Design f o r Recycling rec yc led product rec yc lable product
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The G overnment of Ca ta lonia ,
with the aim of encouraging the
rec ycling of wa ste in Ca ta lonia ,
created the Ca talan Centre for
Recyc ling a ttac hed to the Waste
Agency of the Department ofthe Environment a t the end of
1999.
One o f the C entre’s priority w ork
areas is ec odes ign, or more
particularly, design for
recycling. The Guide of Case
Studies of Ecodesign, Design
for Recycling, is o ne of the
Centre’s publications aimed at
the industrial fabric of Catalonia,
that offers de sign for rec ycling
as a n instrument of
environmental prevention to be
applied during the d esign sta ge
of produc ts.Therefore, given the new leg a l
framework of Europe and the
globalisation of markets, the
compa nies that w ish to remain
competitive, open to new
oppo rtunities , must rec og nise
and fac e the cha llenges of thedema nds for environmental
quality, and the application of
des ign for rec ycling is a m ea ns
to achieve this.
The struct ure of the guide
The g uide introduc es the follow ing a spe cts :
- The stages to be followed by a com-
pany that incorporates design-for-
recycling criteria into its products
- The range of the main ecod esignstrategies that ca n be a pplied to the
des ign of the products.
- A collection of 35 cas e studies of
design-for-recycling experiences on
products mad e by Ca talan compa-
nies in the follow ing sec tors:
• ca r components• b uild ing
• pa ckaging a nd wrapping• urban a menities• others
1 Julio Rodrigo and Francesc Castells, Rovira i Virgili University
What is design for recycl ing?
The de signe d-for-recyc ling 1 method incorporates recycling and recyclability criteria
into the d es ign pha se of products, with the aim of ob taining recyc led a nd/or recyc lab le
products . The e nvironme ntal va ria ble is just a nother req uirement of the p rod uct tha t
is added to all the others, such as its cost, its safety, its manufacturability, its use, etc.
The a pplica tion o f this variab le d oes not a ffect the rest of the properties of the product,
and price and environmental improvement are combined with the aim of manufacturing
produc ts w ith a reduc ed environmenta l impac t a ss ociated to its entire life cyc le a nd
competitive prices.
What are produc ts designed for recycl ing,
or in other w ords, recycled and/ or recyclab le products?
Recycled products are those which are manufactured using recycled materials or
com ponents from prod ucts no longe r in use.
Recyclable products a re those that a re ma nufac tured to be recycled at the end of
their use ful life. In other wo rds , mono-ma teria ls a re us ed, the toxic a nd ha za rdous
substances are eliminated and a modular manufacturing system is used that producesea sily-disma ntled produc ts, comp a tible ma teria ls a re us ed, mate ria l tha t is d ifficult
to use is identified b y means of codes , and so o n.
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The stages to be fo l lowed by a com pany that incorporates
design- for- recycl ing cr i ter ia into i ts p roduct s
5Introduction of
the environmental
improvements selected
• P rioritise the improvements selected.
• Analyse the following as pects o f the product:
- Informa tion a bout the product: de tailed d es cription (functions, c ompone nts, etc .),
key aspects of the design and production, materials used in its manufacture
and transport, resources used during its use, emissions generated and average life.
- Co mpa ny, res ource s a nd ca pa cities : insta lla tions, resources, environmenta l policy,
work team, a nd so on.
- P ress ure a nd potential for the change of the product: environmental as pects,
new materials, new technologies and requirements of clients or market demand.
- Market: functions, qua lity, price, a nd so o n.
- Co mpetitive prod ucts: identifica tion of other prod ucts ma de b y compe titors
with goo d environmenta l performa nce.
3General analysis
of the product
• Define the work team ac cording to the type of c ompany a nd its po ss ibilities.
• Design, schedule and ca rry out the diverse sta ges of the des ign-for-recycling
proces s for eac h product.
• Ass ess the need for eac h purchas e and the ass ociated environmental impac t.
Creating the work team
and scheduling
the project
2
• The company manag ement approves the project.
• The entire orga nisa tion is informed.
Company commitment
1
6Assessment and follow-up• Ass ess the effect of the environmental improvements incorporated .
• S et up d ynamics and tools for continuous environmental improvement.
4Assessment of the
environmental impact of
the product and proposalfor environmental
improvements
• Draw up the a nalysis of the life cycle of the prod uct:
- Overall view o f the mos t significa nt environmenta l impa cts ca used b y the prod uct
during the d ifferent sta ge s of its life c ycle.
- Identifica tion of the priorities and environme nta l improvements to be taken into a cc ountduring the design process.
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Design for:
• Re cycling:- use of recycled materials
- re-using the componentsof products no longer
in use• Clean production
Design for:
• Recyclability - the use of mono-materials
- the disposal of toxic and hazardous substances
- modular manufacturing and easy dismantling
- the use of compatible materials
- identification of materials that are difficultto recognise, by means of codes
End of life
Obtainingraw materialsDesign for:
• Preserving resources
• A low impact of the materials
Manufacturing
DistributionDesign for:
• Efficient distribution
UseDesign for:
• Efficient use of energy
• Saving water
• Minimisation of the consumptionof auxiliary products
• Pollution prevention• Durability
Ecodesign strat egies app l icable to th e various stages
of th e l ife cyc le of product s :
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Presentat ion of case stud ies of design for recycl ing:
The C ata lan Centre for Recyc ling a t the Was te Agenc y has a list o f ca tegories
of recycled a nd/or recyc lab le products at the following w ebs ite:
http://www.junres.es/CCR/index.stm
Car components
- Lubrica ting oil
- Devices , control boxes and electronic c ircuit sys tems
Others
- Glass articles
- S ho es
- Sho pping trolleys
- …
Building
- P ipes
- P las tic flooring
- Soundproofing boards
- Asphalt co nglomerate
Packaging and wrapping
- Pa ckaging w ith a return and recovery system
for the supply of the ba se product
- P ac kaging for perfumes, moisturising creams , etc.
- Bo xes for food distribution
- Pa llets
- Diverse ba gs (for rubbish, ag ricultura l plas tic films, et c)
- Recycled paper
Urban equipment
- Rubbish c ontainers
- Urban fences
- Fountains
- Canopies
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