Characteristics of cellphones reverse logistics in Canada

In reverse logistics (RL), the returned products are collected and some recovery activities are applied. The objective of this project is to identify the RL components of cellphones in three provinces of Canada. There have been a number of investigations performed in this sector. But in recent years with the technological advancement of cellphones along with the evolution of smart phones, a rapidly growing secondary market has developed and the RL of cellphones has been very complex. In this project, we make the effort to draw a clear picture of the RL framework of cellphones in Canada, highlighting the policies and practices in three provinces: British Columbia in the west coast, Ontario in the middle, and Nova Scotia in the east coast. In doing this, we discuss about the physical, chemical and recoverable components of cellphones as well as the recovery options. We review the literature on cellphone RL, identify some relevance as well as differences comparing with the Canadian context and address some issues pertinent to provincial contexts. We focus on the high paced growth of the cellphone secondary market and the need for more research on the same. Finally, some managerial insights and suggestions on how the cellphone RL can be more efficiently handled are offered.