A Repurposable Attribute Basis for Identifying Repurposing Opportunities in Decommissioned Products

Abstract

Repurposing is a decommissioning strategy that enables multiple life cycles for a product or its components. However, repurposing is challenging since it requires finding an alternative use for an existing product. Therefore, a starting point to analyze a product in the context of repurposing is required. We aim to fill this gap by developing a Repurposable Attribute Basis (RAB). We identified and analyzed 69 unique repurposing examples to understand the underlying attributes utilized during the repurposing. When repurposing a product to develop a new one, a common attribute is a quality or characteristic both products have (e.g., material property). A transformer attribute is an action that helps one product to be transformed into the other product (e.g., deform). All analyzed repurposing examples utilized 13 Common Attributes and 15 Transformer Attributes. We discuss the 28 repurposable attributes and present them as the RAB for identifying repurposing opportunities in decommissioned products. The implications of the basis on creativity-based and data-driven methods for identifying repurposing opportunities are discussed using two example applications. The RAB appears useful for idea generation as a creativity stimulus and as a prompt modifier when using Large Language Models. The RAB could serve as a foundation, increasing the understanding and utilization of repurposing as a decommissioning strategy. Keywords: repurposing, sustainability, end-of-life, multiple life cycle products, design theory and methodology