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). Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011, 16. There are many detailed stages but the main ones are: extracting and. Marine cargo ships use a fuel called heavy fuel oil which produces around 145,000 BTU per gallon (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). If the reusable LMA is discarded prematurely, e.g., after 20 uses,16 the unit cost increases to $13 per unit, but decreases to $5.50 if the lifetime can be extended to 80 uses. Table 2 shows the results of alternate assumption on the overall results. Highly effective in driving partnerships, public policies and projects that accelerate the shift towards a sustainable built environment. There are three main materials used in the plastic handle and the cartridge of the disposable razor. One of their most popular products is the disposable razor, which they started to manufacture in 1975. This assessment is exceptionally useful as it shows the designer what areas are the most impactful during the products life cycle. Overall BIC is an industry leader when it comes to reducing the environmental impact that their disposable products make. They are resins that maintain a high dimensional stability, which helps create fast and cheap plastic razor handles (Safety Razor). Overcash M. Comparison of reusable and disposable medical textiles. Kelly, John. A life cycle assessment or analysis according to ISO 14040/14044 is an instrument of environmental and sustainability management. After that, the metal is pressed down to the desired blade thickness which is around 1mm (Manufacturing Processes). 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. LMA North America. Disposable razors are a product that can be found in almost any average bathroom. 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. Anesthesia & Analgesia114(5):1067-1072, May 2012. Yet, as they are designed to be thrown away after use, a question is raised of their fast accumulating waste and its impact on the environment. BIC states that it prides itself on producing affordable, safe, and quality razors for its customers worldwide. Bic did have an increase in non-hazardous waste due to: expansion work or renovation of buildings or development of new products and manufacturing equipment (For You For Everyone: Registration Document, Bic) For carbon footprint assessments for large companies, they are assessed on direct (scope 1) emissions and indirect (scope 2) emissions of greenhouse gases. To begin the process of making tungsten carbide, the tungsten must first be extracted. Choosing a less-green disposable will magnify your razor's manufacturing impact, but it won't change the overall picture very much. 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 . The total energy consumption of the Babyplast in its four-step molding cycle of setup, fill, cool, and reset was approximately 4.5 kilowatts (Weissman et.al). 8 John Adam Street The metal is not yet to its final form, as it is still greatly held together by the previously added binders. a 4.1% (Bic). 748 0 obj <> endobj xTkJ((5:Ome\%{yIlka;K=1 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 this paper, this will be exactly what we will discuss, from what materials go into making a disposable razor and how they are made, to what happens to it after its tossed out, and all the energy and waste that is used and expelled throughout its lifecycle. The number of BIC razors that are used by consumers is astounding. On the basis of such criteria, single-use disposable medical devices are increasingly supplanting reusable devices in the United States (US) and elsewhere.1 Although purchase and maintenance costs for disposable devices are perceived to be less than for reusables, this fails to account for indirect costs to society from the environmental impacts attributable to the entire life cycle of a device. Redesigning the Razor Life Cycle Assessment.The Great Recovery, www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/. BIC reported that the weight of one of their most popular disposable razors is 8.8 grams (Shavers). Life Cycle Impact Assessment is the estimation of indicators of the environmental pressures in terms of e.g. Bic USAs 2016 registration document provides information about the waste produced during the manufacturing of the razors. The carbon footprint reported was separated into two sections which are direct and indirect emissions. Sherman JD, Ryan S. Ecological responsibility in anesthesia practice. Dbendorf, Switzerland, 2011, 12. However, the LCA is not an exact science and has its limitations: Steel Life Cycle.SSAB, www.ssab.com/company/sustainability/sustainable-offering/steel-life-cycle?di=discover21C927E58ECC41198B78D915F7E3E2AF. Research about tungsten is ongoing and includes health effects and risks, degradation processes and an inventory of its use in the defense industry as a substitute for lead-based munitions (EPA). 11,772. 13, 14 There are few published life cycle assessment studies of medical items (ref. In this paper, many details about the life cycle stages were not included. Siddle, Dave. Lv, Andrea Lind, and Tigist Fetene. I found information about the whole blade manufacturing process, but could not find details about energy consumption in every step of the process. There are some solutions and new recycling ideas, yet, the reduction of waste for disposable razors is still far off. Cargo planes and other transport aircraft use jet fuel which produces 135,000 BTU per gallon (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). LeBlanc, Rick. Williams S, Henderson K. A survey into the number of times laryngeal masks are used. During production, two components have to be created which are the blade and the plastic body. 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. This reflects the equivalence between 40 disposable LMAs and their associated materials, waste, and 40 uses of 1 reusable LMA. 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. Questions and Answers: CreutzfeldtJakob Disease Infection-Control Practices. The final product is then gathered and prepared to go through the final step which is the packaging of razors. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Task Force on Infection Control. Amersfoort, The Netherlands: Product Ecology (PR) Consultants, 2011, 11. 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. Select patients who are highly infective warrant the choice of disposable devices; however, data do not support selecting disposables for all patients to avoid any possible risk of infection. Polystyrene is a naturally transparent thermoplastic that is available as both a typical solid plastic as well in the form of a rigid foam material (Rodgers, Everything You Need To Know About Polystyrene (PS).). Composition Assumptions for Disposable and Reusable Largyngeal Mask Airways (LMAs). Please enable scripts and reload this page. The biggest impact during the cartridge-based razor life-cycle is manufacturing the cartridge as this is the part which is hardest to make. This is the fourth installment in a series of blogs in which weexplore how to design a product for circularity. 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 decision-making process of device selection. These steps are not necessarily conducted in succession, but iteratively. The second component of the razor is the plastic body which is made of a fairly inexpensive plastic called polystyrene. The blades are then carefully sharpened to create the razor blades. A Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable Razors. This liquid material is then injected into moulds, or extruded through moulds, where it will cool and take the form of the desired cartridge and handle shape. What's the Difference Between Disposable and Reusable Razors for Women?Venus, www.gillettevenus.com/en-us/womens-shaving-guide/learning-to-shave/disposable-razors-vs-refillable-razors/. Zhang TW, Dornfeld DA. The LMA was then dried with a cotton towel. Anesthesiology 2003;99:1066, 6. What Is Polystyrene? Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cjd/qa_cjd_infection_control.htm. Land transport like trains and trucks use diesel as fuel and that produced 138,700 BTU (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). Once the plastic has cooled, the pieces are released from the moulds. Information on PPO plastics are difficult to find, as most of the data is about how it is made, and the chemical makeup and stability of the plastic, rather than information on the decomposition rate or waste used in the making of it. Chu L, Mathur P, Trudell J, Brock-Utne J. Ask a worker if you can put them in the bin by themselves or if they need to be in a recyclable container to protect sanitation workers from being cut. Phoenix: IEEE, 2008, 23. Ison E, Miller A. Life cycle assessment is a "cradle-to-grave" approach for determining the financial and environmental costs of a product over its entire life. The LMA, within the heat seal pouch, was then placed in the steam autoclave sterilizing machine (Castle/Getinge MC 3522). Plastics are cleaned and pelletized to be recycled into new products, such as picnic tables and park benches. 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. London We purchase the product in a store, use the product for removing unwanted body and facial hair until it eventually dulls, and then we toss it in the bathroom trash, unaware of where it goes or where it came from. BIC is a French manufacturing company that produces a variety of disposable consumer products like pens, lighters and disposable razors. There is uncertainty in several model assumptions. It is used to assist companies, consumers, and policy-makers in greening their practices and decisions. At every point during planning, production, and even marketing, the quantity of consumption should be analyzed to adjust business models accordingly. The environmental impacts of the 2 LMAs were estimated using SimaPro life cycle assessment software and the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability impact assessment method. : Uses, Benefits, and Safety Facts. ChemicalSafetyFacts.org, 17 June 2019, www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/polystyrene/. Disposable Razors in Bulk, Bulk Razors with Knife Caps, Individually Packaged Disposable Razors Bulk, Suitable for Hotels, Shelters, Homeless People, Nursing Homes, Charities, Churches (60) 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (9) $22.39 $ 22. The indirect emissions were mostly from the electricity use in the factories. Once in the landfill, it usually takes around 20-30 years to breakdown. Uncertainties about the correctness of the model. The specific type or blend of plastic for BIC razors is used is called polystyrene (Europe). Your message has been successfully sent to your colleague. Everything You Need To Know About Polypropylene (PP) Plastic. Everything You Need To Know About Polypropylene (PP) Plastic, https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/all-about-polypropylene-pp-plastic. Sensor3 disposable razors for men feature an enhanced Lubrastrip with water activated Comfortgel technology for ultra-gentle shaving on your sensitive skin. The alternatives are objects made of bio compostable plastic,. 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). your express consent. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Anesthesiologists, 1999, 15. Then we collected and structured the data in phase 2. And then there's the water. 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. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010. The original LMA was a reusable device (Intavent International SA, Henley-on-Thames, UK). The processes that contribute to these emissions differ markedly between the 2 LMA devices. Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment of Disposable Bioreactors - BioProcess InternationalBioProcess International Upstream Processing Bioprocessing begins upstream, most often with culturing of animal or microbial cells in a range of vessel types (such as bags or stirred tanks) using different controlled feeding, aerating, and process strategies. There could be hundreds of different sources for their materials. Please try after some time. The number of times an LMA is reused is a particularly uncertain assumption, because there have been reports of premature disposal.16 Use in excess of the manufacturer recommended 40 times has also been reported,17 and 100 to 200 uses appears to be possible with proper handling and preuse checks.1821 Here, 10, 20, 30, 60, 80, and 100 cycles are considered as alternative assumptions. Materials were matched with appropriate life cycle inventory records from the ecoinvent database.11 Injection molding was assumed for the hard plastic pieces (polycarbonate and ABS plastic) and thermoforming for the softer plastics (silicone, polypropylene, and PVC). The most important sources of impacts for the disposable LMA were the production of polymers, packaging, and waste management, whereas for the reusable LMA, washing and sterilization dominated for most impact categories. The remaining percentage is split up between energy consumption in their three facilities in: Clichy (France), Shelton (U.S.), and Cajamar (Brazil) (For You For Everyone: Registration Document, Bic). 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 All of which provides an easy user experience, but, takes a toll on the planet. Manufacturers can do this solely by machine or by human eye/hand plus machine for extra quality assurance. To compile a detailed life cycle inventory of the environmental burdens Holes are then punched into the metal and the tapelike sheets of razors are then put in a roll (Manufacturing Processes). Terracycle. Shavers. BICWorld, www.bicworld.com/en/our-products/shavers. Staff, Creative Mechanisms. The total amount of indirect emissions was 89,762 tonnes of carbon dioxide (For You For Everyone Registration Document). 85 percent of the energy came from electricity, 14 percent came from gas, and the rest came from fuel oil (For You For Everyone Registration Document). Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2009;53:6878, 19. In my research, I was not able to find specifics about where BIC sources their materials, I believe that this is due to them being a global company. BIC may be doing as much as possible to lessen the impact of the production of disposable razors, but due to the massive production it will because unsustainable, because of the energy input, material consumptions, and unrecyclable nature of disposable razors. 2. To make the handle and cartridges, these various plastics are heated together and melted together along with optional colorants and various filler materials. On the basis of information provided by the distributing company, the disposable LMA was manufactured in Hangzhou, China, and the reusable LMA was manufactured in Singapore. 2019, science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/polystyrene-recycling.htm. hb```X ea i:=3*?a_.k7#uq-u[JRP erle@@)`EkP;~ cdC58xiv06@Jup E All of these equipment-related cases occurred before the routine implementation of sterilization procedures currently used in health care facilities. The Fate of the Disposable Razor.Industrial Equipment News (IEN), 7 Aug. 2019, www.ien.com/product-development/news/21081402/the-fate-of-the-disposable-razor. However, it is fairly easy to find what the disposable razors components are made of, due to its simplicity. The cheap price of the razor does not reflect the high cost of its waste and impact on the environment. A Life Cycle Assessment is the systematic analysis of the environmental impact of products during their entire life cycle. Nash, Nathaniel C. HOW BIC LOST THE EDGE TO GILLETTE. The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Apr. Two Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methodologies were employed using SimaPro software 51,52 to calculate the environmental impacts of manufacturing both the plastic and compostable coffee . Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique for assessing the potential environmental aspects and potential aspects associated with a product (or service), by: compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs, evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs, GaBi includes its own database containing life cycle inventories of processes such as polypropylene manufacturing, transportation, and landfill . Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2002, 26. The majority (77%) of life cycle CO2e emissions for the reusable LMA is from natural gas production and combustion to produce steam for the autoclave machine. Disposable razors are created for a short user time, and an easy answer to the growing populations fast paced lifestyles and needs for shaving: they are primarily designed to be simple, economical, and disposable (Safety Razor). Eckelman, Matthew PhD*; Mosher, Margo; Gonzalez, Andres; Sherman, Jodi MD. It is used in razor manufacturing mainly due to its high heat and water resistance, making it ideal for the conditions the product is used in. Contact Supplier. LCA is a standardized, science-based tool for quantifying the impact in order to assess lifetime environmental impact. The cartridge-based razor had a slightly higher impact due to the rubber parts which cant be separated from the plastic body. This is done on an assembly line by the robotic arm the inserts the razor blade into the small crevices in the plastic body. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method used to estimate the total environmental impacts from producing a good or service. For a number of perioperative textiles, surgical instruments, and anesthetic devices, a life cycle assessment (LCA) has been done and has shown reusables to be environmentally favorable to disposables [ 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 ]. To start the process of making the blades, tungsten carbide is melted at high temperatures. The natural half life of a large stock of reusable laryngeal mask airways at a teaching hospital. No such cases have been reported since 1976.a There is no reported case of iatrogenic infection of any type linked to a reusable LMA. Gillette Mach3 Men's Disposable Razor for Sensitive Skin - Best Cartridge Razor for Sensitive Skin. Depending upon on how the razor is packaged, the finished cartridge may or may not be assembled onto the handle of the razor, as some companies choose to package the handle detached the cartridge(s). Recycling of Polypropylene (PP). AZoCleantech.com, 25 June 2012, www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=240. Their disposable nature causes them to be put into landfills faster than it takes them to be made, packaged, and shipped. 4.Complete the form The extraction and consumption of resources (including energy), as well as releases to air, water, and soil, are quantified throughout all stages. Thomas, G.P. The product fails to include proper instructions for its waste management, causing it to be disposed of, as the name suggests. Chain Management by Life Cycle Assessment (CMLCA) software has been used to conduct the LCA and Ecoinvent 2.01 has been used for life cycle inventory data. Where regulations permit, disposal of LMA-related waste as regular municipal waste, as opposed to biohazardous waste, should also reduce the adverse health effects stemming from medical waste incineration. A major flaw in the disposable razors design is in fact its inability to be sustainably and properly disposed, despite what its name suggests. For example, the designer might think that the manufacturing stage would be the most impactful, when in reality for some products its the raw material extraction or its use phase. This obviously makes the results less accurate, but it can still be used as a general indicator of impact. A combination of transportation methods is used depending on where the product needs to go. How One Company Keeps Used Razors Out Of Oceans.Green Matters, Green Matters, 25 Sept. 2017, www.greenmatters.com/news/2017/09/25/Z1oInGt/razors-ocean. Rogers, Tony. 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. The Great Recovery was a project by the RSA working with Innovate UK which ran between 2012 and 2016. 0 8tZ Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a framework for assessing the environmental impacts of product systems and decisions. Wang, Chun Tsin, and Alexander Sutulor. PPO elements of the disposable razor are hard to determine in years, however, data shows that most plastic items take up to 1,000 years to begin to decompose (LeBlanc). The majority of eutrophication impacts from disposable LMAs are from deposition of nitrogen oxide particulates from electricity generation and waste incineration, and impacts for the reusable LMA are nearly all from wastewater used in the cleaning process. Criteria for the selection and purchase of medical devices typically include safety for patients and staff, efficacy and ease of use, and purchase and handling prices. These are the reasons why I will carry out an Eco-Indicator Assessment instead of a full LCA. This practice meets American Society of Anesthesiologists' recommendations for infection control for equipment requiring high-level disinfection.14. Part of this responsible shipping mentality forces them to change their packaging to be able to ship more at a time. 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. Figure: Life Cycle Assessment steps: goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment and interpretation (Sala et al., 2016) In the goal and scope phase, the aims of the study are defined, namely the intended application, the reasons for carrying out the study and the intended audience. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) Hazard Summary. This is based on our Life Cycle Inventory flows from phase 2. 2002/03 and 2005/06, to include an assessment of the effects of a range of behavioural assumptions on the life cycle environmental impacts of the reusable nappy types, and to compare these with each other and with modern disposable nappies. Accessed 28 Nov. 2019. www.thefabricator.com/thefabricator/article/stamping/die-basics-101-intro-to-stamping, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/07/landfill-waste-how-prevent-disposable-razor-plastic-pollution/1943345001/, http://www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/, www.plasticsnewseurope.com/article/20091119/PNE/311199986/bic-disposable-razor-1975, www.nytimes.com/1982/04/11/business/how-bic-lost-the-edge-to-gillette.html, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemical-engineering/polyphenylene-oxides, www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrrofactsheet_contaminant_tungsten_january2014_final.pdf, www.kai-group.com/global/en/kai-factory/process/razor/, www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/reducing-trichloroethylene-tce-waste-fabricated-metals-sector, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html, www.recyclingtoday.com/article/the-recycling-potential-of-polypropylene/, www.ssab.com/company/sustainability/sustainable-offering/steel-life-cycle?di=discover21C927E58ECC41198B78D915F7E3E2AF, BEHR Oil Based Interior/Exterior Primer and Sealer, California Academy of Sciences Living Roof Life Cycle, UC Davis Social Sciences and Humanities Building, A-Z List for Digital & Electronics Topics.