The cartridge-based razor had a slightly higher impact due to the rubber parts which cant be separated from the plastic body. 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 . Gillette Sensor3 Sensitive Men's Disposable Razors : Target Assessing all steps in that life cycle provides insight into individual stresses and burden shifts from one step to another and enables understanding of both the cumulative environmental impacts and related trade-offs in each area, throughout the lifespan of both a facility and its manufactured products. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Anesthesiologists, 1999, 15. B|$5 Our team of experts has many years of experience in the ecological evaluation of products and services. Powers, Matt, and Amanda M. Can You Recycle Disposable Razors? Earth911.Com, 30 July 2019, earth911.com/living-well-being/health/can-you-recycle-disposable-razors/. 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. The largest sources of both cancer and noncancer impacts for the reusable LMA are from emissions from waste management (35%), the mining and production of metals to build wastewater treatment infrastructure (25%), and the bleaching of packaging paper and the card insert (20%). 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 . The high waste from manufacturing and shipping such a small, and cheap product is one that is negatively impacting the planet. The newest effort to recycle disposable razors is being done in France by BIC, but the company has said that they do not plan on unveiling a recycling program anywhere else yet (Powers). Main methodological choices . Kaplan, Desire. Flying staff to meetings, shipping, and distributing the product is the highest offender for the planet. Life Cycle Approach to Plastic Pollution - Life Cycle Initiative With the recommended use of three to ten uses for disposable razors, they quickly end up in the landfill to decompose. In order to carry out the Eco-Indicator analysis method, the methodology described below has to be followed: Poly(p-Phenylene Oxide). Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(p-phenylene_oxide). A life cycle assessment or analysis according to ISO 14040/14044 is an instrument of environmental and sustainability management. To create the metal compound, carbon is added to the purified tungsten in a complex chemical process where the materials are heated to over 2,200 degrees celsius. 761 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[748 22]/Info 747 0 R/Length 72/Prev 421064/Root 749 0 R/Size 770/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream A Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable Razors. 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. Several clinical trials comparing function and ease of placement demonstrated no significant difference between disposable and reusable versions,25 allowing hospitals to base purchase decisions on economic considerations alone. hbbd``b`z$k@D Once all the components of the razor have been made, the components go to various stations where different tasks will be performed. The use of LCA to introduce life-cycle thinking into decision-making for the purchase of medical devices in the NHS. Quantifying the Environmental Impacts of Labor. Recommendations for Infection Control for the Practice of Anesthesiology. (ii)Access paramount's competitive position? Redesigning the Razor Life Cycle Assessment. The Great Recovery, http://www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/. a Centers for Disease Control. Life Cycle Assessment - GDRC This is known as a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) This can be extremely complex because it can involve dozens of separate processes, as well as hundreds of tracked substances. Rogers, Tony. Contribution: This author helped conduct the study and analyze the data. Reusable LMA cleaning was observed to proceed as follows. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable - LWW During the research, I could not find how much energy BIC injection molding machines use, but I did find the energy usage of a common injection molding machine called the Babyplast. Anaesth Intensive Care 2004;32:5304, 4. a 4.1% (Bic). Such an analysis is commonly performed using life cycle assessment. climate change, summer smog, resource depletion, acidification, human health effects, etc. 2 offers from $9.92. Premature disposal of reusable LMAs has significant environmental impacts (as well as costs, discussed below). Bic Disposable Razor (1975). Plastics News Europe, 19 Nov. 2009, www.plasticsnewseurope.com/article/20091119/PNE/311199986/bic-disposable-razor-1975. 13, 14 There are few published life cycle assessment studies of medical items (ref. Olsen, Alexandra. This break-even point will change depending on the category of environmental impact being considered. The blades are then carefully sharpened to create the razor blades. 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. Steel Life Cycle.SSAB, www.ssab.com/company/sustainability/sustainable-offering/steel-life-cycle?di=discover21C927E58ECC41198B78D915F7E3E2AF. The LMA, within the heat seal pouch, was then placed in the steam autoclave sterilizing machine (Castle/Getinge MC 3522). Paper diapers for infants, which are highly convenient as they do not require laundering like cloth diapers, are essential for daily life in Japan. It has been assumed that the only part recycled at the end of life is the packaging. Another material used is polystyrene. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) covers all relevant inputs from the environment (e.g., ores and crude oil, water, land use) as well as emissions into air, water and soil (e.g., carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides). 1.Establish the purpose of the Eco-Indicator calculations 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? Though technicians are paid regardless of whether they are cleaning LMAs or are performing some other task, these wages are nonetheless assigned to the reusable LMA on the basis of time spent. Gillette Mach3 Men's Disposable Razor for Sensitive Skin - Best Cartridge Razor for Sensitive Skin. Comparison of the single use and reusable intubating laryngeal mask airway. Figueredo E. Changes in the intracuff pressure of the laryngeal masks airway caused by repeated use. Phenylene oxide, or PPO, is another common plastic material used in disposable razors. Properties: Tungsten Carbide-An Overview. AZoM.com, 25 Nov. 2019, www.azom.com/properties.aspx?ArticleID=1203. 0 This assessment is exceptionally useful as it shows the designer what areas are the most impactful during the products life cycle. :396?Qkt)e. However, of the 2 billion razors disposed of annually, about 32% end up in the ocean (Kaplan). Williams S, Henderson K. A survey into the number of times laryngeal masks are used. From:. Each year in Italy, millions of tons of fruits and vegetables are harvested, packed and transported to national and foreign retail outlets. 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. endstream endobj startxref Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method used to estimate the total environmental impacts from producing a good or service. Life Cycle Assessment of Reusable and Disposable Cleanroom Coveralls On the Venus Gillette company website, they provide the buyer with a guide for choosing which razor is best by asking: When it comes to choosing a razor, how do you know if a disposable or reusable razor is right for you? (What's the Difference Between Disposable and Reusable Razors for Women? Venus)This question, however, only affects the buyers short usage time, and does not provide any information as to the rest of the razors life-cycle after they are ready for a new razor blade and they: throw away the entire razor and grab a new one as recommended by the manufacturer (Venus). What Is Tungsten Carbide or Hard Metal? AZoM.com, 2 Aug. 2009, https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=4827. 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. Siddle, Dave. Buy Now. Scope of the life cycle assessment for disposable and reusable laryngeal mask airways (LMAs). This is done on an assembly line by the robotic arm the inserts the razor blade into the small crevices in the plastic body. To aid in solving this issue, I believe consumers should stray away from wasteful disposable razors and be encouraged to go with more sustainable and longer lasting options such as classic safety razors. The Eco-Indicator for EPDM rubber includes the manufacturing of the rubber as well as the molding process. 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. Disposable and reusable LMAs typically differ in material composition, packaging, reuse, and cost. Safety Razor. How Products Are Made www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. 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. This is shown through their commitment to their eco-design process and new recycling programs that are undergoing testing. may email you for journal alerts and information, but is committed Eckelman, Matthew PhD*; Mosher, Margo; Gonzalez, Andres; Sherman, Jodi MD. 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). . Alternate assumptions were used to test model sensitivity and to create bounds to aid interpretation of the results (Table 2). Manufacturing Processes (RAZOR): KAI FACTORY: KAI Group.KAI FACTORY | KAI Group, www.kai-group.com/global/en/kai-factory/process/razor/. It can be used to study the environmental impact of either a product or the function the product is designed to perform. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. American Medical Association (AMA). You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. 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). 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). Life Cycle Assessment - definition & methodology. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to studies done by the EPA, tungsten steel was originally tested as a stable metal in soil that does not dissolve easily in water (EPA). Their disposable nature causes them to be put into landfills faster than it takes them to be made, packaged, and shipped. Bic USAs 2016 registration document provides information about the waste produced during the manufacturing of the razors. 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. Using Life Cycle Assessments to Understand Cloth vs. Disposables - BAHP Impact Assessment. Innovative and strategic advisor to leading philanthropies, corporates, governments, international institutions and NGOs. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2002, 26. However, the viability of the disposable razor is always thrown into question because of the sheer amount of resources that it expends. Manufacturer specifications indicate 20 kWh of electricity use for a 5-minute cycle at 135C. There is no public data entailing the details of this plastics recyclability. The alloy is strong enough to resist moisture for a short time in the buyers shower, yet, in the landfill, it does eventually rust and decompose. BIC Group, 2016, Sustainable Development Report. 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 Polycarbonate production (14%), transportation via truck (15%), thermoforming (13%), and waste disposal (11%) cause the majority of the remaining emissions. The disposable LMA consisted largely of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, and the reusable LMA consisted primarily of silicone. It can also help them to compare the newly redesigned product to the original, acting as a benchmark to ensure the design changes are actually positive for the environment. 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. All of these software packages and models are in widespread use by life cycle assessment practitioners in the US and internationally. Disposable razors are a product that can be found in almost any average bathroom. Then we collected and structured the data in phase 2. The final product is then gathered and prepared to go through the final step which is the packaging of razors. 4. Goodman EJ, Haas AJ. Life Cycle Assessment of Compostable Coffee Pods: A US - Nature However, we can discuss the energy usage of different modes of transportation. The metal is heated to a temperature of 1967-2048 degrees Fahrenheit and tungsten carbide has a specific heat of 0.226 BTU/lb/Fahrenheit (Safety razor). In addition to traditional criteria for the selection and purchase of medical devices that include safety, efficacy, and cost, growing awareness of the negative impacts from the practice of health care on the environment and public health calls for the routine inclusion of life cycle criteria into the product selection process. 3. Please try again soon. Overview. Product Ecology (PR) Consultants. hb```X ea i:=3*?a_.k7#uq-u[JRP erle@@)`EkP;~ cdC58xiv06@Jup E Both were assumed to be transported to Los Angeles, CA, by container ship, and from there by truck to the company distribution center in San Diego, CA. 39 ($0.37/Count) FREE delivery Thu, Mar 2 on $25 of items shipped by Amazon. The authors declare no conflict of interest. The metal must be mined and extracted from the mountain causing an emission of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases (Wang). 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. All of these equipment-related cases occurred before the routine implementation of sterilization procedures currently used in health care facilities. Certain practices would further reduce the environmental impacts of reusable LMAs, such as increasing the number of devices autoclaved in a single cycle to 10 (25% GHG emissions) and improving the energy efficiency of the autoclaving machines by 10% (8% GHG emissions). to maintaining your privacy and will not share your personal information without The extraction and consumption of resources (including energy), as well as releases to air, water, and soil, are quantified throughout all stages. They have estimated that they expend around 11.77 gigajoules of energy per ton of their products that they produce (For You For Everyone Registration Document) The BIC report also categorized the energy where they obtained the energy. The following document provides an introductory overview of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and describes the general uses and major components of LCA. #4. There are only two components for the BIC disposable razors which are the plastic body and razor blade. The company urges users to mail packages over 15 lbs., in order to reduce the waste of mail as well, yet is not necessary. With the results we supply the basis for strategic decisions for sustainable action. During production, two components have to be created which are the blade and the plastic body. Address correspondence to Jodi Sherman, MD, Yale University, School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, 333 Cedar Street, TMP3, New Haven, CT 06520. Disposable BIC razors are hollow and made using injection molding, but making the razors hollow is only possible because of the fluid nature of polystyrene (The Bic Razor, Still the Sharpest of the Bunch.). . Tungsten carbide is a carbide compound, made up of equal parts of tungsten and carbon. Subramaniar Trading Company. BIC said that around 98 percent of its intercompany product transfer was done by transportation methods that were not related to air-freight (For You For Everyone Registration Document). Your message has been successfully sent to your colleague. This makes it an easy and quick method to start the analysis of a product and aid the designer when creating alternative concepts which are more environmentally friendly, because they can clearly identify what areas need improvement and which ones work well already. A 20-mL disposable syringe was used during device placement to inflate the cuffs of both types of LMAs to ensure proper fit, and a procedure was then performed. It is at this stage that very small amounts of other metals such as iron, silicon, and chromium may be added to the carbide to increase its strength and durability. Recycling of Polypropylene (PP). AZoCleantech.com, 25 June 2012, www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=240. Most tungsten, about 85%, is extracted from various ores in China (Siddle, How Is Tungsten Carbide Formed?). 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. Tungsten Carbide. Encyclopdia Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 17 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/tungsten-carbide. Properly following the instructions it should (hopefully) leave you with three pieces, the handle, the metal blade, the plastic that was covering the blade. SimaPro 7.3.2. Life Cycle Assessment of the Closed-Loop Recycling of Used Disposable Goal, scope and background The industrial packages sector has great importance for the transport sector in Europe. What Is Polystyrene? Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) | Sustainable Agriculture Research Introduction Paper diapers are roughly divided into two types: those for infants and those for adults. A Life Cycle Assessment of Reusable and Single-Use Central V - LWW From mining and extracting the natural tungsten metal, to making the metal alloy and manufacturing just the blade, waste is released. A combination of transportation methods is used depending on where the product needs to go. At 20 reuse cycles,16 the results indicate an increase in emissions of nearly 20%. From the *Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA; School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Department of Anesthesiology, Yale School of Medicine/YaleNew Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT. Funding: Department of Anesthesiology, Yale School of Medicine. When you take your blades in to the scrap metal center, choose the steel recycling bin. The purpose of this assessment is to compare two different types of razors: cartridge based vs. double edge safety razor. Table 2 shows the results of alternate assumption on the overall results. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE | Science Inventory - US EPA Life cycle environmental impacts of disposable medical masks After that the blades go through a blade edging process, which consists of the blade strips first being coarsely ground by whetstone, second being ground at an angle with a finer whetstone, and then having the tip of the blades ground (Manufacturing Processes).

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