This is only the operational energy consumption, but you still have to take into account all the energy used in the design and installation of the machinery. The life of a typical razor blade is not an easy one. However, we can discuss the energy usage of different modes of transportation. 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 ]. To compile a detailed life cycle inventory of the environmental burdens Overcash M. Comparison of reusable and disposable medical textiles. Disposable razors are a product that can be found in almost any average bathroom. 2019, science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/polystyrene-recycling.htm. We performed a life cycle assessment of 2 analogous LMAs, the disposable LMA Unique and the reusable LMA Classic, according to internationally accepted standard life cycle assessment methods (ISO 14040: 2006). Steel Life Cycle.SSAB, www.ssab.com/company/sustainability/sustainable-offering/steel-life-cycle?di=discover21C927E58ECC41198B78D915F7E3E2AF. 3 Ways to Recycle Safety Razor Blades - wikiHow Life A Comparison Life Cycle Assessment between Razor Blade and Electric Shaver. Dec. 2012. LCA is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service. However, they also affirmed that they strive to make their products with an eco-design approach by using recycled materials or bioplastics in their different products (For You for Everyone Registration Document). The more capital-intensive option of increasing the energy efficiency of the autoclave machines by 10% decreases GHG emissions by 8%. 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. Life Cycle Assessment - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics This practice meets American Society of Anesthesiologists' recommendations for infection control for equipment requiring high-level disinfection.14. 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. h[K#1}\$u@ These few simple materials go through processes of heating, cooling, moulding, cutting, and sharpening throughout their manufacturing process to eventually become the handle, razor blades, and blade cartridge, that will then be assembled to become a disposable razor. 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. Most of those razors just end up in a landfill because most countries are not recycling them. Kaplan, Desire. A SYSTEMATIC METHODOLOGY FOR ACCURATE DESIGN-STAGE ESTIMATION OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION FOR INJECTION MOLDED PARTS. Manufacturer specifications indicate 20 kWh of electricity use for a 5-minute cycle at 135C. What Is Tungsten Carbide?" This is where the razors are portioned into their desired packaging amounts, that will be sent off to consumers. To start the process of making the blades, tungsten carbide is melted at high temperatures. Put the blades in the steel recycling section. This is the fourth installment in a series of blogs in which weexplore how to design a product for circularity. Each year in Italy, millions of tons of fruits and vegetables are harvested, packed and transported to national and foreign retail outlets. 5.Interpret and analyse the results. The unit cost of disposable LMAs is 20% higher at approximately $9.60 per unit. Life Cycle Assessment of the Closed-Loop Recycling of Used Disposable Contamination problems with reuse of laryngeal mask airways and laryngoscopes. PPO elements of the disposable razor are hard to determine in years, however, data shows that most plastic items take up to 1,000 years to begin to decompose (LeBlanc). The metal that can be used in the cartridge is also cut out during this stage. The advantage of using this method compared to a more comprehensive LCA method is that its much simpler to carry out and to gather the required information because the data regarding the most common materials and processes has been collected in advance. Reusable LMA cleaning was observed to proceed as follows. In their study of Life cycle assessment of wastewater treatment technologies treating petroleum process waters, Vlaopolous et al. The US Environmental Protection Agency's Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts (TRACI) life cycle impact assessment method was used to model environmental impacts of greenhouse gases and other pollutant emissions. Anesth Analg 1998;87:921, 3. Recycling of Polypropylene (PP). AZoCleantech.com, 25 June 2012, www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=240. Questions and Answers: CreutzfeldtJakob Disease Infection-Control Practices. The blades are then carefully sharpened to create the razor blades. 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. 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. There are 3 key tasks in this step. 4.Complete the form life cycle assessment European Environment Agency qILL@#nO @8 Policy H-135.945: Encouraging Alternatives to PVC/DEHP Products in Health. Poly(p-Phenylene Oxide). Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(p-phenylene_oxide). CASE STUDY ANALYSIS - CLEAN EDGE, NON DISPOSABLE RAZOR Q1. A Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable Razors. Nash, Nathaniel C. HOW BIC LOST THE EDGE TO GILLETTE. The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Apr. 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. Manufacturing Processes (RAZOR): KAI FACTORY: KAI Group. KAI FACTORY | KAI Group, www.kai-group.com/global/en/kai-factory/process/razor/. It has been assumed that the packaging contains cardboard, even though it has been made from other natural fibres like bamboo, as there is no info on those materials in the Eco-Indicator tables. This is done on an assembly line by the robotic arm the inserts the razor blade into the small crevices in the plastic body. The EPA has now stopped tracking the: impact of disposable razors on the environment and has no update on the figure (Olsen). climate change, summer smog, resource depletion, acidification, human health effects, etc. WC2N 6EZ, Redesigning the razor Life Cycle Assessment. Contribution: This author helped design the study and prepare the manuscript. may email you for journal alerts and information, but is committed Bic Disposable Razor (1975). Plastics News Europe, 19 Nov. 2009, www.plasticsnewseurope.com/article/20091119/PNE/311199986/bic-disposable-razor-1975. The blades, which are made from a carbide steel made using tungsten carbide, the handle, which is made from a combination of plastics such as polypropylene, polystyrene, and phenylene oxide (PPO), and the cartridge, which is made up of these plastics and sometimes the carbide steel as well (Safety Razor, madehow.com). The specific type or blend of plastic for BIC razors is used is called polystyrene (Europe). Staff, RT. 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. BIC Disposable Razor Design Life-Cycle There are three main components in a disposable razor. Julabo Gmbh, et al. 2 offers from $9.92. Next, the razors will be tested for flaws, strength, and razor hardness and sharpness (Safety Razor, madehow.com). Zhang TW, Dornfeld DA. Ask a worker if you can put them in the bin by themselves or if they need to be in a recyclable container to protect sanitation workers from being cut. 3. Life cycle assessment Plastics Europe Figueredo E. Changes in the intracuff pressure of the laryngeal masks airway caused by repeated use. 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. Life cycle assessment software I used GaBi 6 software, produced by PE International. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a framework for assessing the environmental impacts of product systems and decisions. 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 where most of the complexity of an LCA is involved. Life Cycle Assessment of Reusable and Disposable Cleanroom Coveralls 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. LMA Classic Product Specifications, 2011, 10. 748 0 obj <> endobj U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Eshwar Shop. Conversely, impacts can be reduced by autoclaving more LMAs at once or with other equipment with similar decontamination requirements. BIC is a French manufacturing company that produces a variety of disposable consumer products like pens, lighters and disposable razors. Int Anesthesiol Clin 2010;48:139, 24. The human-health-related impact categories are pertinent to those developing standards for the delivery of health care. Data is temporarily unavailable. Sustainable Development Report. Anaesth Intensive Care 2010;38:538, 9. This document is an update and merger of two previous EPA documents on LCA ("Life Cycle Assessment: Inventory Guidelines and Principles," EPA/600/R-92/245, and "LCA101" from the LCAccess, website . BIC put out a report detailing how they deal with the waste from their factories. 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). Olsen, Alexandra. 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. I could however not find any details about the energy consumption of the machines used in the assembly process. The LMAs were first rinsed in tap water, scrubbed externally with a Hibiclens sponge and internally with a small scrub brush, and rinsed again. 1. Sensitivity and simple life cycle cost analyses were conducted to aid in interpretation of the results. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Solid Waste Management Consultants After getting the sharpened blade they are coated with a thin film to allows them to not lose sharpness after only a few shaves (Manufacturing Processes). xTkJ((5:Ome\%{yIlka;K=1 Shavers. BICWorld, www.bicworld.com/en/our-products/shavers. It has been assumed that the only part recycled at the end of life is the packaging. It can be used to study the environmental impact of either a product or the function the product is designed to perform. Despite this, a general perception is that reusable LMAs possess a safety profile inferior to that of disposable LMAs, thus contributing to the proliferation of the latter. The results also suggest effective procurement strategies for reducing the impacts of disposable LMAs where they are selected. The natural half life of a large stock of reusable laryngeal mask airways at a teaching hospital. A life cycle assessment or analysis according to ISO 14040/14044 is an instrument of environmental and sustainability management. 1. Tungsten Carbide. Encyclopdia Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 17 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/tungsten-carbide. Holes are then punched into the metal and the tapelike sheets of razors are then put in a roll (Manufacturing Processes). Packaging is an . Case Studies. Case Studies : Reducing BIC's Rejection Rates | KEYENCE America, www.keyence.com/solutions/case-studies/bic.jsp. Using BEES to select cost-effective green products. Life cycle assessment is a "cradle-to-grave" approach for determining the financial and environmental costs of a product over its entire life. Subramaniar Trading Company. Introduction Paper diapers are roughly divided into two types: those for infants and those for adults. The carbon footprint reported was separated into two sections which are direct and indirect emissions. Evolution of disposable baby diapers in Europe: life cycle assessment %PDF-1.5 % 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). Anaesthesia 2007;62:3814, 5. van Zundert AAJ, Fonck K, Al-Shaikh B, Mortier E. Comparison of the LMA-Classic with the new disposable soft seal laryngeal mask in spontaneously breathing adult patients. The life cycle for disposable razors must first be assessed by the products design. From:. The disposable LMA consisted largely of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, and the reusable LMA consisted primarily of silicone. In this post I havent shown the whole process, but there are downloadable links to my full Eco-Indicator results, and to the template form if youd like to carry out an assessment yourself. You Asked, We Answered. Chronicle, 12 June 2015, chronicle.kennametal.com/what-is-tungsten-carbide-you-asked-we-answered/. Reusable LMAs were collected in a dirty device bin on the anesthesia cart and then reprocessed by the anesthesia technicians. 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. BIC Comfort 3 Refillable Three-Blade Disposable Razors for Men, Sensitive Skin Razor for a Comfortable Shave, 1 Handle and 12 Cartridges With 3 Blades, 13 Piece Razor Kit. A Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable Razors. The study found that: %%EOF Considering human health concerns, the majority (60%) of impacts for the disposable LMA is due to the production of polymers, PVC in particular, with emissions from incineration contributing another 15%. Properly following the instructions it should (hopefully) leave you with three pieces, the handle, the metal blade, the plastic that was covering the blade. 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. For me, I had a few extra bits of plastic that I snapped off because they . LCA's are completed particularly in relation to how to develop a sustainable world where less waste and more reuse is implemented. In this paper, this will be exactly what we will discuss, from what materials go into making a disposable razor and how they are made, to what happens to it after its tossed out, and all the energy and waste that is used and expelled throughout its lifecycle. 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). Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) - Complete Beginner's Guide - Ecochain Until now, we defined what we want to measure and collect in phase 1. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010. 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. In my research, I was not able to find specifics about where BIC sources their materials, I believe that this is due to them being a global company. However, by looking at just this one company, there is a sense of the massive amount of direct and indirect emissions from just the making of razors that are thrown away so quickly after use, with an increase annually of users. Sherman JD, Ryan S. Ecological responsibility in anesthesia practice. Click the image for pricing & more info. Europe, Plastic News. Gillette Mach3 Disposable Razors for Men, 6 Count, Designed for Sensitive Skin. The sheets are then cut out using a process called die stamping, using a tool called a die stamp which is a special, one-of-a-kind precision tool that cuts and forms sheet metal into a desired shape or profile, where the blades are die stamped at a rate of 800-1,200 strokes a minute into the desired shape and size (Hedrick, Die Basics 101: Intro to Stamping.). What's the greenest way to shave? - Slate Magazine Polystyrene. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Dec. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polystyrene. Rogers, Tony. LMA North America. The effect of alternate transport modes was quite small for the reusable LMA but quite significant for the disposable LMAs, leading to a large increase in GHG emissions in particular from air freight. Resources, Conservation & Recycling 156 (2020) 104704. SimaPro 7.3.2. Life-cycle assessment stages It has a low density and is quite flexible and heat resistant, therefore making it an easily moulded and extruded material. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) - A Complete Guide to LCAs 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). In the late 1990s, disposable LMAs became available. Whereas transportation has a relatively significant GHG impact for the disposable LMAs, by comparison the transportation of reusable LMAs has little impact on GHG emissions, because 40 disposable LMAs must be shipped to provide an equivalent function to 1 reusable LMA. A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Packaging for the Distribution of Italian Fruit and Vegetables. Soulias M, Martin L, Garnier N, Juniot A, Aho L, Freysz M. Disposable vs reusable laryngeal mask airway: a cost-minimization analysis. 3. 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?). "Tungsten Processing." The Eco-Indicator for EPDM rubber includes the manufacturing of the rubber as well as the molding process. Safety Assessment of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) Released from PVC Medical Devices. 769 0 obj <>stream BIC may be doing as much as possible to lessen the impact of the production of disposable razors, but due to the massive production it will because unsustainable, because of the energy input, material consumptions, and unrecyclable nature of disposable razors. Life cycle assessment of a disposable and a reusable surgery instrument set for spinal fusion surgeries Leiden A, Cerdas F, Noriega D, Beyerlein J, Herrmann C. Life cycle assessment of a disposable and reusable surgery instrument set for spinal fusion surgeries. The body of both razors had similar impact as their weights were also quite similar. Land transport like trains and trucks use diesel as fuel and that produced 138,700 BTU (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). EPA. And then there's the water. 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/. Wang, Chun Tsin, and Alexander Sutulor. 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. 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 . After reaching the end of their useful lives, both LMAs and their respective packages entered waste management, which was modeled using US average statistics on recycling/composting, landfilling, and incineration.15 Although some incineration facilities also produce electricity, this credit is not included here. 8 John Adam Street The GTG LCIs are added together to give a cradle-to-gate (CTG) life cycle inventory . In BIC factories they pride themselves in producing a quality product, so the blades go through a series of highly precise visual inspections with cameras which help with rejecting blades that do not meet BIC standards (Case Studies) After that they go through visual inspection is done be BIC employees to reject any blades that the cameras were not rejected by the inspection camera system, the blades are then send off to be coated and burned. Despite the overall lower impacts of the reusable LMA, there are still several ways that its environmental profile could be improved, as suggested by the results shown in Table 2. Amazon Best Sellers: Best Men's Disposable Shaving Razors The carbon alloy allows for the metal to be strong enough to be exposed to high levels of moisture without corroding, yet brittle enough to be made into thin blades for a multiple blade razor (Safety Razor). Comparison of the single use and reusable intubating laryngeal mask airway. 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? There are three main materials used in the plastic handle and the cartridge of the disposable razor. At 20 reuse cycles,16 the results indicate an increase in emissions of nearly 20%. BIC has repeatedly come under fire because of the environmental impact their disposable razors have, due to the sheer amount of their disposable products are used every year.
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