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roduct recovery management (PRM) encompasses the management of all used and discarded products, components, and materials that fail under the responsibility of a manufacturing company.The objective of product recovery management is to recover as much of the economic (and ecological) value as reasonably possible, thereby reducing the ultimate quantities of waste.The traditional approach of many manufacturers towards used products has been to ignore them.Manufacturers typically did not feel responsible for what happened with their products after customer use.Most products were designed in such a way that while materials, assembly, and distribution costs were minimized, the repair, reuse, and disposal requirements were not talcen into account.Manufacturers generally believed that the costs of incorporating these requirements would outweigh the benefits.Most of their customers were not prepared to pay an additional fee for a "green" product.Most purchasing decisions were made with the intention of minimizing the purchasing costs, instead of optimizing life-cycle performance-which includes maintenance, reuse, and disposal issues.Consequently, the majority of used products in "developed countries" were landfilled or incinerated, with considerable damage to the environment.Today, both customers and authorities demand that manufacturers reduce the quantities of waste generated by their products.Customer pressure is triggered by environmental concern in general and by rising product disposal costsThe first author was