendix). As illustrated, the most expensive processes within workshops is given. At the product level, calcu- part is the printed circuit board (PCB), which can cost almost €280. lating the material efficiency indicators proposed by CEN/CENELEC The cheapest parts to purchase are the plinth (4), pump filter (10) required a more formalized and systematized collection of data at and drive belt (19), whose prices vary from €7 to €41. In general, the repair workshops, such as an exploded diagram with clear in- the price of new spare parts varies from €6 to almost €90, except formation about the dimension of parts to account for the acces- for the PCB. sibility index (IAcc ) proposed by EN45553 or a detailed descrip- Based on the cost of new spare parts, an estimate of the eco- tion of the disassembly tasks to assess the indices proposed within nomic benefit at Solidança when purchasing new spare parts com- EN45554 on the disassembly score. pared to using used parts harvested from WMs collected was done. The transition to a more circular economy implies joining forces Table 3 shows the price range for the new spare parts needed to from all possible existing stakeholders, including the existing inde- repair the 10 WMs in 2018 and their sale price at the second-hand pendent repair workshops. Independent repair workshops play a shop. Based on the number of spare parts replaced, an estimate of key role in facilitating the extension of the lifetime of products at the lowest and highest profit for each case was estimated. As ob- the local level. The formalization of reuse activities in these com- served in the results, the use of reused spare parts increases the panies can be facilitated by testing the applicability of the new ma- total economic benefits almost 3-fold. For two of the 10 WMs, the terial efficiency standards and regulations proposed in this study. economic profit was negative as the cost of the new spare parts In the case of WMs, the application of the new Ecodesign regu- exceeded the price of the WM at the second-hand shop. For WM1, lations in March 2021 (European Commission, 2019) represents a the cost was exceeded by almost €100 and was mainly due to the new opportunity to facilitate repair and reuse. The current regu- cost of the detergent drawer (3) and the carbon brushes (14). For lation establishes a minimum period of 10 years after placing the WM5, the economic benefit was negative due to the cost of the last unit of the model on the market for the availability of spare PCB (13). parts. It also defines a maximum delivery time and measures re- To obtain a more complete understanding of the cost of using lated to access to repair and maintenance information. However, new and used spare parts, the working hours of a technician to as the lifetime of WMs varies from 8 to 15 years, the effects of execute the repair shall be included. Unfortunately, at the time of such regulations will not be effectively monitored in waste flows the study, there was no registration of the time invested in repair, until 2029 unless they were progressively tested in existing repair and it was not possible to give an estimate. workshops. Therefore, measures to improve the collection of data and the use of material efficiency indicators in repair workshops need to be further promoted. In the case of Solidança, they could put on prospective value their repair and reuse activities and im- prove their capabilities. However, they could perform a commu- 5. Discussion nication campaign explaining their repair and reuse activities to reach more consumers and therefore divert the number of WMs The discussion is organized in two sections. The first discusses to recycling despite being potentially repairable. the use of the proposed indicators in existing repair workshops. The second part is a short discussion on how the indicators pro- 5.2. Accounting for reuse of EEE in cities and regions posed can represent a step forward to shed light on reuse and re- pair activities and help emphasize the need to increase reuse and An additional motivation of this study was to discuss the cur- repair rates. rent reuse of EEE in cities and regions. To do so, the results of 177 L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 the case study on WMs from Solidança for 2018 was used as an ber of new WM put on the market. It is likely that a share of WMs example. To account for the reuse rate of WMs in Barcelona and reaching recycling is repairable, and some of them are useful to Catalonia, data about the amount of new WMs put on the mar- harvest spare parts to repair other WMs. Therefore, actions that ket were gathered at the Spanish Integrated Industrial Register of help shift WMs from recycling to reuse shall be further explored. WEEE, in Spanish referred to as the acronym RII-AEE (Spanish Min- An effort to provide more disaggregated information about diverse istry of Industry Commerce and Tourism, 2020). Producers and EEE through the Spanish Integrated Industrial Register of WEEE companies commercializing any type of EEE were legally required (RII-AEE) proved useful for this study. The availability of similar to register in the RII-AEE database to put their devices on the data is crucial to monitor the future flows of EEE reaching recy- Spanish market. The reported quantities referred to the legal ad- cling and reuse. Data shall become more accessible and available dress of the companies rather than to the city or region where to account for the flows and stocks of products, especially if a cir- the EEE were sold. Therefore, to quantify the amount of an EEE cular economy continues to be a realistic goal. put on the market on a city or a specific region, it is necessary to do some educated guess. For instance, the quantity of WMs Declaration of Competing Interest put on the market in Catalonia was estimated to be 614,231 units for 2018. However, this quantity does not necessarily mean that The authors declare that they have no known competing finan- all these WMs were sold in Catalonia. A better way to quantify cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to the new WMs put in Catalonia is to do an educated guess based influence the work reported in this paper. on its population. Following the RII-AEE, in 2018, 1839,808 WMs were sold in Spain, which means that the WMs sold in Catalo- Acknowledgement nia were 294,225 units (as Catalonia represents 16% of the total population in Spain) (Catalan Statistic Institute, 2020). Analogously, We would like to express our deep gratitude to Solidança and the quantity of WMs sold in the Barcelona region was estimated all their team for the provision of data and their patience dur- to be 217,727 units. During this research, five companies active in ing the development of the study, and to Belén Gallego from the preparation for repair were identified and contacted. Three of them Catalan Agency of Wastes (ARC) for her valuable help in collect- were not collecting WMs and therefore excluded from the study. ing data of washing machines in Catalonia. We recognize the fi- From the other two companies, one of the other companies is a nancial support of the project Digital Platform for Circular Econ- social NGO that gives low relevance to their repair activities, as omy in Cross-sectorial Sustainable Value Networks project (https:// their goal is to ensure the occupational insertion of jobless peo- www.digiprime.eu/) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 ple, and the other company was not interested in participating in research and innovation programme under grant agreement No this study. As a result, the analysis of reuse at the regional level 873111, and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Uni- was only done with the reuse rate calculated for Solidança, which versities through the “María de Maeztu” program for Units of Ex- concludes that reuse is negligible. This result is in line with the cellence (CEX2019–0 0 0940-M). The study was improved by the 1% reuse rate published by ENVIE, the largest French Federation of comments and suggestions of the editor and the anonymous re- reuse centres (Tecchio et al., 2016). If the reuse of EEE aims to be- viewers. come a real objective for governments and indicators were due to being calculated precisely, there is an urgent need to invest further Supplementary materials in local systems such as Solidança and work on a guideline docu- ment to ensure an accurate estimate of reuse indicators in cities Supplementary material associated with this article can be and regions. found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.10.003. References 6. Conclusions Allesch, A., Rechberger, H., 2018. MinFuture - Deliverable 3.3 - Compilation of Un- This study provides a novel analysis with useful information certainty Approaches and Recommendations for Reporting Data Uncertainty. about the internal procedures in a current repair workshop and Ardente, F., Talens Peiró, L., Mathieux, F., Polverini, D., 2018. Accounting for the en- vironmental benefits of remanufactured products: method and application. J. the typology of information that needs to be further collected to Clean. Prod. 198, 1545–1558. account for indicators of CE. The analysis of Solidança is useful to Awasthi, A.K., Li, J., 2017. Management of electrical and electronic waste: a compar- highlight some potential improvements, such as using data collec- ative evaluation of China and India. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 76, 434–447. tion by predetermined tracking records in electronic format in re- Bakhiyi, B., Gravel, S., Ceballos, D., Flynn, M.A., Zayed, J., 2018. Has the ques- tion of e-waste opened a Pandora’s box? An overview of unpredictable is- pair workshops to facilitate filling in by operators and therefore sues and challenges. Environ. Int. 110, 173–192. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2017.10.021, to help keep the record of the input, the output, and the stock of https://doi.org/https://doi.org/. repaired and reused products. The need to advance towards dig- Balde, C.P., Forti, V., Gray, V., Kuehr, R., Stegmann, P., 2017. The Global E-Waste Mon- itor 2017. United Nations University, IAS – SCYCLE, Bonn, Germany doi:10.1016/ ital data was especially stressed during the COVID-19 pandemic. j.proci.2014.05.148. Indeed, access to digital data during the past months was one of Baldé, C.P., Wang, F., Keuhr, R., Huisman, J., 2015. The Global E-waste Monitor 2014. the restrictions faced during this study. Another possible improve- Bonn, Germany. Bringezu, S., Moriguchi, Y., 2002. Material flow analysis. In: Ayres, R.U., Ayres, L.W. ment is the monitoring of the spare parts from products when (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial Ecology. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham UK and Lyme harvested. The evaluation of the economic feasibility has demon- MA, pp. 79–90. strated that there is a 3-fold economic benefit when reused spare Brunner, P.H., Rechberger, H., 2004. Practical Handbook of Material Flow Analysis. CRC Press. parts are used for repair. Generating an electronic tracking file for Catalan Statistic Institute, 2020. Population in Spain, and Catalonia [WWW Docu- spare parts could be a good approach to improve their traceability ment]. and provide more updated information and detailed descriptions CEN/CENELEC, 2020. General Methods For the Assessment of the Ability to repair, Reuse and Upgrade Energy-Related Products (EN 45554). Brussels, Belgium. about the type and number of spare parts harvested from collected CEN/CENELEC, 2019. General method for assessing the proportion of reused compo- products, in addition to location in the warehouse. This will allow nents in energy-related products - EN45556. advancement in the calculation of repair and reuse and give more Clark, J., 2017. How to Get Scratches off Washing Machines. [WWW Document]. confidence to the consumer to purchase second-hand products. Hunker.com. Cullen, J.M., Brazel, S., 2018. MinFuture Deliverable D3.4 -Visualising Material Sys- The importance of the reuse of WMs in Catalonia and in the tems. List of Features for Which Visualization Is Required and Detailed Require- Barcelona area is negligible at present when compared to the num- ment Profile for Optimal Visualisation Tool. Manchester, UK. 178 L. Talens Peiró, B. García Fernández and X. Gabarrell i Durany Sustainable Production and Consumption 29 (2022) 171–179 Curran, A., Williams, I.D., 2010. The role of furniture and appliance re-use organisa- Kristensen, H.S., Mosgaard, M.A., 2020. A review of micro level indicators for a cir- tions in England and Wales. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 54, 692–703. doi:10.1016/j. cular economy – moving away from the three dimensions of sustainability? J. resconrec.2009.11.010. Clean. Prod. 243, 118531. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118531. MacArthur Foundation, Ellen, 2015. Circular Indicators: an approach to measuring Lee, P., Sims, E., Bertham, O., Symington, H., Bell, N., Sjögren, P., Lucie, P., circularity. Methodology. 2017. Towards a circular economy - Waste management in the EU Study European Commission, 2021. Energy label and Ecodesign - Energy IP/G/STOA/FWC/2013-001/LOT 3/C3. https://doi.org/10.2861/978568 efficient products [WWW Document]. URL https://ec.europa.eu/ Manhart, A., 2007. Key social impacts of electronics production and WEEE-recycling info/energy- climate- change- environment/standards- tools- and- labels/ in China 49, 33. products- labelling- rules- and- requirements/energy- label- and- ecodesign/ Mesa, J., Esparragoza, I., Maury, H., 2018. Developing a set of sustainability indicators energy- efficient- products_en for product families based on the circular economy model. J. Clean. Prod. 196, European Commission, 2019. Commission regulation EU 2019/2023 of 1 October 1429–1442. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.131. 2019 laying down ecodesign requirements for household washing machines and Morris, A., Metternicht, G., 2016. Assessing effectiveness of WEEE management pol- household washer-dryers pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European icy in Australia. J. Environ. Manage. 181, 218–230. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2016. Parliament and of the Council, amending Commission Regulat. Off. J. Eur. Union 06.013, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/. 2021, 241–266. Ongondo, F.O., Williams, I.D., Dietrich, J., Carroll, C., 2013. ICT reuse in socio- European Commission, 2018. Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/1784 of 1 October economic enterprises. Waste Manag. 33, 2600–2606. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2013. 2019 laying down ecodesign requirements for welding equipment pursuant to 08.020. Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. Parajuly, K., Habib, K., Liu, G., 2017. Waste electrical and electronic equipment European Commission, 2015. Closing the Loop - An EU Action Plan For the Circular (WEEE) in Denmark: flows, quantities and management. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. Economy - COM (2015)614. Brussels. 123, 85–92. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.08.004, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/. European Commission, 2012. Commission Regulation (EU) No 622/2012 of 11 July Pauliuk, S., 2018. Critical appraisal of the circular economy standard BS 8001:2017 2012 amending Regulation (EC) No 641/2009 with regard to ecodesign require- and a dashboard of quantitative system indicators for its implementation in or- ments for glandless standalone circulators and glandless circulators integrated ganizations. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 129, 81–92. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.10. in products. 019. European Commission, 2011. Directive 2011/65/EC on the Restriction of the Use of Prieto-Sandoval, V., Ormazabal, M., Jaca, C., Viles, E., 2018. Key elements in assessing Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Recast). circular economy implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises. Bus. European Commission, 2009. Commission Regulation (EC) No 642/2009 of 22 July Strateg. Environ. 27, 1525–1534. doi:10.1002/bse.2210. 2009 Implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Rincón-Moreno, J., Ormazábal, M., Álvarez, M.J., Jaca, C., 2021. Advancing circular Council with Regard to Ecodesign Requirements for Televisions. economy performance indicators and their application in Spanish companies. J. European Committee for Standardization, 2020a. Technical Report - Definitions re- Clean. Prod. 279. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123605. lated to Material Efficiency. Brussels, Belgium. Saidani, M., Yannou, B., Leroy, Y., Cluzel, F., Kendall, A., 2019. A taxonomy of circular European Committee for Standardization, 2020b. General Method For the Assess- economy indicators. J. Clean. Prod. 207, 542–559. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10. ment of the Ability to Remanufacture Energy-Related Products (EN 45553). 014. Brussels, Belgium. Sharma, D.C., 2015. Emissions from e-waste recycling threaten workers’ health. European Committee for Standardization, 2020c. General Method For the Assess- Lancet Respir. Med. 3, 847–848. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(15)00406-3. ment of the Ability to repair, Reuse and Upgrade Energy-Related Products (EN Spanish Ministry of Industry Commerce and Tourism, 2020. RII-AEE Products Put 45554). Brussels, Belgium. on the Market [WWW Document]. URL https://sedeaplicaciones.minetur.gob.es/ European Committee for Standardization, 2020d. General Method For Assessing the rii_aee/ui/ConsultasPublicas/RelProdMercEmp.aspx Proportion of Reused Components in Energy-Related Products (EN 45556). Brus- Tansel, B., 2017. From electronic consumer products to e-wastes: global outlook, sels, Belgium. waste quantities, recycling challenges. Environ. Int. 98, 35–45. European Parliament, The Council Of The European Union, 2012. Directive Tecchio, P., Ardente, F., Mathieux, F., 2019. Understanding lifetimes and failure 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on Waste Electrical modes of defective washing machines and dishwashers. J. Clen. Prod. 215, and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). 1112–1122. Eurostat, 2016. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) [WWW Docu- Tecchio, P., Ardente, F., Mathieux, F., 2016. Analysis of durability, reusability and ment]. URL https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Waste_ reparability. Application to Washing Machines and Dishwashers. Luxenbourg statistics_- _electrical_and_electronic_equipment https://doi.org/https://doi.org/ doi:10.2788/51992. Forti, V., Baldé, C.P., Kuehr, R., Bel, G., 2020. The global e-waste Monitor 2020. Thorley, J., Garza-Reyes, J.A., Anosike, A., 2019. The circular economy impact on Gabarrell Durany, X., Sanjuan Delmás, D., Martínez Gasol, C., Feced Mateu, M., Tal- small to medium enterprises. WIT Trans. Ecol. Environ. 231, 257–267. doi:10. ens Peiró, L., Rieradevall Pons, J., 2017. Implementation of the Ecodesign Direc- 2495/WM180241. tive Via Working Plans, Based On the Analysis of the Selected Product Groups - Villalba Méndez, G., Iglesias, M., Gabarrell i Durany, X., 2018. MinFuture - Deliv- European Implementation Assessment. Barcelona. erable 3.2 - Concise Description of Application Fields For Different MFA Ap- Guo, X., Yan, K., 2017. Estimation of obsolete cellular phones generation: a case proaches and Indicators. Bellaterra. study of China. Sci. Total Environ. 575, 321–329. Villalba Méndez, G., Talens Peiró, L., 2014. Materials balance mod- IDEAL&CO Explore, 2016. Circularity Calculator [WWW Document]. 20. els. In: Fischer, M.M., Nijkamp, P. (Eds.), Handbook of Regional Sci- Johnson, M., McMahon, K., Fitzpatrick, C., 2020. A preparation for reuse trial of ence. Springer Berlin Heidelberg„ Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 1009–1028. washing machines in Ireland. Sustain 12. doi:10.3390/su12031175. doi:10.1007/978- 3- 642- 23430- 9_60. 179