2.2 Waste mitigation strategies

• Waste Mitigation strategies


  Several strategies can be implemented to reduce or eliminate waste throughout the lifecycle of a product. As a designer, you can apply these strategies directly or indirectly to your design. Regardless of the strategies usesd, it is essential to design out as much waste as possible.
• Re-use


  Re-use refers to utilising a product more than once, in the same or different context.

  Examples include reusing glass jars to store dry materials, plastic bags, or clothing.
• Recycle


  Recycling refers to the use of waste to create a new product. Commonly recycled materials include paper, cardboard, thermoplastics, and alunimum.
• Repair


  Repair refers to fixing or renewing a worn out or broken component. Common examples are bicycle tire repair kits for fixing punctured tubes, or the replacement of cracked cell-phone screens. Designers can make decisions that either empower users to do their won repairs, or decisions that limit or prevent users from making their own repairs. 
• Recondition / Refurbish


  Reconditioning refers to the rebuilding of the product so that it is in an "as-new condition". Common examples are car engines, mobile phones, and computers. Manufactures usually sell the product at a lower price than the new one, but provide a limited warranty for the reconditioned product.
• Re-engineer


  The redesign of materials or components to improve the performance of a product. It can also be called "Upgrading". This could include upgrading the processor of a computer or changing of gears or components on a bicycle frame. Re-engineering can also involve changing materials to be more environmentally friendly; developing a more efficient manufacturing process which results in some changes to the final product; or introduce a new function to the original design.

  The Dyson Ball Vacuum is an example of a product that has been re-engineered to improve performance.
• Methodologies for waste reduction and designing out waste

  As natural resources become more scare due to consumption, strategies for waste reduction and designing out waste will only become more important for designers.

  • Circular Economy
  • Energy Recovery
  • WEEE Recovery
  • Raw material recovery
  • Recycling
  • Dematerialization
• Energy Recovery


  Waste-to-energy (WtE) is a form of energy production that generates electricity through the treatment (usually combustion) of non-recyclable waste. These systems are typically quite large and complex and are usually implemented by municipalities or cities.
• Types of WtE systems will produce the following types of energy:

  • Electricity
  • Gasification which produces a combustible gas such as hydrogen
• WEEE Recovery (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive)

  Electronic devices contain a mixture of materials and components that can be hazardous and cause environmental damage when disposed of improperly. This wastes is also referred to as e-waste.

  Poisoned workers, environmental damage, rising materials costs, and geopolitical tensions are some of the outcomes. Also contains scarce materials.

  WEEE addresses the complex issue of recycling waste electronics by improving the collection, treatment, and recycling of these materials at their end of life.
• Raw Material Recovery


  This strategy involved the separating of raw components of a product in order to recover the parts and materials. By doing so, parts and materials can be sorted correctly and thus increase the quantity of materials available for recycling and reuse, and reduce waste.
• Recycling


  The system most people are familiar with, recycling is defined as the use of materials from obsolete products to create other products. recycling decreases the demand for new raw materials, reduces energy consumption, reduces waste production, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions.
• Dematerialization


  Strategy of "doing more with less." At its essence, dematerialization seeks to reduce the energy and materials used in the production, use, and end-of-life of a product, and thus reduce the impact on the environment.Common examples include:

  • shifting from paper to digital communication (letter to emails)
  • fossil fuels to solar power
  • shrinking or miniaturizing a product so it uses less material

  
• Biological Materials


  materials that are renewable and come from nature (organic)
• Technical Materials


  materials that are manufactured and are finite in their quantities.
• The linear economy can be described as:


  • Take resources from nature, and generate waste in the process
  • Produce a product using the materials, and generate waste in the process
  • Dispose of the product and thus create waste

  
• Within a circular economy, materials can be classified into two categories:

  • Biological materials
  • Technical materials

  It separates the two types of resources and ensures that they are reused in some capacity. Waste thus becomes a resource for the next iteration. It seeks to mimic a healthy biological ecosystem.