Page 169 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

148 Cha pte r Ei g h t

embossed labels. If discrete labels are necessary, it is best to
avoid printed labels or to use compatible inks. Discrete labels
can be manufactured from the same material as the base part
and attached without use of adhesives.
• Convert wastes into by-products—with changes in both envi-
ronmental awareness and economics, many materials that
have traditionally been sent to landfill are being recycled. For
example, as described in Chapter 18, utilities are increasingly
marketing fly ash from boilers as an additive in construction
materials. Regional networks are beginning to emerge where
companies deliberately work together to find new uses for
their manufacturing residuals (see Advanced Resource Recov-
ery at the end of this chapter).
• Design for waste incineration—the last resort in the pollu-
tion prevention hierarchy, as an alternative to waste disposal,
is conversion of waste to energy through incineration. Waste-
to-energy facilities can be found in many parts of the United
States that incinerate municipal solid waste, biomass (e.g.,
wood chips), or other wastes (e.g., automotive tires, railroad
ties, utility poles) to generate steam and produce energy in
the form of electricity. Hazardous wastes are typically not
accepted for conversion to energy.
Example: Discarded automobile tires, which used to sit in unsightly
and hazardous refuse heaps, are now being recycled into a large
variety of applications. In 2005, nearly 87% of the all scrap tires in
the United States were utilized in one way or another. The major
applications of scrap tires include fuel in cement production, power
plants, and waste-to-energy incinerators; shredded tire applications
in civil engineering, such as construction of lightweight backfill
and leachate collection systems; and utilization of ground rubber
in asphalt production, artificial turf production, molded products,
and tire retreading.