life cycle assessment of disposable razors

A Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable Razors. It can also help them to compare the newly redesigned product to the original, acting as a benchmark to ensure the design changes are actually positive for the environment. In the late 1990s, disposable LMAs became available. It is also often not accepted in curbside recycling, and even when it is, it is not separated and recycled when it reaches the dumping station, making it an unsustainable and wasteful material (Polystyrene. Wikipedia.org). Highlights Overall, while the materials for disposable razors are few, and the products basic design makes it appear simplistic, the products lifecycle is far from simple. On the other hand, extending the number of uses to 80 (doubling the lifetime) reduces GHG emissions by 9%. These benefits must be weighed against concerns regarding transmission of infection. Tungsten Carbide. Encyclopdia Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 17 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/tungsten-carbide. There are various ways that the product can get there. Direct emissions refer to any emissions that resulted from the burning of fossil fuels and Indirect emissions refer to any emissions that resulted from the generation of electricity. The steps in LCA are (1) goal and scope definition, (2) life cycle inventory analysis (LCI), (3) life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), and (4) interpretation of the results. Comparative environmental and human health (HH) impacts for disposable and reusable laryngeal mask airways (LMA), Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) impact assessment method. A major flaw in the disposable razors design is in fact its inability to be sustainably and properly disposed, despite what its name suggests. However, of the 2 billion razors disposed of annually, about 32% end up in the ocean (Kaplan). The data collected through LCA helps organizations make conscious decisions that affect the environment. This is the fourth installment in a series of blogs in which weexplore how to design a product for circularity. 3 Ways to Recycle Safety Razor Blades - wikiHow Life The Fate of the Disposable Razor.Industrial Equipment News (IEN), 7 Aug. 2019, www.ien.com/product-development/news/21081402/the-fate-of-the-disposable-razor. For example, the designer might think that the manufacturing stage would be the most impactful, when in reality for some products its the raw material extraction or its use phase. Life Cycle Assessment - IPP - Environment - European Commission The polypropylene is sorted during recycling using a float test that separates it from other materials based on its ability to float due to its weight, then it is often melted down and reused in other product manufacturing. Lippiatt BC, Boyles AS. Convenience is a potential advantage for disposable LMAs, and facilities that use reusable LMAs must ensure that a variety of sizes are always available when needed. The Bic Razor, Still the Sharpest of the Bunch. Plastics Le Mag, 31 Jan. 2017, plastics-themag.com/The-Bic-razor-still-the-sharpest-of-the-bunch. BIC is voicing their concern about the environmental impact that their large production goals can have. The stability of the plastic components, while necessary for shelf stability and use, takes longer than one persons life-span to decompose. The LMAs were first rinsed in tap water, scrubbed externally with a Hibiclens sponge and internally with a small scrub brush, and rinsed again. BIC has done their best to deal with waste in an environmentally conscious manner. After the parts are manufactured it is time for the final product assembly. A combination of transportation methods is used depending on where the product needs to go. The metal used for the razor blades is called Tungsten Carbide which is used in wear applications, such as shaving (Safety Razor). Finally, the razors are packaged in cardboard and plastic, and shipped out to stores and markets globally for customers to purchase and use. (PDF) Sources, Fate and Effects of Microplastics in the Marine At an average of 10 reuse cycles, GHG impacts increase by >50%, and this is the break-even point at which the GHG emissions from reusable and disposable LMAs are essentially equal. Through an examination of how the raw materials: carbide steel, tungsten steel, and a combination of the plastics: polypropylene, polystyrene, and phenylene oxide of the razors decompose, and how much waste is accumulated in making the razors, an assessment can be made for the duration of their life cycle. A 2005 analysis published by U.K. Several clinical trials comparing function and ease of placement demonstrated no significant difference between disposable and reusable versions,25 allowing hospitals to base purchase decisions on economic considerations alone. It is used in razor manufacturing mainly due to its high heat and water resistance, making it ideal for the conditions the product is used in. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) measures the impact of products on the environment. Properly following the instructions it should (hopefully) leave you with three pieces, the handle, the metal blade, the plastic that was covering the blade. It can be used to study the environmental impact of either a product or the function the product is designed to perform. CASE STUDY ANALYSIS - CLEAN EDGE, NON DISPOSABLE RAZOR Q1. Life Cycle Assessment and Costing Methods for Device - PubMed Contrary to common expectation, hair is actually pretty hard. They are resins that maintain a high dimensional stability, which helps create fast and cheap plastic razor handles (Safety Razor). Safety Razor.How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. The 2 LMA options are nearly equivalent in terms of eutrophication impacts, but with different contributions. McGain F, McAlister S, McGavin A, Story D. The financial and environmental costs of reusable and single-use plastic anaesthetic drug trays. On the basis of such criteria, single-use disposable medical devices are increasingly supplanting reusable devices in the United States (US) and elsewhere.1 Although purchase and maintenance costs for disposable devices are perceived to be less than for reusables, this fails to account for indirect costs to society from the environmental impacts attributable to the entire life cycle of a device. The cartridge-based razor had a slightly higher impact due to the rubber parts which cant be separated from the plastic body. All that is needed is the insertion of the razor blade into the plastic body. Click the image for pricing & more info. Health care facilities can decrease their environmental impacts by using reusable LMAs, to a lesser extent by selecting disposable LMA models that are not made of certain plastics, and by ordering in bulk from local distributors. To compile a detailed life cycle inventory of the environmental burdens Tungsten Carbide. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_carbide. Gillette Plastic Disposable Shaving Kit supermax, for Hotel. It is resistant to fats and almost all organic solvents which helps it hold up in the damp and warm conditions of a bathroom and shower (Polypropylene. Wikipedia.org). This manuscript was handled by: Steven L. Shafer, MD. The autoclave was typically run with 5 LMAs, although loading varied significantly. Technical Fact Sheet-Tungsten.Technical Fact Sheet- Tungsten, EPA, Jan. 2014, www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrrofactsheet_contaminant_tungsten_january2014_final.pdf. The newest effort to recycle disposable razors is being done in France by BIC, but the company has said that they do not plan on unveiling a recycling program anywhere else yet (Powers). The LCA is broken into four stages: Defining the goal and scope how much of a product's lifecycle will be addressed, the reasons for carrying out the assessment, the intended audience, and the intended end-use [] 3. Reusable LMAs were collected in a dirty device bin on the anesthesia cart and then reprocessed by the anesthesia technicians. BIC states that it prides itself on producing affordable, safe, and quality razors for its customers worldwide. They also reported how they dealt with their non-hazardous waste 76 percent was recycled, 11 percent incineration with energy recovery, 10 percent was sent to land disposal, and the remaining 3 percent was sent off for a different treatment (For You for Everyone Registration Document). Can J Anaesth 2001;48:40912, 22. It takes a lifetime perspective LCA takes into consideration all the steps that lead from raw material through manufacture, distribution and usage to final disposal. This is known as a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) This can be extremely complex because it can involve dozens of separate processes, as well as hundreds of tracked substances. In this process, the metal is heated to temperatures of 1,967-2,048F (1,075-1,120C), then quenched in water to a temperature between -76- -112 F (-60- -80 C) to harden it. Contamination problems with reuse of laryngeal mask airways and laryngoscopes. Part of this responsible shipping mentality forces them to change their packaging to be able to ship more at a time. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. The second component of the razor is the plastic body which is made of a fairly inexpensive plastic called polystyrene. Disposable and reusable LMAs typically differ in material composition, packaging, reuse, and cost. For me, I had a few extra bits of plastic that I snapped off because they . Despite its ability to be recycled, it often ends up in the landfill as many people dont know how to properly recycle it, people are too lazy to recycle, or the plastics arent labeled properly (Polypropylene. Wikipedia). A Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable Razors. Criteria air pollutants arise for the disposable LMA primarily from the production of ethylene (a polymer precursor) and the combustion of natural gas throughout the system, and for the reusable LMA from the combustion of fossil fuels to produce steam and electricity. For climate change impacts specifically, the reusable LMA contributes 7.4 kg CO2e of GHGs over its life cycle, and the equivalent 40 disposable LMAs contribute 11.3 kg CO2e, or approximately the equivalent to burning a gallon (4 L) of gasoline. RSA These steps are not necessarily conducted in succession, but iteratively. Where regulations permit, disposal of LMA-related waste as regular municipal waste, as opposed to biohazardous waste, should also reduce the adverse health effects stemming from medical waste incineration. The processes that contribute to these emissions differ markedly between the 2 LMA devices. 45. This makes it an easy and quick method to start the analysis of a product and aid the designer when creating alternative concepts which are more environmentally friendly, because they can clearly identify what areas need improvement and which ones work well already. The major problem with recycling this plastic however, is that during the heating process, the plastic degrades in quality making it less valuable (What Is Tungsten Carbide or Hard Metal?, AZoM.com). Everything You Need To Know About Polypropylene (PP) Plastic. Everything You Need To Know About Polypropylene (PP) Plastic, https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/all-about-polypropylene-pp-plastic. Sensitivity and simple life cycle cost analyses were conducted to aid in interpretation of the results. Please try again soon. Julabo Gmbh, et al. LCA is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service. Nash, Nathaniel C. HOW BIC LOST THE EDGE TO GILLETTE. The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Apr. Eckelman, Matthew PhD*; Mosher, Margo; Gonzalez, Andres; Sherman, Jodi MD. The powder is then shaped, usually by the process of die stamping. The majority of life cycle human health impacts of disposable LMAs are caused by PVC use in packaging and the device itself. 0 Phase 3: Life Cycle Impact Assessment. What's the Difference Between Disposable and Reusable Razors for Women?Venus, www.gillettevenus.com/en-us/womens-shaving-guide/learning-to-shave/disposable-razors-vs-refillable-razors/. Chu L, Mathur P, Trudell J, Brock-Utne J. This is where the razors are portioned into their desired packaging amounts, that will be sent off to consumers. After the products are packaged, there has to be a way for them to get to the end consumer. Of course the 2.6 billion razors were not, all the same, however, we can still give a ballpark estimate of how many tonnes of plastic/metal waste is being produced every year. Life cycle assessment of a disposable and a reusable surgery instrument Terracycle is a company that was created to address the issue of recyclable products that often end up in landfills. To make the handle and cartridges, these various plastics are heated together and melted together along with optional colorants and various filler materials. Anesth Analg 1993;77:1079, 21. They report their waste production being at 340 tons, which represented an increase of 22% from 2015 (Bic). The studies have not found it to be harmful to drinking water, or public safety, however, it is an ongoing research of soil data that continues. Life Cycle Assessment | EcoAct Kaplan, Desire. Life cycle assessment Plastics Europe Redesigning the Razor Life Cycle Assessment. The Great Recovery, http://www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/. Life Cycle Assessment explained: an introduction to building LCA Each manufacturing plant or node in the supply chain is referred to as agate-to-gate (GTG) life cycle inventory. Gathering all the data for the LCA is the most difficult part of the task, and normally assumptions have to be made where its impossible to gather all the knowledge required, thus not all the relevant impacts are considered. Previous studies have examined the relative environmental profiles of reusables and disposables with regard to medical textiles7 and anesthetic drug trays.8 The present study uses life cycle assessment to evaluate the life cycle impacts of disposable and reusable LMAs across several categories of environmental and human health impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique for assessing the potential environmental aspects and potential aspects associated with a product (or service), by: compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs, evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs, Polypropylene is recyclable with the resin code of 5, which is its numbered identification code that is used to identify what resins plastic products are made of, and indicate how they are recycled. Reusable LMA cleaning was observed to proceed as follows. Shabecoff, Philip. Clean Edge, Non Disposable razor case study analysis - SlideShare Manufacturers can do this solely by machine or by human eye/hand plus machine for extra quality assurance. Here, Great Recovery Intern Sebastian de Cabo Portugal discusses Life Cycle Assessments. To begin the process of creating the razor blades, tungsten carbide, which is the metal that the blades and other optional components are made of, must first be manufactured. Amazon.com: Bulk Disposable Razors HUO0NpnaJd@"&u[kj-+8=WU\*w)OMYb_ry> 1F3 nyNnb 0 Online Course Life Cycle Assessment | MIT Professional Education Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment of Disposable Bioreactors In this paper, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used as a tool to quantify the environmental impacts of disposable medical face masks. Upgrading to a new, energy-efficient autoclave machine leads to a nearly equal reduction in life cycle GHG emissions and may be considered particularly in instances in which older equipment is being used. These are the reasons why I will carry out an Eco-Indicator Assessment instead of a full LCA. The designed short user-time of disposable razors, causes their life cycle to be spent mostly in the landfill where they will remain for hundreds of years due to non-biodegradable plastic, however, recycling the plastic and steel is possible if sent to specific recycling facilities, which could reduce the life cycle and negative impact on the environment. endstream endobj startxref Sustainable Development Report. Amersfoort, The Netherlands: Product Ecology (PR) Consultants, 2011, 11. Current LMA procurement decisions are typically based on perceived costs. Polypropylene. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypropylene. This points to the need for effective inventory control, which is also critical for the reusable devices because there needs to be a sufficient number clean and on hand while another batch is undergoing cleaning, sterilization, and cooling. After that the blades go through a blade edging process, which consists of the blade strips first being coarsely ground by whetstone, second being ground at an angle with a finer whetstone, and then having the tip of the blades ground (Manufacturing Processes). Life Cycle Assessment: Biopharma SUTs - BioProcess The more capital-intensive option of increasing the energy efficiency of the autoclave machines by 10% decreases GHG emissions by 8%. Individually autoclaving the reusable LMA (because of stock shortages, for example) increased life cycle GHG emissions by >400%, whereas loading with 10 LMAs per cycle decreased emissions by nearly 25%. Disposable Razors at Best Price in India - IndiaMART

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