Closing the Loop on E‐waste: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

Bridgens, Ben; Hobson, Kersty; Lilley, Debra; Lee, Jacquetta; Scott, Janet L.; Wilson, Garrath T.

doi:10.1111/jiec.12645

Cited by 51 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…In the context of material and product reuse through the circular-or sharing-economy, is it beneficial to engender emotional attachment to an object through material change? The answer is, of course, complex and answering it requires speculative life-cycle analysis of multiple possible product life scenarios, which will be different for every product and the tools are not available for designers to carry out this type of analysis quickly and effectively Bridgens et al, 2017). Most forms of re-use, remanufacturing and recycling will entail negative environmental impacts due to transportation and processing.…”

Section: Figure 1 Materials Change (Clockwise From Top Left)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Abrasion testing was carried out to simulate 'severe use', for example carrying an object in a pocket with keys and coins or dropping the object, using a technique developed previously (Bridgens et al, , 2017Lilley et al, 2016) which involves placing the material sample in a 100mm cube sealed box with small metal objects (keys, coins, 8mm nuts and bolts) and rotating the box such that the objects slide across and impact the material sample. This 'tumbling machine' operated at a rate of 3000 rotations per hour.…”

Section: Simulating Materials Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…These images show what may happen to a material in use, and have potential to provide inspiration for designers, but they do not accurately predict how a particular object will change in use. A previous study by the authors (Bridgens et al, 2017) highlighted the difficulties inherent in simulating material change for particular consumer products. People's physical interaction with objects has not been studied in detail and will vary widely across different product types and different individuals.…”

Section: Simulating Materials Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…'Graceful ageing' is portrayed as a positive aesthetic attribute of natural and selected man-made materials within certain niche products and their marketing materials ( Figure 6). Iameco computers "get better with age" as the wood "matures" to create a unique patina; 'Nylund' leather products "grow and age gracefully", and over time "bear the signs of a life with you"; To understand where the 'tipping point' between patination and degradation lies, to investigate which aesthetic and tactile material changes are valued, if worn natural materials are more favourably judged than their man-made counterparts, and whether material change can engender emotional attachment, a series of user perception studies was conducted (Manley, Lilley and Hurn, 2015a;Lilley et al, 2016;Manley et al, 2016;Bridgens et al, 2017). Through this research, it became apparent that designing studies which aim to uncover perceptions of aged materials is challenging and that flaws in the study design can limit their effectiveness.…”

Section: Understanding Users' Attitudinal Responses To 'Changed' Matementioning

confidence: 99%

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Ageing (dis)gracefully: Enabling designers to understand material change

Lilley

Bridgens

Davies

et al. 2019

Journal of Cleaner Production

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From the moment of purchase, pristine objects are subjected to an array of stimuli including wear, impact, heat, light, water and air which alter their tactile and aesthetic properties. Material change is often regarded as 'damage' or 'degradation' and contributes to premature obsolescence but has potential to be used as a tool to engender emotional engagement with an object and extend product lifetimes. However, materials resources for designers rarely provide information about how materials will change in use. In this paper we draw on a combination of literature and user studies to elucidate the complex web of factors which contribute to changes in material surfaces, which we present in a 'framework for understanding material change'. We go on to explore the role that changes to product material surfaces, and the design of objects to change in particular ways with use, could have on the transition to circular modes of consumption. A range of resources which aim to increase designers' understanding of material change are presented, and the challenges of creating, utilising and developing these resources are discussed.

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Section: Figure 1 Materials Change (Clockwise From Top Left)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Simulating Materials Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Simulating Materials Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Understanding Users' Attitudinal Responses To 'Changed' Matementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ageing (dis)gracefully: Enabling designers to understand material change

Lilley

Bridgens

Davies

et al. 2019

Journal of Cleaner Production

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“…At the product level, Bridgens and colleagues () emphasize the need to incorporate multi‐faceted understandings of value, including emotional durability, in their novel closed‐loop system for mobile phones. Kasulaitis and colleagues () present a method for quantifying an entire “product ecosystem.” Their method, borrowing concepts from community ecology, allows them to assess the combined effects of increasing consumption, product trade‐offs, and technological innovations.…”

Section: Digging Deeper Into the Circular Economymentioning

confidence: 99%

Taking the circular economy and the Journal of Industrial Ecology to the next level

Lifset

2019

J of Industrial Ecology

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as editorial partners in the publication of the JIE." DIGGING DEEPER INTO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMYIn the introduction to the 2017 special issue on the circular economy (Bocken et al., 2017), the editors urged that researchers, advocates and practitioners take the circular economy (CE) to the next level-moving beyond enthusiasm and promotion to also grapple with the complications and challenges of this emerging framework. 1 This special feature presents recent research that does just that.The special feature includes analysis that provides a systematic understanding of what has already been done, but often overlooked. This includes a comprehensive review of 280 circular economy-related policies by Zhu and colleagues (2018) showing that China has a both a long history and continuous development in this domain. Korea also has a significant and sometimes overlooked history of systematic CE development-of industrial symbiosis-as Park and colleagues (2018) show in their examination of 15 years of Korean eco-industrial park development. Bruel and colleagues (2018) examine the intersection of long-established bodies of research-industrial ecology and ecological economics-as a foundationfor the circular economy and find that a reconciliation of these two fields could increase both the theoretical and practical framework of CE.Several authors look closely at the application of the circular economy to electrical and electronic equipment. Alev and colleagues (2018) examine a form of CE policy toward e-waste. They provide a detailed case study on a market-based implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) in Minnesota. Their analysis details the benefits and trade-offs generated by the operating rules for the EPR scheme. Focusing on photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, Lapko and colleagues (2018) ask why recycling rates of critical raw materials are very low and engagement of companies in closed loop supply chains for such materials is limited. Gallagher and colleagues (2017) also grapple with the concern that renewable energy technologies require large amounts of material resources. They apply life cycle assessment to circular economy strategies targeting hotspots in the systems' life cycle to reveal where potential impacts lie across a variety of environmental indicators. Van der Voet and colleagues (2018) also address the long-term availability of metals through a life-cycle-based scenario analysis. Environmental impacts related to metal production, according to their projections, will increase steeply over the period 2010 to 2050. While recycling will reduce emissions, their analysis indicates it will become effective only in mitigating impacts in the latter half of the twenty-first century. They conclude that "The circular economy 1 See the issue at http://bit.ly/JIE-Circ.

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Electronic Waste: Human Health and Environmental Risk

Sonawane,

Kadry,

Kancherla

2023

Patty's Toxicology

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As global demand for electronic products rises, it also generates a significant volume of e‐waste at an alarming rate. E‐waste recycling and disposal are one of the world's fastest‐growing pollution problems, with an estimated 53 million metric tons produced in 2019 and a raw material value of $57 billion. It is expected to reach 74.7 million metric tons by 2030. Developed countries generate most of the world's e‐waste and export it to low‐income Asian and African countries. Managing e‐waste, both domestically generated and imported, is a major environmental health issue in developing countries. Recycling electronic waste recovers precious metals and resalable parts to generate revenue. E‐waste and its recycling practices release a variety of known hazardous chemicals such as Pb, Hg, Cd, hexavalent Cr, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDs), poly‐brominated/chlorinated biphenyls (PBBs/PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other chemicals. Developing countries lack adequate analytical laboratory resources and methods to measure the exposure of these toxic pollutants in air, water, food, and soil during recycling/disposal practices. Analytical data are critical to perform chemical exposure assessment for aggregate and cumulative risk assessment to exposed people, especially vulnerable populations (women and children) involved in handling and recycling operations in developing countries. In addition, a brief description of approaches to minimize risks, raising awareness of the problem of informal e‐waste management, and international efforts, policies, and regulations of the e‐waste legislation discussed.

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Closing the Loop on E‐waste: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

Cited by 51 publications

References 71 publications

Ageing (dis)gracefully: Enabling designers to understand material change

Ageing (dis)gracefully: Enabling designers to understand material change

Taking the circular economy and the Journal of Industrial Ecology to the next level

Electronic Waste: Human Health and Environmental Risk

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