life cycle assessment of disposable razors

The Potential of Polypropylene.Recycling Today, Recycling Today, 17 July 2019, www.recyclingtoday.com/article/the-recycling-potential-of-polypropylene/. 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. All of which provides an easy user experience, but, takes a toll on the planet. 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). A life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to identify the environmental risks of existing and planned products, services and manufacturing processes as well as identify strategic improvement opportunities. %PDF-1.5 % After the reusable LMA was washed and dried, it was then placed into a heat seal pouch, made of polypropylene film and paper. The LMA, within the heat seal pouch, was then placed in the steam autoclave sterilizing machine (Castle/Getinge MC 3522). Safety Razor.How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. Plastics are cleaned and pelletized to be recycled into new products, such as picnic tables and park benches. h[K#1}\$u@ . The total amount of indirect emissions was 89,762 tonnes of carbon dioxide (For You For Everyone Registration Document). Most tungsten, about 85%, is extracted from various ores in China (Siddle, How Is Tungsten Carbide Formed?). Razor blades dull quickly after repeated use, and are recommended to be used only three to ten times, making them a cheap alternative to reusable cartridges. It all starts with the melting and combining of the desired metal. Click the image for pricing & more info. There are land, air, and water-based transportation methods. The tungsten carbide is then ground into an extremely fine powder in a wet mill process, where metal binders and other metals such as cobalt may be added to increase the metals strength and durability and to help hold the powder together when it is shaped. Anesthesia & Analgesia114(5):1067-1072, May 2012. The metal used for the razor blades is called Tungsten Carbide which is used in wear applications, such as shaving (Safety Razor). The carbon footprint reported was separated into two sections which are direct and indirect emissions. Differences in environmental impacts between devices may present a compelling consideration in their selection. Anaesth Intensive Care 2004;32:5304, 4. Powers, Matt, and Amanda M. Can You Recycle Disposable Razors? Earth911.Com, 30 July 2019, earth911.com/living-well-being/health/can-you-recycle-disposable-razors/. What's the greenest way to shave? - Slate Magazine London 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. This break-even point will change depending on the category of environmental impact being considered. For You For Everyone: Registration Document.Bic World, Bic, 2016, www.bicworld.com/sites/default/files/2017-03/BIC_DRF2016_EN.pdf. What makes for an easy, simple, and affordable mass produced and used product costs more in its long afterlife in the landfill, out of sight of the buyers awareness. 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). Chu L, Mathur P, Trudell J, Brock-Utne J. Safety Razor. How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. Life Cycle Assessment and Costing Methods for Device - PubMed J Environ Assess Policy Manage 2000;2:45376, 2. Manufacturer specifications indicate 20 kWh of electricity use for a 5-minute cycle at 135C. However, we can discuss the energy usage of different modes of transportation. Reusable LMA cleaning was observed to proceed as follows. The life cycle assessment results shown here allow clinicians and health care administrators to understand the balance between direct benefits of a given LMA choice to local patient care and the environmental and human health impacts of that choice that occur far from the operating room. Their carbon footprint was reported with the highest offender being air travel for the product, and staff transportation coming from France: accounting for 73% of the companys annual greenhouse gas emissions (Bic). (ii)Access paramount's competitive position? The 2 LMA options are nearly equivalent in terms of eutrophication impacts, but with different contributions. At every point during planning, production, and even marketing, the quantity of consumption should be analyzed to adjust business models accordingly. BIC Group, 2016, Sustainable Development Report. The scope of our analysis, as is shown in Figure 1, includes extraction of material and energy resources, manufacturing, packaging and transport from the manufacturing site to the distribution center and the hospital, reprocessing, and eventual disposal. Eckelman, Matthew PhD*; Mosher, Margo; Gonzalez, Andres; Sherman, Jodi MD. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) | Sustainable Agriculture Research 13, 14 There are few published life cycle assessment studies of medical items (ref. Paper diapers for infants, which are highly convenient as they do not require laundering like cloth diapers, are essential for daily life in Japan. Premature disposal of reusable LMAs has significant environmental impacts (as well as costs, discussed below). BIC says its product beats out other models by 59 percent. The Ramboll Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) found that, assuming realistic usage over a year, the energy consumption involved in the use phase of reusable plastic and traditional crockery, during in-store or out-sourced washing and drying, outweighed the environmental impact of single-use paper dishes. The blade is made from a tungsten steel, and carbon alloy. This assessment is exceptionally useful as it shows the designer what areas are the most impactful during the products life cycle. The product fails to include proper instructions for its waste management, causing it to be disposed of, as the name suggests. hb```X ea i:=3*?a_.k7#uq-u[JRP erle@@)`EkP;~ cdC58xiv06@Jup E Figure: Life Cycle Assessment steps: goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment and interpretation (Sala et al., 2016) In the goal and scope phase, the aims of the study are defined, namely the intended application, the reasons for carrying out the study and the intended audience. The differences in environmental impacts between these devices strongly favor reusable devices. A combination of transportation methods is used depending on where the product needs to go. McGain F, McAlister S, McGavin A, Story D. The financial and environmental costs of reusable and single-use plastic anaesthetic drug trays. Tungsten Carbide. Encyclopdia Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 17 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/tungsten-carbide. Experience spanning from the market-leading environment and climate practice of a global top 10 law firm - to leading Europe's largest . Decision makers have typically favored disposable LMAs because the purchase price is perceived to be less for a comparable quantity of disposable LMAs, in comparison with 1 reusable LMA with its associated labor costs for in-house reprocessing.6. 2011, Packaging Technology and Science. Properly following the instructions it should (hopefully) leave you with three pieces, the handle, the metal blade, the plastic that was covering the blade. Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Nappies in the UK Ref: ISBN 1844324273, LIT 2080 PDF, 1.83 MB, 203 pages This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Sustainability Assessment - Fraunhofer endstream endobj 749 0 obj <>/Metadata 40 0 R/Pages 746 0 R/StructTreeRoot 63 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 750 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 746 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 751 0 obj <>stream Life Cycle Impact Assessment is the estimation of indicators of the environmental pressures in terms of e.g. They are resins that maintain a high dimensional stability, which helps create fast and cheap plastic razor handles (Safety Razor). When the devices entered use at Yale New Haven Hospital, both the disposable and the reusable LMAs were removed from their original packaging, which was discarded. By far, the biggest impact during the manufacturing of the razors was the 17 spot welds done in each cartridge. An estimated 1 L of tap water was used to wash and rinse 1 LMA (or 40 L over a lifetime of 40 uses). In addition, although this life cycle assessment study did not analyze health impacts during use of an LMA, intraoperative exposure to diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is of some concern. You Asked, We Answered. Chronicle, 12 June 2015, chronicle.kennametal.com/what-is-tungsten-carbide-you-asked-we-answered/. Ison E, Miller A. Current LMA procurement decisions are typically based on perceived costs. The plastic handle and head of the disposable razor consists of a hybrid of polypropylene, polystyrene, and phenylene oxide, also known as PPO. In this paper, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used as a tool to quantify the environmental impacts of disposable medical face masks. The cartridge-based razor had a slightly higher impact due to the rubber parts which cant be separated from the plastic body. 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. Conversely, impacts can be reduced by autoclaving more LMAs at once or with other equipment with similar decontamination requirements. Anesth Analg 2004;99:6267, 17. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Transportation, 2002, 14. It is at this stage that very small amounts of other metals such as iron, silicon, and chromium may be added to the carbide to increase its strength and durability. a 4.1% (Bic). Then we collected and structured the data in phase 2. This manuscript was handled by: Steven L. Shafer, MD. For me, I had a few extra bits of plastic that I snapped off because they . 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%. 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. Sustainable Development Report. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) explained - PR Sustainability This is where most of the complexity of an LCA is involved. LMA Classic Product Specifications, 2011, 10. Polystyrene is not biodegradable and takes hundreds of years to break down. xTkJ((5:Ome\%{yIlka;K=1 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. The stability of the plastic components, while necessary for shelf stability and use, takes longer than one persons life-span to decompose. Tungsten Carbide. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_carbide. All of these software packages and models are in widespread use by life cycle assessment practitioners in the US and internationally. Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment of Disposable Bioreactors On the Venus Gillette company website, they provide the buyer with a guide for choosing which razor is best by asking: When it comes to choosing a razor, how do you know if a disposable or reusable razor is right for you? (What's the Difference Between Disposable and Reusable Razors for Women? Venus)This question, however, only affects the buyers short usage time, and does not provide any information as to the rest of the razors life-cycle after they are ready for a new razor blade and they: throw away the entire razor and grab a new one as recommended by the manufacturer (Venus). With such a fast accumulating waste and slow decomposition rate, there must be changes and incentive for companies to rethink the disposable razor. The study found that: GaBi is a LCA software that allows its users to connect environmental impacts to a product across its lifespan. PDF A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Compostable and Reusable Takeout We are proud that it is among the leading professional LCA software . 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. disposable paper diaper; material recycling; closed-loop recycling; life cycle assessment (LCA) 1. 5.Interpret and analyse the results. The full life cycle environmental impacts can be challenging to model, because modern production "pathways" can involve numerous interacting technologies, each of which can consume materials and energy that are themselves products of complex production processes. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The number of BIC razors that are used by consumers is astounding. 15 - 21 Our group recently performed a life cycle assessment of anesthetic drug trays, finding that reusable trays were both environmentally and . Zhang TW, Dornfeld DA. Polycarbonate production (14%), transportation via truck (15%), thermoforming (13%), and waste disposal (11%) cause the majority of the remaining emissions. Manufacturers can do this solely by machine or by human eye/hand plus machine for extra quality assurance. To aid in solving this issue, I believe consumers should stray away from wasteful disposable razors and be encouraged to go with more sustainable and longer lasting options such as classic safety razors. BIC has done their best to deal with waste in an environmentally conscious manner. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. Define the Life-cycle This is an example of a simple product life-cycle diagram. It is cheap and highly versatile, and can either be hard plastic material, or a soft foam material, making it one of the most common plastic materials manufactured and used (What Is Polystyrene? Hedrick, Art. The long and harmful life-cycle of disposable razors is not reflected to the buyer browsing aisles of fully stocked razor shelves. Iatrogenic transmission of the CreutzfeldtJakob disease agent has been reported in >250 patients worldwide, and 6 of these were linked to the use of contaminated equipment, all of which were neurosurgical related. B|$5 These are the reasons why I will carry out an Eco-Indicator Assessment instead of a full LCA. Several waste management scenarios were also considered, including 100% landfilling and 100% incineration, because practices are highly location dependent. It can be used to study the environmental impact of either a product or the function the product is designed to perform. In the late 1990s, disposable LMAs became available. How Is Tungsten Carbide Formed? Chronicle, 20 Aug. 2015, chronicle.kennametal.com/how-is-tungsten-carbide-formed/. Address correspondence to Jodi Sherman, MD, Yale University, School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, 333 Cedar Street, TMP3, New Haven, CT 06520. Though technicians are paid regardless of whether they are cleaning LMAs or are performing some other task, these wages are nonetheless assigned to the reusable LMA on the basis of time spent. Waste is not only a problem when a product is disposed of, but also when it is initially manufactured. The Bic corporation considers their environmental impact and takes steps to reduce as much waste as possible. Int J Life Cycle Assess 2001;6:7680, 13. With the recommended use of three to ten uses for disposable razors, they quickly end up in the landfill to decompose. Cited Here. Rogers, Tony. Life Cycle Assessment - definition & methodology. Redesigning the Razor Life Cycle Assessment.The Great Recovery, www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/. Reducing Trichloroethylene (TCE) Waste in the Fabricated Metals Sector.EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 9 Aug. 2016, www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/reducing-trichloroethylene-tce-waste-fabricated-metals-sector. Disposable BIC razors are hollow and made using injection molding, but making the razors hollow is only possible because of the fluid nature of polystyrene (The Bic Razor, Still the Sharpest of the Bunch.). Using BEES to select cost-effective green products. In order to carry out the Eco-Indicator analysis method, the methodology described below has to be followed: 1.Establish the purpose of the Eco-Indicator calculations 2.Define the life-cycle 3.Quantify the materials and processes 4.Complete the form 5.Interpret and analyse the results endstream endobj 752 0 obj <>stream 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. 3.7.Product Life Cycle Analysis . Polypropylene. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypropylene. Bic has attempted to lower their direct emissions by having factories world-wide and creating: a Transport Community which connects shipping managers on each continent to raise control for greenhouse gas emissions, optimize shipments and routes, and use only responsible carriers (Bic). An exact number for the energy use for BIC was not obtained. Life Cycle Assessment of the Closed-Loop Recycling of Used Disposable "Tungsten Processing." There is no public data entailing the details of this plastics recyclability. Main methodological choices . The Eco-Indicator method is a tool developed to help designers conduct a simplified LCA study. Criteria for the selection and purchase of medical devices typically include safety for patients and staff, efficacy and ease of use, and purchase and handling prices. In conclusion, disposable razors are being used and thrown away at a rate that is unsustainable for the finite space on the planet. We perform Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and Critical Reviews in accordance with ISO 14040/44 for products and services. Life Cycle Assessment - Sustainability Guide Despite manufacturer-recommended cleaning processes, and various modifications thereof, proteinaceous material may remain on reusable LMAs.27 Of particular concern, these residues may expose patients to prions causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, CreutzfeldtJakob disease. Disposable and reusable LMAs typically differ in material composition, packaging, reuse, and cost. A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Packaging for the Distribution of Italian Fruit and Vegetables. Camera visual inspection is performed and This is all to ensure BICs quality standards are being met and ensure a quality product. In life cycle assessment, the basis of comparison is called the functional unit. For this report, the functional unit of the disposable and reusable LMAs was taken to be maintenance of airway patency by 40 disposable LMAs or 40 uses of 1 reusable LMA.9 Data collection was specific to Yale New Haven Hospital, including device transportation, cleaning procedures and labor, energy requirements, and disposal. Properties: Tungsten Carbide-An Overview. AZoM.com, 25 Nov. 2019, www.azom.com/properties.aspx?ArticleID=1203. The majority (77%) of life cycle CO2e emissions for the reusable LMA is from natural gas production and combustion to produce steam for the autoclave machine. Poly(Phenylene Oxide). The Polymer Science Learning Center, www.pslc.ws/macrog/ppo.htm. This is done on an assembly line by the robotic arm the inserts the razor blade into the small crevices in the plastic body. In this life cycle breakdown, I will be discussing what materials go into the making of disposable razors and what processes the materials go through in the operation of making a disposable razor. I found information about the whole blade manufacturing process, but could not find details about energy consumption in every step of the process. (i)What changes occurring in non-disposable Razor category? Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) - Complete Beginner's Guide - Ecochain Introduction Paper diapers are roughly divided into two types: those for infants and those for adults. In this section we also need to state the assumptions made during the process: Rogers, Tony. BIC Group, 2016, For You For Everyone Registration Document. The total amount of direct GHG emissions in 2016 was estimated at 8,689 teqCO2, i.e. LCA is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service. A 2005 analysis published by U.K. Gillette Mach3 Disposable Razors for Men, 6 Count, Designed for Sensitive Skin. Facilities that select reusable devices should implement inventory and operating procedures that ensure that devices are reused to the greatest possible extent. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE | Science Inventory - US EPA The life cycle for disposable razors must first be assessed by the products design. LMAs may be composed of 40% DEHP by weight. f'C58NQ}i:]1 $Nh@b8H|iWILGgj{J27]Xp0N@h+ !` >q Phoenix: IEEE, 2008, 23. Once in the landfill, it usually takes around 20-30 years to breakdown. 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/. A life-cycle assessment or LCA is a 'cradle to grave' analysis of the impact of a manufactured product on the environment. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2009;53:6878, 19. DEHP is a plasticizer routinely added to impart flexibility to PVC-based products, such as IV bags, tubing, and endotracheal tubes. 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. The processes that contribute to these emissions differ markedly between the 2 LMA devices. During production, two components have to be created which are the blade and the plastic body. Its aim is a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact of products and services. Erosion time for the blades was difficult to find, yet tungsten steel does erode faster than the plastic elements to the disposable razor due to the carbon alloys brittle makeup. Chain Management by Life Cycle Assessment (CMLCA) software has been used to conduct the LCA and Ecoinvent 2.01 has been used for life cycle inventory data. Manufacturing Processes (RAZOR): KAI FACTORY: KAI Group.KAI FACTORY | KAI Group, www.kai-group.com/global/en/kai-factory/process/razor/. Redesigning the razor - Life Cycle Assessment - Great Recovery (PDF) Comparative life cycle analysis of disposable and reusable 1. The environmental impacts of the 2 LMAs were estimated using SimaPro life cycle assessment software and the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability impact assessment method. Soulias M, Martin L, Garnier N, Juniot A, Aho L, Freysz M. Disposable vs reusable laryngeal mask airway: a cost-minimization analysis. The life of a typical razor blade is not an easy one. In addition to traditional criteria for the selection and purchase of medical devices that include safety, efficacy, and cost, growing awareness of the negative impacts from the practice of health care on the environment and public health calls for the routine inclusion of life cycle criteria into the product selection process. The LMA was then dried with a cotton towel. PurposeIn this study, a life cycle assessment of a bioplastic based diaper was performed. This short course will give you an introduction to life cycle assessment (LCA) methods and how to apply them in real-life situations.. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a rapidly evolving tool used to determine impacts of products or systems over a range of environmental and resource issues. Finally, the need for manual labor in the cleaning process of reusable LMAs contributed to the costs of these LMAs. One of the materials used is polypropylene, a thermoplastic addition polymer made from the combination of propylene monomers (Creative Mechanisms Staff, creativemechanisms.com). Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2002, 26. Recycling of Polypropylene (PP). AZoCleantech.com, 25 June 2012, www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=240. Life Cycle Assessment of a Building | Sphera mmw*vA|5v*3n9IUt){e%!HN6@` xcr@pz*Fbiq%1!TJ-CF*1OS|UZU\vQL7M?m'b-,r~S}Y&/{#U6U)S|%q[RB !3j~tj$h>5qtsJ./j?;eosyy*"Z`'wG"M6]O}UKqw[LzY9e B,s&C4++_tI~& Me*lNU"Uigq\u7{:&VNC'rT]FB5jOa.%N%1*stBC]%y&RDs"#&iUX&?8sh:wJo ZjbO|KFmfC{:oX~'b> International Sympsium on Sustainable Systems and Technology. LCAs can be used comparatively to assess different product or service design options or to identify environmental .