Design for the environment (or green design) considerations and guidelines. |
DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENTKenneth Crow
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There are three major elements of design for the environment: design for environmental manufacturing, design for environmental packaging, and design for disposal and recycleability. Design for environmental manufacturing involves the following considerations:
Design for environmental packaging involves the following considerations:
Design for disposal & recycleability involves the following considerations:
To support design for recyclability, design for dis-assembly needs to be addressed. Design for disassembly enhances maintainability or serviceability of a product, and it enables recycling of materials, component parts, assemblies, and modules. There are a number of principles to facilitate disassembly:
BMW's 1991 Z1 Roadster, whose plastic side panels come apart like the halves of a walnut shell, is an example of a car designed for disassembly. One of the lessons learned, is that glue or solder in bumpers should be replaced with fasteners so that the bumpers can come apart more easily and the materials can be recycled. BMW is also changing instrument panels. In the past they were made of an assortment of synthetics glued together. Now BMW uses variations of polyurethane, foam, and rubber so the panel can be recycled. The portion of a car recycled is 80% by weight and BMW is aiming for 95%. |