Design for Environment (DFE)

It's fair to say that most products in the market today are not designed with end of life (EoL) in mind. Because of this, we have a planet full of consumer (and other) products that cost society money to recycle.

If a product is designed with reuse or recycling (resource recovery) in mind, the value of the raw materials recovered will more than likely exceed the cost of recycling. This is an important 'tipping point' for the whole concept of resource recovery.

A pictorial representation of where DfE fits into the supply chain could look like this (see below). Note that good product design, with end of life in mind, has the potential to impact ALL other elements of the supply chain in a positive way.

CtL is ideally positioned to add value at the design phase of a product's lifecycle. Who better to advise designers and materials engineers than the guy at the 'end of the pipe' so to speak. The idea is to turn the 'pipe' into a 'loop' with design features that maximise the value of the raw materials in a product, thereby encouraging the development of collection and processing infrastructure to return those raw materials back into the product cycle. Some design features or elements that help make resource recovery an attractive proposition for the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) include:-

1. Lower cost production
2. Lower cost materials
3. Fewer raw materials
4. Ease of reuse
5. Ease of parts recovery
6. Ease of materials separation
7. Use of highly recyclable metals and plastics
8. Minimal contaminants like glues, labels, etc.
9. Clever fixings and fasteners that are not made from materials different from the main housings

Click here for more information about Close the Loop’s DFE services