life cycle assessment of disposable razors

The biggest impact during the cartridge-based razor life-cycle is manufacturing the cartridge as this is the part which is hardest to make. The disposable LMA consisted largely of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, and the reusable LMA consisted primarily of silicone. Define the Life-cycle This is an example of a simple product life-cycle diagram. Paper diapers for infants, which are highly convenient as they do not require laundering like cloth diapers, are essential for daily life in Japan. Address correspondence to Jodi Sherman, MD, Yale University, School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, 333 Cedar Street, TMP3, New Haven, CT 06520. LCA is the most common tool for quantifying the environmental effects associated with a product, process, or service's entire life (Baumann and Tillman 2004).LCA was performed in accordance with the international standards of the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 . A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool for analyzing the environmental impacts and resources used throughout a product's life, from raw materials extraction to production, and extending through product use and disposal. 2011, Packaging Technology and Science. With the recommended use of three to ten uses for disposable razors, they quickly end up in the landfill to decompose. 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. Reusable LMA cleaning was observed to proceed as follows. 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. Anesth Analg 1993;77:1079, 21. What Is Tungsten Carbide?" In their study of Life cycle assessment of wastewater treatment technologies treating petroleum process waters, Vlaopolous et al. Europe, Plastic News. Manufacturers can do this solely by machine or by human eye/hand plus machine for extra quality assurance. hb```X ea i:=3*?a_.k7#uq-u[JRP erle@@)`EkP;~ cdC58xiv06@Jup E Everything You Need To Know About Polystyrene (PS).Everything You Need To Know About Polystyrene (PS), www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/polystyrene-ps-plastic. Comparison of the single use and reusable intubating laryngeal mask airway. Sustainable Development Report. There is always some level of uncertainty in the results and in the methodology; so users shouldnt take the numbers shown as absolute values, but more as a guide to prioritise work. A life-cycle inventory of cloth and disposable diapers was conducted based on diapering habits in Canada The parameters evaluated were energy consumption, water consumption, raw materials 15 Crop water use and water use efficiency on irrigated cotton farms in Australia S. Tennakoon, S. Milroy Environmental Science 2003 93 After that, the metal is pressed down to the desired blade thickness which is around 1mm (Manufacturing Processes). The processes that contribute to these emissions differ markedly between the 2 LMA devices. LCA's are completed particularly in relation to how to develop a sustainable world where less waste and more reuse is implemented. 4.Complete the form The largest source of GHG emissions for the disposable LMAs (23%) is the production and polymerization of PVC, the main material constituent. The total energy consumption of the Babyplast in its four-step molding cycle of setup, fill, cool, and reset was approximately 4.5 kilowatts (Weissman et.al). Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Anesthesiologists, 1999, 15. 85 percent of the energy came from electricity, 14 percent came from gas, and the rest came from fuel oil (For You For Everyone Registration Document). Poly(p-Phenylene Oxide). Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(p-phenylene_oxide). Contact Supplier. Properly following the instructions it should (hopefully) leave you with three pieces, the handle, the metal blade, the plastic that was covering the blade. The data collected through LCA helps organizations make conscious decisions that affect the environment. On the other hand, extending the number of uses to 80 (doubling the lifetime) reduces GHG emissions by 9%. Marine cargo ships use a fuel called heavy fuel oil which produces around 145,000 BTU per gallon (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). Goodman EJ, Haas AJ. The Eco-Indicator for EPDM rubber includes the manufacturing of the rubber as well as the molding process. There much environmentally friendly options when it comes to shavings, such as the traditional safety razor and straight razors, which can have a much longer life than disposable razors. The high waste from manufacturing and shipping such a small, and cheap product is one that is negatively impacting the planet. 3.7.Product Life Cycle Analysis . 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). The total amount of indirect emissions was 89,762 tonnes of carbon dioxide (For You For Everyone Registration Document). Tungsten has a high melting point and is used mainly for strong tools unless used for smaller applications when combined with a carbon alloy: Its alloys are employed in rocket-engine nozzles and other aerospace applications (Safety Razors). 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%. Finally, inclusion of the environmental impacts of labor for cleaning (from wages spent on goods and services) only nominally increases the total GHG and water impacts of reusable LMAs. 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 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. 1. 1.Establish the purpose of the Eco-Indicator calculations 45. Scope of the life cycle assessment for disposable and reusable laryngeal mask airways (LMAs). Current LMA procurement decisions are typically based on perceived costs. Gillette Mach3 Men's Disposable Razor for Sensitive Skin - Best Cartridge Razor for Sensitive Skin. Anaesth Intensive Care 2004;32:5304, 4. Int Anesthesiol Clin 2010;48:139, 24. The backbone of LCA is the life cycle inventory (LCI), an analysis of material and energy ows resulting from all phases of the product life cycle. 761 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[748 22]/Info 747 0 R/Length 72/Prev 421064/Root 749 0 R/Size 770/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Its an extremely strong and durable metal compound, making it perfect for the use of razor blades (Siddle, How Is Tungsten Carbide Formed?; Tungsten Carbide. Wikipedia.org). Disposable razors are designed for consumers that prefer minimum spending . A 20-mL disposable syringe was used during device placement to inflate the cuffs of both types of LMAs to ensure proper fit, and a procedure was then performed. These included alternative routes and modes of transport from San Diego to New Haven, changes in autoclave loading practices and efficiency, and varied amounts of PVC in the disposable LMA. There are so many variables that you have to take into account when calculating how much of an impact a product is having on the environment and our resources. By not using air travel and transport, BIC greatly reduces their energy usage and carbon footprint at the same time. Any extra plastic will be discarded, remelted, and reused (Safety Razor, madehow.com). The next step is to temper the steel at a temperature of 482-752F (250- 400C) and pressed into thin sheets (Safety Razor, madehow.com). When you take your blades in to the scrap metal center, choose the steel recycling bin. The differences in environmental impacts between these devices strongly favor reusable devices. 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 decision-making process of device selection. A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Packaging for the Distribution of Italian Fruit and Vegetables. 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. Two Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methodologies were employed using SimaPro software 51,52 to calculate the environmental impacts of manufacturing both the plastic and compostable coffee . Materials were matched with appropriate life cycle inventory records from the ecoinvent database.11 Injection molding was assumed for the hard plastic pieces (polycarbonate and ABS plastic) and thermoforming for the softer plastics (silicone, polypropylene, and PVC). To bring the metal to its final form, it is heated to extremely high temperatures to remove the binders, and to mold the metal particles together, in turn, creating a very strong and durable metal compound (Siddle, How Is Tungsten Carbide Formed?). 3.Quantify the materials and processes If you count the actual razor cover (if you haven't lost it long ago) then it will be four pieces for recycling. 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. This means that it takes around 1 BTU to heat a 0.035-ounce razor blade to the desired temperature (Julabo et.al). Wang, Chun Tsin, and Alexander Sutulor. In 2016, Bic reduced packaging for their Soleil Razor by 40%. BIC Group, 2016, Sustainable Development Report. your express consent. Marinella Levi. What does a business area's assessment of agreements, income, and value implicate? To begin the process of creating the metal, the tungsten is purified and ground into a fine powder. 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. The metal is then quenched in water to bring it to -76 to -112 degrees Fahrenheit to harden the material (Safety Razor). We purchase the product in a store, use the product for removing unwanted body and facial hair until it eventually dulls, and then we toss it in the bathroom trash, unaware of where it goes or where it came from. Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Inc., 26 Sept. 2012, www.britannica.com/technology/tungsten-processing#ref82029. GaBi includes its own database containing life cycle inventories of processes such as polypropylene manufacturing, transportation, and landfill . The life cycle assessment software package SimaPro 7.3.2 was used to conduct our analysis.10 The majority of inventory data were drawn from the ecoinvent v2.2 life cycle inventory database.11 Impacts were assessed using the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability v4.02 impact assessment method,12 which encompasses both environmental concerns (such as climate change, acid rain and smog formation, water use, and ozone depletion) and human-health-related impacts (such as cancer and noncancer ailments and emission of criteria air pollutants). 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. Safety Razor. How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. Additionally, the PVC-dominated material composition of the disposable LMA and associated packaging added significantly to its impacts. This reflects the equivalence between 40 disposable LMAs and their associated materials, waste, and 40 uses of 1 reusable LMA. 0 Weissman, Alexander, et al. Overcash M. Comparison of reusable and disposable medical textiles. Most of those razors just end up in a landfill because most countries are not recycling them. 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. The EPA has now stopped tracking the: impact of disposable razors on the environment and has no update on the figure (Olsen). 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. Sensitivity and simple life cycle cost analyses were conducted to aid in interpretation of the results. There are various ways that the product can get there. 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 next step the blade goes through is called polishing in which is done using strops made out of cowhide to get the desired blade edge shape, the blade is then cut into the sizes of the individual blades, which are then sent off to be inspected. Address e-mail to [emailprotected]. 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. Siddle, Dave. 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. These steps are not necessarily conducted in succession, but iteratively. (i)What changes occurring in non-disposable Razor category? Wolters Kluwer Health I found information about the whole blade manufacturing process, but could not find details about energy consumption in every step of the process. No such cases have been reported since 1976.a There is no reported case of iatrogenic infection of any type linked to a reusable LMA. To make the handle and cartridges, these various plastics are heated together and melted together along with optional colorants and various filler materials. a 4.1% (Bic). Safety Assessment of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) Released from PVC Medical Devices. Sensor3 disposable razors for men feature an enhanced Lubrastrip with water activated Comfortgel technology for ultra-gentle shaving on your sensitive skin. 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. Each year in Italy, millions of tons of fruits and vegetables are harvested, packed and transported to national and foreign retail outlets. The aim of this paper is to analyse substitutes to disposable plastic tableware using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. 8 John Adam Street Swiss Center for Life Cycle Inventories. 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. Some error has occurred while processing your request. International Sympsium on Sustainable Systems and Technology. The final value for the cartridge-based razor was 115.06 mPt, and the value for the double edge safety razor was 15.70 mPt. The laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was introduced into clinical use in the late 1980s and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the US in 1991. 2006 have considered a process water flow of 10,000 m3/day for a time period of 15 years (system design life) as the function unit used in order to compare the different wastewater treatment processes . These impacts are quantified here in terms of energy use, water use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using general factors for US labor.22. This is because of the complexity of the life cycle, from the acquisition of materials to the management of a product at the end of its life. Land transport like trains and trucks use diesel as fuel and that produced 138,700 BTU (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). 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? : Uses, Benefits, and Safety Facts.ChemicalSafetyFacts.org, 17 June 2019, www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/polystyrene/. My next blog post will show some design recommendations using sketches and 3D-printed prototypes. Because of its high stability, PPO is a very widely used plastic for many different household items. Finally, the assessment will be carried out on the new design to assess if it has a lower impact than the other options analysed. For example, LCA results can tell us if one product is environmentally preferable to another . 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.). The study found that: There are 3 key tasks in this step. The metal that can be used in the cartridge is also cut out during this stage. Anesth Analg 1998;87:921, 3. Once in the landfill, it usually takes around 20-30 years to breakdown. 2. Terracycle. Kelly, John. 5.Interpret and analyse the results. Biron, Michel. Click the image for pricing & more info. It is a thermoplastic that exhibits high heat resistance, dimensional stability, and accuracy and is often combined with other plastics, such as polystyrene, due to various problems in its processing (Poly(p-Phenylene Oxide, Wikipedia.org). 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). Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Transportation, 2002, 14. In order to carry out the Eco-Indicator analysis method, the methodology described below has to be followed: 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. Depending upon on how the razor is packaged, the finished cartridge may or may not be assembled onto the handle of the razor, as some companies choose to package the handle detached the cartridge(s). These containers, mainly wooden pallets and spools, are subject to European legislat hbbd``b`z$k@D The plastic and steel elements of the razor can be recycled, yet, because they are so lightweight and small it makes it hard to separate in the trash and unable to be recycled normally. I could however not find any details about the energy consumption of the machines used in the assembly process. Research and Innovative Technology Administration. BIC has done their best to deal with waste in an environmentally conscious manner. Chu L, Mathur P, Trudell J, Brock-Utne J. %%EOF Staff, RT. SimaPro is our flagship product: life cycle assessment software that gives sustainability experts, product designers and decision-makers the power to gain insight into the environmental performance of products and services, to define hotspots and to drive positive change. However, of the 2 billion razors disposed of annually, about 32% end up in the ocean (Kaplan). Atlanta, 2012. The cheap price of the razor does not reflect the high cost of its waste and impact on the environment. The metal is not yet to its final form, as it is still greatly held together by the previously added binders. For a number of perioperative textiles, surgical instruments, and anesthetic devices, a life cycle assessment (LCA) has been done and has shown reusables to be environmentally favorable to disposables [ 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 ]. Sherman JD, Ryan S. Ecological responsibility in anesthesia practice. Wat LI, Brimacombe JR, Gee S. Laryngeal mask airway longevity and pilot-balloon failure. 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. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a modeling tool for quantifying the environmental impacts of products and processes. . The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. A 2005 analysis published by U.K. The majority of life cycle human health impacts of disposable LMAs are caused by PVC use in packaging and the device itself. In the late 1990s, disposable LMAs became available. Until now, we defined what we want to measure and collect in phase 1. "Tungsten Processing." The alloy is strong enough to resist moisture for a short time in the buyers shower, yet, in the landfill, it does eventually rust and decompose. The Bic corporation considers their environmental impact and takes steps to reduce as much waste as possible. Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation. Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation | Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, www.bts.gov/content/energy-consumption-mode-transportation. Questions and Answers: CreutzfeldtJakob Disease Infection-Control Practices. They have teamed up with Gillette to raise awareness about the massive waste of disposable razors by allowing users to mail their old razors in to be recycled. Pollution of the oceans from plastics has become an increasingly large issue that researchers are still assessing. 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 Kaplan, Desire. 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. There are some solutions and new recycling ideas, yet, the reduction of waste for disposable razors is still far off. After the end of their recommended lifetime, reusable LMAs were also placed in municipal solid waste containers. At every point during planning, production, and even marketing, the quantity of consumption should be analyzed to adjust business models accordingly. The use of disposable razors is unsustainable with our growing population and increased demand. The metal and plastic components of the cartridges will be assembled, where they will then go to the next station where the blades will be inserted. Redesigning the Razor Life Cycle Assessment. The Great Recovery, http://www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/. Life Cycle Assessment - definition & methodology. A life-cycle assessment or LCA is a 'cradle to grave' analysis of the impact of a manufactured product on the environment. associated with the environmental interventions attributable to the life-cycle of a product. The Eco-Indicator method is a tool developed to help designers conduct a simplified LCA study. The tracking can come from sales, and in 2018 more than $1.2 billion in disposable razors were sold in the U.S., with varying prices but many disposables costing less than $1 each (Olsen). There is uncertainty in several model assumptions. During a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), environmental impacts are evaluated throughout the entire life cycle of a product (production, use and disposal or recovery).This also includes the upstream and downstream processes associated with production (e.g., the production of . An estimated 1 L of tap water was used to wash and rinse 1 LMA (or 40 L over a lifetime of 40 uses). According to studies done by the EPA, tungsten steel was originally tested as a stable metal in soil that does not dissolve easily in water (EPA).

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