How Do I Model The End-of-Life Stage For My Product?

The requirements for including the End-of-life (EOL) stage are defined in the Product Category Rules (PCR) which your EPD follows. If it is not mandatory, you can decide whether or not to include EOL.

 

If you are including it, here are some tips to help:

 

1. De-construction, demolition - C1

In C1, you should consider the used product after its service life. Often it is the same product as the declared product itself, however, there are exceptions. For example, if the declared product is installed by using any kind of mortar, during the demolition phase you will obtain this end-of-life product with the mortar too. In this case, you should consider the mortar as well with the declared product. Or if the declared product loses weight during use, for example, you should consider less than the declared product in C1.

 

An assumption may be made that deconstruction energy is very small, so it may be omitted.

 

 

2. Transport to waste processing - C2

The total weight of the end of life product should be entered here.

 

 

3. Waste processing for reuse, recovery and/or recycling - C3

The reused, recovered and/or recycled components should be specified under C3. Considering the market where the product is used, you can take advantage of articles or similar publications containing recycling rates. You can determine according to the publications how the components of the product are converted. 

 

 

4. Disposal - C4

The remaining components and waste from C3 will be landfill waste and should be specified under C4.

 

For a single product, the sum of C3 + C4 is generally equal to the weight given in C2, however, there are some exceptions.

 

 

5. Reuse, recovery and/or recycling potentials - D

In module D, benefits such as reproduced material should be specified.