Improving the recycling of plastic parts in household appliances–a review

• Worldwide, only 22.3 % of WEEE is recycled properly. • Appliance-plastic recycling must be tackled along the entire life cycle. • Ecodesign is the key to future recycling of household appliances plastics. • Effects of recycling-related ecodesign must be studied and applied sustainably. Household appliances account for a large proportion of the e-waste generated worldwide each year. Up to 75 % of this waste is currently incinerated or landfilled. The recycling industry focuses on harvesting valuable parts, like metals; however, household appliances are not only made of metals, but also recyclable plastics. This article reviews how the recycling of these plastics has developed since 2014 and which new approaches, such as ecodesign, currently are being pursued to promote the recycling of (plastic parts in) household appliances in the future. The findings of the present review paper show that the consideration of recycling is extending to the life cycle of products over time; however, a holistic approach is still lacking, and although problems such as the recycling of plastics containing flame retardants are known, the latter are still not being considered in the product development phase. Other challenges, which already existed 10 years ago, such as those posed by the illegal sector, are still in focus today. Conversely, there are many ideas, like material tracking, incentive systems or microfactory treatment, on how the recycling of (plastic from) household appliances can be improved in the future, which necessitate further research.