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Recycling of materials

Improvement <- ( A: raw material intensive, E: disposal intensive ) <-

Checklist for ECODESIGN analysis

Product
Does the product provide for thorough information on materials used and for labeling conforming to standards?
  
  
What different materials are contained in the product? Where and how can the individual components be labeled so that materials may be unequivocally identified – in particular after the product’s end of life. How does labeling conforming to standards look like? Is there need for additional information?
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 labeling of materials conforming to standards
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Do all components of the product permit the separation of materials for the purpose of recycling?
  
  
What different materials are contained in the product? How are the different materials treated or recycled? What materials are incompatible with recycling and can not be separated? What measures would facilitate the separation of materials? Is it possible to choose another, more compatible combination of materials?
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 Make possible separation of materials for recycling
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Can harmful or valuable materials contained in the product be identified as such and does design provide for easy extraction of these materials?
  
  
Does the product contain harmful or valuable materials? How could extraction prior to recycling be made easier? Is the use of these harmful or valuable materials unavoidable?
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 simple extraction of harmful and valuable substances
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Are the materials used for the individual components of the product suitable for recycling? Are the materials contained in different components suitable for joint recycling?
  
  
What materials is the product/component made of? Can the diversity of materials be reduced? Are the different materials separable, and how do inseparable materials behave in the recycling 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 Ensure that materials are suitable for recycling
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Are surface coating and base material compatible for recycling?
  
  
What components have a surface coating? Can this coating impair recyclability? Are there alternative solutions?
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 that surface coating and base material are suitable for recycling
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Is it possible to extract process materials and harmful substances completely from the product?
  
  
Does the product contain harmful substances? Are these really unavoidable? How can simple extraction of these materials be ensured? What measures can prevent process materials from remaining in the product after use?
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 Make possible extraction of process materials and unavoidable harmful substances
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Does product design take into account the end-user’s opportunities for disposal and is there an instruction for disposal of the product?
  
  
What is the environmentally most acceptable way of disposing of the product? What are the end-user’s opportunities for disposal? How has the end-user been informed about correct disposal of the product? What are the criteria for a clear and unambiguous instruction for disposal?
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 Take into account end-user’s opportunities for disposal and provide for instructions for disposal
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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Ensure labeling of materials conforming to standards

If it is not possible to reuse components or to adapt them for use in other products the materials contained therein have to be recycled. For this procedure it is essential that materials can be unequivocally identified by means of standardized labeling. Products containing materials that have not been labeled correctly very often end up in a waste dump although recycling of materials would be possible.


Make possible separation of materials for recycling

Recycling of materials requires the use of uniform or at least recyclable materials. If the product contains incompatible materials these should be separable. For the purpose of material recycling separation need not necessarily be nondestructive, predetermined braking points, too, are an appropriate solution. Design should ensure easy separation of different materials.


Ensure simple extraction of harmful and valuable substances

In many products the use of harmful or valuable substances is unavoidable. These harmful substances (which would impair recycling) or valuable substances (which retain their high value only when treated separately) should be easily identifiable to ensure that they are extracted and recycled. Lacking or incorrect labeling or cumbersome disassembly counteracts this objective.


Ensure that materials are suitable for recycling

If reuse of parts of the product is not possible the goal should be recycling of materials at the highest level possible. Recyclability may be a decisive factor in selecting materials if there are alternatives with equivalent properties.


Ensure that surface coating and base material are suitable for recycling

Surface coating typically forms an inseparable compound with the base material. This should, however, not impair recyclability of materials. Intelligent design of components and selection of adequate materials will ensure compatibility of materials for recycling.


Make possible extraction of process materials and unavoidable harmful substances

In order to be able to dispose of process materials and unavoidable hazardous substances in an environmentally acceptable way one has to ensure that they can be separated from components after use. This requires simple extraction and adequate labeling of components containing harmful substances.


Take into account end-user’s opportunities for disposal and provide for instructions for disposal

Usually, consumers are not prepared to take great efforts for the disposal of a product. An environmentally acceptable disposal should therefore be simple and should not require means the regular end-user does not have. In addition, it is useful to provide the user with information concerning adequate disposal and to encourage correct user behavior.