Polystyrene is not biodegradable and takes hundreds of years to break down. a Centers for Disease Control. To start the process of making the blades, tungsten carbide is melted at high temperatures. The specific type or blend of plastic for BIC razors is used is called polystyrene (Europe). All that is needed is the insertion of the razor blade into the plastic body. To compile a detailed life cycle inventory of the environmental burdens Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a process of evaluating the effects that a product has on the environment over the entire period of its life thereby increasing resource-use efficiency and decreasing liabilities. Conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): from Theory to Practical Anesthesia & Analgesia114(5):1067-1072, May 2012. BIC says its product beats out other models by 59 percent. For example, LCA results can tell us if one product is environmentally preferable to another . This is because of the complexity of the life cycle, from the acquisition of materials to the management of a product at the end of its life. What Is Polystyrene? In order to carry out the Eco-Indicator analysis method, the methodology described below has to be followed: 1.Establish the purpose of the Eco-Indicator calculations 2.Define the life-cycle 3.Quantify the materials and processes 4.Complete the form 5.Interpret and analyse the results The total amount of indirect emissions was 89,762 tonnes of carbon dioxide (For You For Everyone Registration Document). 1. How Is Tungsten Carbide Formed? Chronicle, 20 Aug. 2015, chronicle.kennametal.com/how-is-tungsten-carbide-formed/. 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). Uncertainties about the correctness of the model. Disposable and reusable nappies in the UK: life cycle assessment From:. Terracycle. To make the handle and cartridges, these various plastics are heated together and melted together along with optional colorants and various filler materials. After reaching the end of their useful lives, both LMAs and their respective packages entered waste management, which was modeled using US average statistics on recycling/composting, landfilling, and incineration.15 Although some incineration facilities also produce electricity, this credit is not included here. The metal must be mined and extracted from the mountain causing an emission of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases (Wang). Marvel Product Razor Lady Body Shaver Disposable Razore. Properly Recycle Your Disposable Razors | Leafygreen.info Anesth Analg 1993;77:1079, 21. 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. Being that it is such a common and quickly replaced product, this is is a major issue in terms of waste. Life cycle analysis takes into account the following categories: Energy consumption Water consumption Air emissions (including carbon dioxide and other global warming gases) Water emissions Generation of solid waste Highly effective in driving partnerships, public policies and projects that accelerate the shift towards a sustainable built environment. How Does Polystyrene Recycling Work?HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 4 Apr. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A Guide to Best Practice - ResearchGate There are three main components in a disposable razor. Amersfoort, The Netherlands: Product Ecology (PR) Consultants, 2011, 11. In life cycle assessment, the basis of comparison is called the functional unit. For this report, the functional unit of the disposable and reusable LMAs was taken to be maintenance of airway patency by 40 disposable LMAs or 40 uses of 1 reusable LMA. Until now, we defined what we want to measure and collect in phase 1. 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. BIC has done their best to deal with waste in an environmentally conscious manner. In this section we also need to state the assumptions made during the process: LMA North America. This means that it takes around 1 BTU to heat a 0.035-ounce razor blade to the desired temperature (Julabo et.al). Comparative environmental and human health (HH) impacts for disposable and reusable laryngeal mask airways (LMA), Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) impact assessment method. Life cycle assessment of a disposable and a reusable surgery instrument set for spinal fusion surgeries Leiden A, Cerdas F, Noriega D, Beyerlein J, Herrmann C. Life cycle assessment of a disposable and reusable surgery instrument set for spinal fusion surgeries. your express consent. Of course the 2.6 billion razors were not, all the same, however, we can still give a ballpark estimate of how many tonnes of plastic/metal waste is being produced every year. Despite the overall lower impacts of the reusable LMA, there are still several ways that its environmental profile could be improved, as suggested by the results shown in Table 2. Once all the components of the razor have been made, the components go to various stations where different tasks will be performed. Anaesthesia 2007;62:3814, 5. van Zundert AAJ, Fonck K, Al-Shaikh B, Mortier E. Comparison of the LMA-Classic with the new disposable soft seal laryngeal mask in spontaneously breathing adult patients. hbbd``b`z$k@D Packaging is an . climate change, summer smog, resource depletion, acidification, human health effects, etc. Anesthesiology 2003;99:1066, 6. When you take your blades in to the scrap metal center, choose the steel recycling bin. The processes that contribute to these emissions differ markedly between the 2 LMA devices. The company reported that with their hazardous waste in 2016 11 percent was recycled, 49 percent incinerated with energy recovery, 8 percent sent to land disposal, and 32 percent was sent off to be treated in another way (For You for Everyone Registration Document). Scope of the life cycle assessment for disposable and reusable laryngeal mask airways (LMAs). Properties: Tungsten Carbide-An Overview. AZoM.com, 25 Nov. 2019, www.azom.com/properties.aspx?ArticleID=1203. E.P.A. The backbone of LCA is the life cycle inventory (LCI), an analysis of material and energy ows resulting from all phases of the product life cycle. Terracycle is a company that was created to address the issue of recyclable products that often end up in landfills. An updated lifecycle assessment for disposable and reusable nappies Paper diapers for infants, which are highly convenient as they do not require laundering like cloth diapers, are essential for daily life in Japan. 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. Choosing models that use alternate materials is recommended, particularly because the American Medical Association is urging hospitals and health systems to reduce their use of PVC products, especially those containing DEHP.26 The shipment of LMAs by air also greatly increased overall impacts, pointing to a strategy of bulk ordering from local distributors well in advance of use, and avoiding overnight shipment whenever possible. 2. The LMA, within the heat seal pouch, was then placed in the steam autoclave sterilizing machine (Castle/Getinge MC 3522). The polypropylene is sorted during recycling using a float test that separates it from other materials based on its ability to float due to its weight, then it is often melted down and reused in other product manufacturing. For You For Everyone: Registration Document.Bic World, Bic, 2016, www.bicworld.com/sites/default/files/2017-03/BIC_DRF2016_EN.pdf. However, of the 2 billion razors disposed of annually, about 32% end up in the ocean (Kaplan). However, the LCA is not an exact science and has its limitations: Due to the nature of the disposable razor, they are usually just thrown in the trash and sent off to a landfill. Our LCA team retains its reputation as the most experienced life cycle staff in North America. 2 offers from $9.92. Here, Great Recovery Intern Sebastian de Cabo Portugal discusses Life Cycle Assessments. In this life cycle breakdown, I will be discussing what materials go into the making of disposable razors and what processes the materials go through in the operation of making a disposable razor. The biggest impact during the cartridge-based razor life-cycle is manufacturing the cartridge as this is the part which is hardest to make. The life cycle assessment software package SimaPro 7.3.2 was used to conduct our analysis.10 The majority of inventory data were drawn from the ecoinvent v2.2 life cycle inventory database.11 Impacts were assessed using the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability v4.02 impact assessment method,12 which encompasses both environmental concerns (such as climate change, acid rain and smog formation, water use, and ozone depletion) and human-health-related impacts (such as cancer and noncancer ailments and emission of criteria air pollutants). Life Cycle Assessment: Biopharma SUTs - BioProcess Anaesth Intensive Care 2010;38:538, 9. Safety Razor.How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. The plastic and steel elements of the razor can be recycled, yet, because they are so lightweight and small it makes it hard to separate in the trash and unable to be recycled normally. Recommendations for Infection Control for the Practice of Anesthesiology. Their carbon footprint was reported with the highest offender being air travel for the product, and staff transportation coming from France: accounting for 73% of the companys annual greenhouse gas emissions (Bic). For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. The study found that: Environment Agency (Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Nappies in the U.K.) investigated the impact of three diapering systems: cloth diapers with home wash, cloth diapers with commercial laundry, and disposable diapers. LeBlanc, Rick. The environmental effects of labor are often omitted from life cycle assessment studies, but are included here as part of the sensitivity analysis. LCA is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service. However, they also affirmed that they strive to make their products with an eco-design approach by using recycled materials or bioplastics in their different products (For You for Everyone Registration Document). Not all form of impacts are valued the same, so the ones with the largest impact should be tackled first in order to produce the maximum overall improvement. Goal, scope and background The industrial packages sector has great importance for the transport sector in Europe. In this paper, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used as a tool to quantify the environmental impacts of disposable medical face masks. 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). Marinella Levi. Life Cycle Assessment - Sustainability Guide