Global environmental legislation is causing a total rethink of product design and manufacturing processes in a range of industrial sectors, including electronics, consumer products and automotive.

TWI with its extensive knowledge of materials, assembly technology and environmental conditions/requirements has found itself ideally placed to assist companies in assessing the impact of environmental legislation on current product lines and the design of the next generation of products. It is also in the process of developing joining and disassembly techniques:

Examples of TWI's activities in this area:

• Environmental Audits (products/processes)
• Thermal methods for polymer assembly and disassembly
• Lead free solder for circuit boards
• Biodegradable circuit boards
• Recycling of electronics/biomass into energy
• Ionic liquids for disassembly
• Product life-cycle assessments