Week 6

1. This week for ICPD, we were introduced to the concept of product design consideration for sustainable development. In this concept, it involves a philosophy for sustainable design. Some principles for sustainable design that are required is that the material should be non-toxic, sustainably produced, made of recycled materials and energy efficient. In addition, we learnt about the concept of a product lifecycle and the different stages that compose it namely, Raw materials, Manufacturing, Packaging, Distribution, Use and lastly Disposal.  
2. To further develop this concept, we were shown an example of the product life cycle of paper which showed us how paper was made and how it is used in the different steps. Afterwards, we were asked to apply our knowledge and try out the concept of product lifecycle ourselves. 
3. Afterwards, we were asked to apply our knowledge and try out the concept of product lifecycle ourselves. For our group. We decided upon a coffee jug as our chosen product for lifecycle. After choosing our product, we then had to do some research to fill the 6 stages of product lifecycle such as what glass was made of and the process of how the glass jar would be moulded from melted glass. 

 

1. Lastly, we were introduced to the principles of cradle-to-cradle design. Before we start ranting about the principles, it is important to know what cradle to cradle design means as well as cradle to grave.  
2. Cradle-to-cradle design is a biomimetic approach to the design of products and systems that emulates nature's processes. 
3.  Cradle to grave refers to the product system that minimises the negative impact on the environment mostly by means of reducing, reusing and recycling. However, this method of recovery is not effective. For instance, the extraction of 1 tonne of copper causes 600 tonnes of wastes. However, only 25% of copper is recycled 20 years after production. 
4. Hence the Cradle-to-Cradle design is created to create a more effective product recovery system. 
5. In the Cradle-to-Cradle design systems, there are 3 important principles that is used. The first being Nutrients becomes nutrients again, second is Use of renewable energy and lastly, Celebrate Diversity. 
6. Nutrients become nutrients again can be explained by an example. In nature, the processes of every living organism in an ecosystem will contribute to the health of the whole. When leaves of trees drop onto the ground, it will degrade and become food for other organism such as bacteria. Hence the ‘waste’ of one organism can be considered as food for another. 
7. Use of renewable energy refers to the use of energy that can be easily renewed such as solar power/wind power/ hydroelectric energy and long-term use of it will not have a prolonged impact on our children's future unlike fossil fuels which produces unwanted products which will affect the earth. 
8. Lastly, celebrate diversity can be explained since diversity makes ecosystems more responsive and resilient in changing conditions. For example, waste from one factory can be reused for other purposes by another company. 
9. After understanding these principles, we were tasked to choose 2 different principles to be used in our chemical product which is nutrient to nutrient and celebrating diversity. We chose these principles for our chemical product since we can design the glass jug in such a way that it can be easily recycled as well as we can recycle the excess heat and steam released when heating glass for other purposes. 

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