'Cleaner' design and technology - a products life cycle

Source:

• Their extraction and processing is costly both financially and environmentally
• This is due to the vast amounts of energy required to convert ore into the finished product
• Polymers are derived from crude oil, which is a finite resource, for this reasons designers must consider recycled materials to reduce consumption
• The UK relies heavily upon imported raw materials, resulting in high transport costs and carbon dioxide emissions

Quantity:

• Reduce the amount of materials used in order to conserve resources, which will in turn reduce energy consumption and pollution
• Minimise material usage by redesigning products

Quality:

• Consider using recycled materials to reduce consumption
• Use materials that are recyclable
• Depends on what the product is intended for

Range:

• Use materials that don't need to be transferred from large distances away
• Keep manufacturing sites close to the area of material extraction

Recyclability:

• Use materials that can be recycled at the end of the products lifespan to reduce waste
• Design products so that they can easily be recycled at the end of the products lifespan

Biodegradability:

• Many polymers don't biodegrade very well over time and so waste often ends up in landfill
• Many woods can be repurposed for other things, eventually the wood will biodegrade

Minimising energy use:

• Use materials that use less energy during manufacture and produce less waste
• Use more effcient manufacturing techniques/machines to reduce energy cost

Simplification of processes:

• A simple design with fewer components to reduce materials use and assembly line
• Use simpler manufacturing techniques

Achieving optimum use of materials and components:

• Simpler components that are easier to machine or mould and produce less waste

Giving consideration to material form:

• Different materials to reduce their weight or the quantity used
• Using less materials

Giving consideration to material form:

• A simplified or different work flow with improved quality control to reduce waste

Efficient use of packaging:

• Reducing/lightening the amount of packaging used in products
• Optimise packaging use
• Use bulk delivery of materials/JIT to reduce packaging

Reduction of transport:

• Driving smoothly/efficiently
• Use local resources to reduce transport
• Geographical locations of distribution centres close to consumers

Alternative to fossil fuels:

• Using trains for transport to reduce emissions (electric trains)
• Using waterways for transportation where appropriate
• Using electric vehicles

Repair vs replacement:

Advantages of repair:

• Cost effective
• Less material waste
• Extends the products lifespan

Advantages of replacement:

• Latest technology
• Relatively new products that are replaced can be used in the second-hand market

Energy efficiency:

Goal to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services

• Insulating homes to reduce heat loss
• Use more energy efficient machinery
• Use less energy intensive

Efficiency ratings:

The energy efficiency of appliances is rated in terms of energy efficiency classes from A - G on the label, A being the most energy efficient, G the least efficient

Standardisation:

• Standardisation means all parts are of a fixed size
• Makes it easier to find replacements and repair products
• Parts can be quickly ordered

Modular construction:

• Use of factory produced pre-engineered building units that are delivered to site and assembled as large volumetric components or as substantial elements of a building
• Allows easy and quick replacement of broken modules
• Already prefabricated to reduce repair times

Bought in parts:

• Can be found easily to replace the broken ones
• Standardised size so will be correct part
• Can be quickly ordered

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End of life

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Design for disassembly:

• Easy to dismantle for repair or resuse and so extending product life
• Easy to seperate different materials for recycling
• Easy to remove components that must be treated seperately for repair
• Use as few different materials as possible
• Mark the materials/polymers in order to sort them correctly
• Avoid surface treatments in order to keep the materials 'clean'

Recovered material collection:

• Materials are collected and then seperated so that they can be recycled and reused for other products
• It stops materials ending up in landfil sites

Sorting and re-processing methods:

• Material recovery facilityls (MRFs) sort out material and seperate them
• They are then re-processed into new materials
• Paper is a good example, it can be recycled/reprocessed many times

Energy recovery:

• Recycling and reusing energy intensive metals that use a lot of energy from extraction
• Steel/copper/aluminium can be recycled and repurposed without the need for lots of energy

Environmental implications of disposal to landfill:

• MRFs struggle with unwanted items such as plastic bags so these often end up in land fill
• Air pollution
• Groundwater pollution
• Biodiversity impacts
• Soil fertility effects

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