Sustainable materials

sustainable materials

Scoring sustainable materials.

sustainable materials Desi g n f o r su staina bilit y is a b ou t c o ns ide r ing t h e i mp a c t o f a pro duct o r se r v ic e o n pe o pl e a nd th e e nv iro nm e n t thro ug ho ut p rod uc t io n, us e a nd d is po s a l.

Envi ro nme nt a l la ws a nd l e g is la t io n a re o ut in pla c e to e nc o ur a g e t he a d op tio n o f pro c e s s e s a nd tec hno lo g ie s t h a t re d u c e e mis s io ns , waste, c o ns umpt io n o r re sou rc e s a nd

p ro d u c t i o n o f h a rm f u l m a t e ri a l s . I n s h o rt t e rm t h i s c a n i n c re a s e cost, especially if new equipment is needed, and noncompliance c a n re s u l t i n h e f t y f i n e s . U l t i m a t e l y, t h o u g h , re d u c i n g w a s t e a n d i m p ro v i n g e ff i c i e n c y s a v e s m o n e y.

M a t e ri a l s e l e c t i o n impacts heavily on the substitutability o f p ro d u c t s a n d s e rv i c e s . T h i s s h o rt

p ub l i cat i on wi l l gi ve ex amp l es of mat eri al s and score t hem on how sust ai nab l e t hey are, b y l ook i ng at t he energy, t he resources, t he p ol l ut i on and t he wast e of each p rod uct . P l us gi vi ng ex amp l es of when t hey are used and hop ef ul l y gi vi ng you i d eas of how you can b ecome more sust ai nab l e wi t hi n your own p ract i ce.

The p ub l i cat i on wi l l al so l ook at mat eri al s t hat are consi d ered t o

not b e sust ainable and how not sust ainable t hey are i n t er ms of t he resources , energy, p ol l ut i on and waste t hey creat e.

Thi s p ub l i cation will hop ef ul l y p rovide an i nsi ght i nt o different mat eri al s you as a d esi gner can and shoul d nt use in some of your own design work .

key environmental impact per kg

Good

Bad

other necessary information

Good

Bad

‘As we are responsible for our planet, we need to look after it and by using nonrenewable fuel and materials.’

plastics environmental impact Pl asti c s a re v e r s a t i l e : the y offe r hig h streng t h, lo w we ig h t a nd a wide r a ng e o f vi vid c o lo ur s a re re l ati v e ly a ffo rda ble.

Pre d omina t e ly d eri ved f o r m c r ude o i l , p l a s t ic s c a n be re c ycle d a t t he e nd o f th e ir lif e , o r t he e ne rg y t he y c o nt a in c a n b e re c o v e re d b y i n c i n e r a t io n. T he re i s two m a in g ro ups o f p l as t ic s , t he y a re the rmopla s t ic s a nd the rmos e t t ing

p l a s t i c s . T h e m a j o ri t y a re d e ri v e d f ro m c ru d e o i l . C e rt a i n plastics may also be bio based. These p ro d u c t s a re n o t a l w a y s b i o d e g ra d a b l e and their e n v i ro n m e n t a l i m p a c t i s n o t n e c e s s a ri l y s u p e ri o r t o t h a t o f conventional plastics i f f a c t o rs s u c h a s l a n d a n d w a t e r u s e a re taken into account.

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Availability Durability Recyclability Biodegradable Good

Bad

bio based plastics environmental impact Bi o b a s e d pla s t ic s a re d er iv e d fro m re ne wa ble bio ma s s sou rc e s , re quire le s s e ne rg y t o m a nufa c t u re tha n pe t ro le um d eri ved pla s t ic s a nd are s o me t im e s c o mp os t a ble . E it he r starc h is us e d in i ts raw s t a t e , o r is fu rth e r pro c e s s e d b y b ac te r ia l f e r me nt a t i o n to p roduc e bio ba se d mo no m e r s , whic h a re p oly m e r iz e d int o b i o p l a s t ic s .

B i o b a s e d p l a s t i c s a re d e ri v e d f ro m b i o m a s s such as maize or potatoes. Their p ro p e rt i e s c a n b e s i m i l a r t o p e t ro l e u m d e ri v e d p l a s t i c s , but they use 20% to 3 0 % l e s s e n e rg y t o p ro d u c e .

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Availability Durability Recyclability Biodegradable Good

Bad

‘As Designers produce copious amounts of printed collateral, they have a huge responsibility to factor in sustainability within their processes, in the same way that cost, how the design is handled, aesthetics and manufacturability are all considered.’ Ewan North.

natural rubber environmental impact La te x a nd r ubbe r a re e l as t o me r ic : the y ret ur n t o t he ir o ri g i n a l s ha pe a ft e r stretc hing . La t e x is ta p p e d f ro m r ubbe r tre e s and is e it he r used f o r c o a t ing o r d i p molding pro duc t s su c h a s g lo v e s a nd b al l o o ns , o r is fur t h e r p roce s s e d int o r ubb e r, a hi gh s t re ng t h e l astom e r us e d in tyres and fo o t we a r.

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Availability Durability Recyclability Biodegradable Good

Bad

aluminium alloys environmental impact Al u mi n ium A llo y s a re l i g hwe ig ht , t he same s t re ng t h c a n b e a c hi ev e d wit h ro ugh l y ha l f the we ig ht o f stee l . A s a re s ult , the y h a v e be o c me e sse nt ia l f o r m a k ing the trans po r a t io n a n d a uto mo t iv e indus t r i e s mo re e ffic e nt . T he p roce s s o f e xt r a c t in g a l u mi n ium f ro m it s o re i s v e r y e ne rg y i n te ns iv e a nd it is muc h mo re e ffic ie nt t o re ycl e.

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Availability Durability Recyclability Biodegradable Good

Bad

glass environmental impact T he re a re s e v e r a l typ e s o f g la s s i n c l u ding s o da l i me , le a d a lk a li, b orosilic a t e , a l u mi n o s ilic a t e a nd g l ass c e r a mic . E a c h g ro up ha s it s o wn d i sti nc it iv e pro pe r t i e s , wh i ch v a r y a c c o rdin g to the m a nufa c t ure r.

In mo s t c a s e s t he i n g re die nt s a re mi xed, me lt e d a nd the n fo r me d int o fi ni she d pro duc t s in a c o nti n uo us pro c e s s .

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Availability Durability Recyclability Biodegradable Good

Bad

pulp, paper and board Fresh f o re s t f ibre s a re used i n t he pro duc t i o n o f p a pe r a nd bo a rd .

Co mpa re d t o re c y cl e d p u l p , v irg in pulp is l i g hte r, s t iffe r a nd of kno wn c o mpo s it io n .

T he se c ha r a c t e r is t i c s ma ke it pre fe r a ble for a pplic a t io ns tha t de ma nd hig h p erfo r m a nc e a nd c l ea n c o mpo s it io n.

Hi gh qua lit y, l i g hweig ht pa c k a g in g b oards c o ns um e f e w e r

re s o u rc e s , d e c re a s e s t ra n s p o rt a t i o n v o l u m e s a n d p ro d u c e l e s s w a s t e . I n a d d i t o n, u s i n g b o a rd w i t h h i g h b e n d i n g s t i ff n e s s a n d c o m p re s s i v e s t re n g t h maintains the quality of the packaging t h ro u g h t ra n s p o rt a t i o n t o t h e c o n s u m e r.

environmental impact

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Availability Durability Recyclability Biodegradable Good

Bad

plant fibres environmental impact Used t o m a k e hig h q u a l ty a nd t e c hnic al te xti l e s f o r fa s hio n, p ac ka g ing , upho ls t e ry a nd b io c o m po s it e s, veg ta ble c e llulo s ic fi b res a re na t ur a l, re ne wa ble a nd stron g . T he me t ho d s o f fa rm ing a nd p rod uc t io n a re c r it i c a l to e ns ur ing a po s it i v e e nvi ro nme nt a l impac t .

Pl ant fibre s , a ls o re ferred t o a s v e g t ab l e fi b res, a re

c o m p ro m i s e d m a i n l y of cellulose and d e ri v e d f ro m s e e d s or stems of cultivated c ro p s . H e m p i s f a s t g rw o i n g a s a h i g h

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Availability Durability Recyclability Biodegradable Good

Bad

injection molding bioplastic Bi op l as t ic s a re used as a dire c t re p l a c m e nt fo r c o nvent ia l pe t ro le u m b ased pla s t ic s in thi s ver s a t ile m a s s p rod uc t io n pro c e s s .

T he re a re m a ny t y p e s o f b i o ing re die nt s t h a t a re us e d a t diffe re n t c o nc e nt r a t io n le v e l s , from a s ma ll a m o un t to 100% , de pe nding o n the re quir me nt s o f the a pplic a t io n. Bio b ased m a t e r ia ls a re

d e ri v e d f ro m re n e w a b l e s o u rc e s .

This uses 20% to 3 0 % l e s s e n e rg y a n d re s u l t s i n u p t o 8 5 % l o w e r c a rb o n emissions than in t h e p ro d u c t i o n o f p e t ro l e u m b a s e d plastics. They can be compostable or b i o d e g ra d a b l e , w h i c h m e a n s t h e y a re b ro k e n d o w n i n t o c a rb o n dioxide, water and biomass.

environmental impact

Energy Resources Pollution Waste Good

Bad

other necessary information

Visual Quality Speed Set up cost Unit cost Good

Bad

100% recycled paper