Tablet PCs through the lens of environment - design trends and impacts on the environmental performance

The mobile IT market is seeing a significant growth in the tablet PC shipments. The high sales numbers combined with potential short use and complex design lead to concerns about tablets? environmental relevance. In this respect, it is of specific interest to assess the environmental performance of tablets, comprising the evaluation of the design solutions with regard to repair and recycling as well as the identification of the environmentally relevant life cycle phases. 21 tablet models have been disassembled and compared in terms of non-destructive opening for repair purposes and partly destructive dismantling for end-of-life scenarios. Furthermore, an assessment of the environmental impacts associated with tablets in comparison with netbooks has been carried out. The modelling is performed using the LCA to go tool. In addition, using X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry, the paper examines the content of critical raw materials in selected components. Quantified results from the assessments are presented.