Now, the Geneva-based International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) has developed a new standard designed to enable heavy equipment manufacturers to evaluate the potential of new machines to be recovered and/or recycled.The new standard is ISO 16714:2008, Earth-moving machinery – Recyclability and recoverability – Terminology and calculation method.The ISO said that, over the years, earthmoving machinery reaching the end of its useful life had significantly contributed to the total volume of waste needing to be treated or disposed of. For this reason, ISO said, the end-of-life recycling of equipment has become a market requirement and an integral phase of a machine’s life cycle.“To ensure the environmentally sound treatment of a machine and all its components when the time comes, it is essential that eventual recovery issues are already taken into account during the design phase, along with safety, emissions, fuel consumption and other design considerations,” ISO said in statement. ISO said the new standard was applicable to machinery designed to perform excavation, loading, transportation, drilling, spreading, compacting or trenching of earth, rock and other materials.“ISO 16714 will help manufacturers to calculate the reuse and recycling percentage of machines, their components and materials before they are put on the market,” ISO spokesperson Nobukazu Kotake said. “Dismantlers and recyclers will also find this standard useful to help identify what parts of a machine are recoverable, with a view to recycling or reusing the materials or components for new applications.”
