For example, LCA results can tell us if one product is environmentally preferable to another . An LCA is an accounting of the inputs and outputs for a product system, beginning with extraction of raw materials from the earth and continuing through all of the steps of transportation, manufacturing, product fabrication, product use, and end-of-life, which may include reuse, recycling . Julabo Gmbh, et al. There is uncertainty in several model assumptions. 1. Part of this responsible shipping mentality forces them to change their packaging to be able to ship more at a time. Its aim is a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact of products and services. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cjd/qa_cjd_infection_control.htm. The data collected through LCA helps organizations make conscious decisions that affect the environment. f'C58NQ}i:]1 $Nh@b8H|iWILGgj{J27]Xp0N@h+ !` >q However, the LCA is not an exact science and has its limitations: Life Cycle Approach to Plastic Pollution - Life Cycle Initiative Our news to your inbox Click to subscribe to LC Net info@lifecycleinitiative.org About Us Our Activities & Tools Reports & Training News & Events Get Involved Life Cycle Approach to Plastic Pollution Activities Life Cycle Assessment in High-Impact sectors The Bic USAs company website provides information about the making of the razors in the factories, regarding their inspection and factory standards, yet there is no mention for the environmental impact of the disposal. a Centers for Disease Control. The processes that contribute to these emissions differ markedly between the 2 LMA devices. Life cycle assessment software I used GaBi 6 software, produced by PE International. mmw*vA|5v*3n9IUt){e%!HN6@` xcr@pz*Fbiq%1!TJ-CF*1OS|UZU\vQL7M?m'b-,r~S}Y&/{#U6U)S|%q[RB !3j~tj$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> The use of disposable razors is unsustainable with our growing population and increased demand. One of their most popular products is the disposable razor, which they started to manufacture in 1975. Max Soft Disposable Razor For Women - 3 Pcs In A Pack. 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. Redesigning the Razor Life Cycle Assessment.The Great Recovery, www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/. Safety Razor. How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. Safety Razor.How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. From San Diego, both LMAs were assumed to be transported 4700 km by truck to New Haven, CT (70% of shipments in the US are made by truck).13. Address correspondence to Jodi Sherman, MD, Yale University, School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, 333 Cedar Street, TMP3, New Haven, CT 06520. Finally, the razors are packaged in cardboard and plastic, and shipped out to stores and markets globally for customers to purchase and use. J Environ Assess Policy Manage 2000;2:45376, 2. The stability of the plastic components, while necessary for shelf stability and use, takes longer than one persons life-span to decompose. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a framework for assessing the environmental impacts of product systems and decisions. There are only two components for the BIC disposable razors which are the plastic body and razor blade. Until now, we defined what we want to measure and collect in phase 1. associated with the environmental interventions attributable to the life-cycle of a product. This LCA is specific for surgical gowns used in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota. Olsen, Alexandra. The unit cost of disposable LMAs is 20% higher at approximately $9.60 per unit. A complete life cycle cost analysis would complement the life cycle assessment results shown here; however, a simple analysis reveals that, assuming full utilization, a $200 reusable LMA costs $5 per use, plus $3 per cleaning for a unit cost of $8, excluding utility and hospital overhead costs. 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). Anesth Analg 1993;77:1079, 21. To start the process of making the blades, tungsten carbide is melted at high temperatures. The blades and lubricating strip were too light to be measured with our equipment so their weights were rounded to 1g. This is where most of the complexity of an LCA is involved. 5.Interpret and analyse the results. Here we present a life cycle assessment of 2 laryngeal mask airways (LMAs), a one-time-use disposable Unique LMA and a 40-time-use reusable Classic LMA. The life cycle for disposable razors must first be assessed by the products design. 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. Please enable scripts and reload this page. 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. More immediate levels of waste, however, happen during the processing of disposable razors before they are even brought to the buyer and the landfill. endstream endobj 752 0 obj <>stream Polyphenylene Oxides.Polyphenylene Oxides - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, 2013, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemical-engineering/polyphenylene-oxides. Gillette's slogan 'Gillette - the best a man can get' is famous the world over. 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. The differences in environmental impacts between these devices strongly favor reusable devices. 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. Phoenix: IEEE, 2008, 23. Life cycle analysis takes into account the following categories: Energy consumption Water consumption Air emissions (including carbon dioxide and other global warming gases) Water emissions Generation of solid waste A Comparison Life Cycle Assessment between Razor Blade and Electric Shaver. Dec. 2012. DEHP leaches out upon exposure to heat and lipids, as would be the case in contact with mucous membranes. The second component of the razor is the plastic body which is made of a fairly inexpensive plastic called polystyrene. Their disposable nature causes them to be put into landfills faster than it takes them to be made, packaged, and shipped. A combination of transportation methods is used depending on where the product needs to go. Europe, Plastic News. The high waste from manufacturing and shipping such a small, and cheap product is one that is negatively impacting the planet. 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. (i)What changes occurring in non-disposable Razor category? Anesthesia & Analgesia114(5):1067-1072, May 2012. 15 - 21 Our group recently performed a life cycle assessment of anesthetic drug trays, finding that reusable trays were both environmentally and . However, because of the new awareness to their wasteful impact on the environment, some companies have begun to provide solutions to the disposable razor issue. Alternate assumptions were used to test model sensitivity and to create bounds to aid interpretation of the results (Table 2). In order to carry out the Eco-Indicator analysis method, the methodology described below has to be followed: It all starts with the melting and combining of the desired metal. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CASE STUDY ANALYSIS - CLEAN EDGE, NON DISPOSABLE RAZOR Q1. After the parts are manufactured it is time for the final product assembly. 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. 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. The GTG LCIs are added together to give a cradle-to-gate (CTG) life cycle inventory . The largest difference in environmental impacts is seen in the impact category of carcinogenesis, in which reusable LMAs cause 5% of the impacts of disposable LMAs. h[K#1}\$u@ Life Cycle Impact Assessment is the estimation of indicators of the environmental pressures in terms of e.g. Saudi J Anaesth 2008;2:58. BIC says its product beats out other models by 59 percent. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely-used technique to comprehensively assess the impacts of a product or a process on the environment and acts as an effective tool in gauging the. Wang, Chun Tsin, and Alexander Sutulor. Steel Life Cycle.SSAB, www.ssab.com/company/sustainability/sustainable-offering/steel-life-cycle?di=discover21C927E58ECC41198B78D915F7E3E2AF. Once all the components of the razor have been made, the components go to various stations where different tasks will be performed. A comparative cradle to grave life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to determine and analyze the environmental impacts of using disposable acrylic speculums versus using reusable stainless-steel speculums in a women's university health clinic where around 5,000 pelvic exams are conducted on a yearly basis. Introduction Paper diapers are roughly divided into two types: those for infants and those for adults. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010. 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. Lv, Andrea Lind, and Tigist Fetene. On the other hand, extending the number of uses to 80 (doubling the lifetime) reduces GHG emissions by 9%. We can see how the double edge safety razor has a much lower impact due to the low amount of parts and materials used and the fact that the blade can be separated from the rest of the body and recycled (reducing the overall impact of the product). Land transport like trains and trucks use diesel as fuel and that produced 138,700 BTU (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). I found information about the whole blade manufacturing process, but could not find details about energy consumption in every step of the process. Soulias M, Martin L, Garnier N, Juniot A, Aho L, Freysz M. Disposable vs reusable laryngeal mask airway: a cost-minimization analysis. Waste is not only a problem when a product is disposed of, but also when it is initially manufactured. disposable paper diaper; material recycling; closed-loop recycling; life cycle assessment (LCA) 1. On the basis of manufacturer information and density testing, the materials used in the 2 LMAs were identified and their compositions measured using a microgram scale (Table 1). Overall, reusable LMAs were found to have fewer negative environmental effects in nearly all categories, typically contributing <50% of the impacts of disposable LMAs.