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Avoidance of waste at use stage

Improvement <- D: use intensive <-

Checklist for ECODESIGN analysis

Product
Are auxiliary and process materials needed at use stage used in closed cycles (re-used or recycled)?
  
  
What auxiliary and process materials are being used in the product? At what intervals do they have to exchanged or refilled? How could closed cycles be realized? In which components should auxiliary and process materials be used in closed cycles?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Closed cycles for process materials needed at use stage
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Is the generation of waste at use stage avoided or minimized?
  
  
What type of waste is generated either directly or indirectly (e.g. packaging) by using the product? What volume? Why does this waste arise, how can it be avoided?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Avoid and/or minimize waste at use stage
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Is any negative environmental impact through emissions, effluents or noise at use stage avoided or minimized?
  
  
What emissions or effluents are generated by the use of the product? Why do they arise, how could they be avoided?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Avoid and/or minimize environmental damage caused by emissions, waste, noise, etc. at use stage
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Is it possible for users to collect waste from the use stage, are there incentives?
  
  
Where does waste from use stage arise? What parts of the product are involved? What materials are they made of? Are these parts suitable for re-use, what are the prerequisites? How can take back of these parts be organized? What incentives are conceivable?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Provide for incentives for and possibility of collecting waste from use stage
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Is waste material from the use stage re-used or recycled?
  
  
How much waste arises from use of the product? What materials are involved? How can these materials be used in closed cycles? How can recycled materials be used in the production process?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Reuse and/or recycling of waste from use stage
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Has an environmentally acceptable disposal of waste from the use stage been ensured?
  
  
What type, what quantity of waste is generated at use stage? What potential of hazardous substances and resources is there? What channels of disposal are particularly suitable for cascaded use of resources?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Ensure environmentally acceptable disposal of waste from use stage
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline


Approach to assessment:
  1. Relevance:
    Rate the relevance of the assessment question with a view to your product. (10...very important for my product; 5...less important for my product; 0...not relevant for my product).
  2. Fullfilment:
    Estimate the fulfilment of the assessment questions using one of the four possible answers (yes / rather yes / rather no / no); the additional questions support understanding of the assessment question and need not be answered.
  3. Priority:
    Select ECODESIGN tasks with high priority (P) and continue only with these.
  4. Idea for Realization:
    Find ideas to realize these ECODESIGN tasks. The content of the learning part with its examples shall assist you in doing that.
  5. Feasibility:
    Evaluate the feasibility of the suggested ideas (difficult / easy).
  6. Costs:
    Compare the costs of the new ideas with a reference situation (higher / same / lower) and give reason for that.
  7. Action:
    Decide when to carry out the ECODESIGN tasks (at once / later / never) and determine the person or department that shall be in charge of further steps in the realizing the product improvements and fix a deadline.
  8. Save:
    Save the checklist to document the ECODESIGN assessment.

 

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Closed cycles for process materials needed at use stage

If possible, auxiliary and process materials should be used in closed cycles. Re-use (i.e. without destroying structures) should be preferred to recycling (materials cycles after destruction of structure). If the materials needed for are used up in the process operation (e.g. printer ink, toner...) re-use of containers or other components (ink cartridges, toner cartridges) should be considered.


Avoid and/or minimize waste at use stage

Type and quantity of waste generated during the use stage of a product may considerably influence the total environmental balance of the product. Strictly speaking, only active (consumption-intensive) products consume energy or materials at their use stage. Considering the whole life cycle of the product, the consumption of these resources usually dominates the overall environmental impact of the product. Therefore, the prevention of waste at use stage is very important with this type of product. The example shows the use of rechargeable accumulators instead of conventional batteries.


Avoid and/or minimize environmental damage caused by emissions, waste, noise, etc. at use stage

Strictly speaking, only active (consumption-intensive) products produce emissions and effluents at their use stage. Considering the whole life cycle of the product, these usually are a dominant factor in the overall environmental impact of the product. The example shows a possible solution of the problem; the method uses a flue gas catalyst to reduce the harmful environmental impact. However, for such approaches an analysis of the total consumption has to be realized in order to prevent that the problem is merely shifted to another area.


Provide for incentives for and possibility of collecting waste from use stage

Collecting waste arising at use stage is reasonable not only with a view to disposal (used batteries) but also in the context of potential re-use (parts and components) or recycling (materials). The example shows a system for returning empty toner cartridges of a printer. The empty cartridges can be refilled and re-used. Using the cartridges in a closed cycle results in a high value added. Incentives (bonus, exchange campaigns...) can make this system highly attractive for users.


Reuse and/or recycling of waste from use stage

In addition to collecting waste from the use stage for the purpose of re-use, recycling, too, is possible and desirable in compliance with the concept of closed cycles. Either it is possible to recycle waste products on the site (see example candle stumps) or they are collected, recycled elsewhere and fed back to the production process. In plastic processing, for instance, adequate admixtures of new to recycled material yield plastics suitable for the same applications as the original. Plastic parts containing up to 100% are used predominantly for invisible interior parts and components of a product.


Ensure environmentally acceptable disposal of waste from use stage

Waste material from the use stage that cannot be re-used or recycled must be disposed of in an environmentally acceptable way. This refers to best practice disposal (hazardous substances) or, if possible, to an integration in natural cycles. On the whole, the issue of waste often depends on perspective; for, waste generated in one part of the system may be considered valuable raw material in another part of the system. A sophisticated combination of different systems, organization of process stages in cascades can often result in a total avoidance of waste.