refurbish & Repurpose

In the process of refurbishing, a product is 'revived' and used for its primary use or an alternative use (repurpose). Refurbished products are inferior to the primary products. Refurbishing extends the life of a product, but old or obsolete parts are often discarded and eventually, the whole product will require discarding as well. 

For example, the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles can be refurbished and  repurposed when they suffer degradation of their battery capacity to develop secondary stationary storage applications. Refurbishing  batteries offer a cost-effective alternative to manufacturing newer batteries as shown in the figure. 


New and repurposed EV battery pack costs, source: The second-life of used EV batteries 

legal and regulatory