Page 142 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Design Rules and Guidelines 121

Procurement Assembly Distribution Use/Support Recovery
Reduce number • • •
of distinct parts
Simplify
component • • •
interfaces
Use similar
or compatible • •
materials
Use recyclable or • • •
recycled materials
Design for
material • •
separability
Reduce packaging • • • •
mass
Reduce mass of • • •
components
Reduce product • • • •
size and mass
Design upgradable • •
components
Design re-usable • • •
components

TABLE 8.1 Benefits at Various Life-Cycle Stages for Electronic Assemblies

These DFE guidelines are consistent with the traditional Pollu-
tion Prevention (P2) hierarchy, a series of methods for dealing with
waste streams in descending order of priority:
• Reduce the quantity of waste generated
• Reuse or reprocess the waste as an economically viable
resource
• Recycle the waste for an environmentally beneficial purpose
• Incinerate the waste to recover energy
• Dispose of the waste safely

The main difference is that P2 methods assume that the product
is already defined, and that process environmental improvements can
only be implemented after the fact. DFE offers much greater lati-
tude to designers, so that they can anticipate and prevent, reduce,
or modify the implied resource burdens and waste streams. This
enables product innovation to fundamentally change the environ-
mental footprint and supports the highest and best use of residuals
that are not incorporated into the product.