Environmental issues

• Designers not only have to consider

  how to conserve materials but also how to conserve energy during product

  manufacture, to make products that are as sustainable and

  environmentally friendly as possible.
• The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as ‘development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.'

  Sustainable development has three strands:

  ● economic

  ● social

  ● environmental
• Reduce


  Cut down the material and energy used to make and package the product. For example, bottled water companies constantly strive to use as little polymer as possible while maintaining strength. Savings can be minute, but when added up over a multiple production run of thousands of bottles per day, they would be worth it.
• Reuse


  At the end of a product’s life, reuse the product for the same or another purpose.

  An example would be buying a glass jar of instant coffee and then reusing the glass jar and buying a refill pack.

  Designers need to consider the reuse potential of their product or product components; this may influence decisions such as ease of disassembly when designing
• Recycle

  Convert of waste products into new materials for new products. Conserve finite resources such as crude oil for making polymers, environmental impact such as scarring from metal extraction, loss of animal habitat and plant life when cutting trees for wooden product manufacture, as well as the environmental and aesthetic issues associated with mountains of rubbish in landfill sites.
• Recycle

  Many manufacturers actively advertise the use of recycled waste in their labels informing consumers that the product is made of 100 per cent recycled paper, or a wooden furniture product will display an FSC stamp. Consider ease of disassembly for recycling purposes. Car manufacturers will use click fittings to attach dashboards and interior door panels, thus removing the need for additional joining components such as screws.
• Recycle

  Recycling happens in three ways:

  • Primary recycling: the use of functioning second-hand products, which the first user no longer has a need or wants. Charity shops, freecycle initiatives, eBay
  • Secondary recycling: at the end of a product’s life, the materials are recycled to make different products. bike tyres can be made into belts.
  • Tertiary recycling: this is completely breaking down a product and reformulating it via a chemical process. For example, polymer drink bottles can be shredded and spun into fibres to make fleece textile
• Refuse


  Exercise consumer choice as to whether to buy a product or not

  • Reasons to refuse a product:
  • Environmentally harmful
  • Desired but not needed
  • Considerations for refusal:
  • Necessity of the product
  • Ethical production
  • Sustainability
  • Example: Choose a reusable water bottle over single-use bottled water to avoid using finite resources.
  • For white goods (e.g., washing machines, refrigerators):
  • Assess required size
  • Refuse oversized or less energy-efficient models.
• Rethink


  This means:

  • Rethink product design and manufacturing for efficiency.
  • Goals:
  • Increase energy efficiency in manufacturing and operation.
  • Simplify disassembly for recycling (e.g., using click fittings, Shape Memory Alloys).
  • Consumer actions:
  • Use refillable cups instead of single-use cups.
  • Manufacturer actions:
  • Optimize product performance.
  • Use easily recyclable, single-material packaging.
• Use of Sustainable Materials and Components

  • Sustainable Materials: Essential for designers to use sustainable materials and components to avoid depleting finite resources like oil and metal ores.
  • Environmental Impact of Trees: Trees must be replanted to:
  • Ensure material supply.
  • Maintain oxygen levels.
  • Reduce CO2 in the environment (trees act as carbon sinks).
  • Carbon Footprint Considerations:
  • Primary Carbon Footprint: Direct CO2 emissions from fossil fuels
  • Secondary Carbon Footprint: Indirect CO2 emissions from product use (e.g., 1 kg CO2 for five polymer bags).
• Environmental Impacts of Packaging

  • Importance of Packaging:
  • Essential for delivering goods (e.g., mobile phones with accessories).
  • Prolongs food life and reduces waste.
  • Design Considerations:
  • Use optimal packaging to protect products and prevent waste.
  • Prioritize lightweight, recycled, recyclable, or reusable materials.
  • Redesign for minimal environmental impact (e.g., refills, concentrates).
  • Example:
  • Juice concentrate reduces polymer usage compared to regular juice bottles
• Environmental impacts of Packaging

  • Carrier Bag Impact:
  • 5 pence charge reduces single-use polymer bag use (e.g., 71% reduction in Wales, 80% in Scotland).
  • Bag for life schemes promote recycling over landfill.
  • Bans on thin polymer bags in countries like Bangladesh and Italy due to environmental issues.
  • Overpackaging Concerns:
  • Examples include bananas in polymer bags, shrink-wrapped vegetables, and fruits in mesh bags.
  • Often driven by consumer convenience rather than necessity.
• Environmental Impacts of Packaging

  • Opportunity for Change:
  • Increased consumer awareness of sustainability.
  • Designers and manufacturers can reduce environmental impact with simple packaging changes.
• In the UK, Marks and Spencer was one of the front runners in addressing the environmental need to reduce packaging waste. One initiative involved redesigning pizza boxes. Pizzas used to sit on a polystyrene (PS) tray, shrink-wrapped in LDPE inside a carton board box. The redesign involved changing the carton board box to a narrow, recycled card sleeve. This redesign reduced the overall packaging by 62% and saved over 480 tonnes of packaging a year.