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Recycle Everything - Why We Must, How We Can
- 1. Recycle EVERYTHING? Here’s how… Can we really Yes, we can.
- 2. Recycling Everything 2 • See what’s needed to make it happen • Jettison current assumptions that prevent change • Take a trip into the world of industry and science • Explore breakthrough ideas
- 3. Introduction 3 Janet Unruh Institute for Material Sustainability www.rebk.org Portland, Oregon
- 4. Vita • Instructional designer 25 years • Manufacturing industry 10 years • Masters of Engineering and Technology Management, Portland State University 2002 • Author, Recycle Everything— Why We Must, How We Can • Passion for the Earth and its ecosystems 4
- 5. My Journey • ETM program • Designing and optimizing systems • Re-ignited interest in sustainability • Searched for sustainable systems • Didn’t find any • Decided to design some • Finally wrote book 5
- 6. 6 This is one book that talks about systems for recycling everything. Read this book, then read my book! Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
- 7. We’re Going to Pick Up Where the Story Left Off 7Annie Leonard, Story of Stuff
- 8. 8 But first, a quick review of the situation.
- 9. End Stage 9
- 11. Raw Materials Problems for Industry 11
- 12. Cost of Raw Materials 12 Ups and downs over the past five years
- 13. Can Materials Keep On Flowing? • Impacts on supply • Price fluctuations and speculation • Decreasing quality, lower grades • More technology and fuel needed for extraction • Resources in conflict areas or unfriendly countries • Sudden increase in demand from multiple industries • War—weapons, bombs, vehicles, materiel • Dependency on oil and petrochemicals 13
- 14. 14 How much do we have left of the world’s resources?
- 15. Earth's natural wealth: an audit • Dr. Armin Reller at the University of Augsburg in Germany • Dr. Thomas Graedel at Yale University • Data from the US Geological Survey's annual reports • UN statistics on global population 15
- 16. Earth's natural wealth: an audit 16 For a closer look at this graphic, check my website… http://www.recycle everything book.org/sb.html
- 17. 17 We’re going to run out of Indium in 4 to 13 years???
- 18. 18 ‘Short-term shortages have periodically occurred because global production and usage are so finely balanced.’ (We can hardly produce it fast enough to keep up with demand.) ‘However, these shortages have historically been corrected by increasing refining capacity and ultimately supply.’ (We’re taking care of the problem by expanding our ability to produce it faster and in greater quantities.)
- 19. Resource Wars 19 Thesis: as resources become depleted, countries will go to war to obtain them.
- 20. 20 Recycling is an urgent matter. For industry, too.
- 21. 21 The burden of recycling falls on consumers, local governments and concerned non- profits, all of whom are at the end of the process.
- 22. What Do We Mean by RECYCLING? • Upcycling • Downcycling • Freecycling • Blended recycling • ‘Real’ recycling 22
- 23. 23 Upcycling is defined as using every aspect of waste as value. Upcycling
- 24. Downcycling 24 Used products are made into something else of lesser value, such as filler or fuel. After the second use, they are discarded. Examples: • Plastic milk jugs made into insulated coat filler • Used running shoes made into rubber flooring • Used tires made into sandals
- 25. Freecycling 25 Used products are given away or traded at swap-meets.
- 26. Blended Recycling Examples • Recycled steel • Recycled aluminum • Recycled paper 26 Materials from used products are processed with the addition of new, raw materials to bolster their quality.
- 27. (‘Real’) Recycling Recycling is defined as extracting the materials that make a product to make a new product using those same materials. This is the one we’ll focus on in this presentation. 27
- 28. 28 Goal: recycle materials in cars, trucks, airplanes, furniture, vinyl siding, plastic dishware, electronics, washers and dryers, microwave ovens, lawnmowers, toys, buildings—everything.
- 29. 29 Can we reuse these materials to make the same or similar products countless times into the future? I believe the answer is YES!
- 30. What Would It Take To Recycle Everything? • Sustainable Systems • Recyclable Materials • Design for Disassembly • New Mindset • People 30 Next
- 31. 31 Let’s look at the current linear production-consumption system…
- 32. Raw Materials Extractors 32 Mining, agriculture, logging, dairy and feedlots Raw Materials Extractors
- 33. Primary Processors 33 Raw Materials Extractors Ingots of metal, bags of rice, tanks of chemicals Primary Processors
- 34. Parts Suppliers 34 Raw Materials Extractors Primary Processors New parts and assemblies for a variety of products Parts Suppliers
- 35. Producers 35 Raw Materials Extractors Primary Processors Parts Suppliers Finished goods of all types Producers
- 36. Distributors, Retail Outlets 36 Raw Materials Extractors Primary Processors Parts Suppliers Producers Distributors and retail outlets Distributors, Retail Outlets
- 38. Landfill Operators 38 Raw Materials Extractors Primary Processors Parts Suppliers Producers Distributors, Retail Outlets Landfills, incineration, pollution and waste dumps Consumers Landfill Operators
- 40. Take-back Laws 40 Raw Materials Extractors Primary Processors Parts Suppliers Producers Distributors, Retail Outlets Consumers Landfill Operators Producers don’t know what to do with the stuff, either.
- 41. Once a thing can be imagined, it can be engineered.
- 42. Reforming the System • Slowing it down • Decreasing the amount 42 Efforts to reform the current production- consumption system focus on reducing the flow of materials through the system by: How about redesigning the system?
- 43. How to Redesign this System? 43 Raw Materials Extractors Primary Processors Parts Suppliers Producers Distributors, Retail Outlets Consumers Landfill Operators • Add a couple of other roles and form a circle… • Eliminate the beginning and the end stages. xx • Modify some of the roles. Materials Reprocessors Distributors, Collectors
- 44. 44 Materials Processor New Parts Supplier Producer Distributor / Collector Consumer Disassembler Used Parts Broker System for Material Sustainability
- 45. This Is It — the Cyclical System That Others Have Talked About 45
- 46. 46 Materials Processor New Parts Supplier Producer Distributor / Collector Consumer Disassembler Used Parts Broker How does it work?
- 47. 47 New Parts Supplier Producer Distributor / Collector Consumer Disassembler Used Parts Broker Materials Processor The Materials Processor: • No longer processes raw materials • Re-processes recyclable materials
- 48. Materials Processor 48 Distributor / Collector Consumer Disassembler Used Parts Broker New Parts Supplier Producer These roles don’t change much, except the producer re-uses parts from used products.
- 49. New Parts Supplier Producer Materials Processor 49 Consumer Disassembler Used Parts Broker Distributor / Collector The Distributor: • Takes on the additional role of the collector • Leases products to consumers • Tests used products and leases them to secondary markets
- 50. Distributor / Collector New Parts Supplier Producer Materials Processor 50 Disassembler Used Parts Broker Consumer Consumers lease products instead of buying them.
- 51. Consumer Distributor / Collector New Parts Supplier Producer Materials Processor 51 Used Parts Broker Disassembler The Disassembler: • Disassembles used products • Sends reusable parts to producer • Sends parts that can’t be re- used to: • Used Parts Broker • Materials Processor
- 52. Disassembler Consumer Distributor / Collector New Parts Supplier Producer Materials Processor 52 The Used Parts Broker: • Sells used parts to new parts suppliers and producers • Sells non-usable parts to materials processor Used Parts Broker
- 53. 53 Materials Processor New Parts Supplier Producer Distributor / Collector Consumer Disassembler Used Parts Broker System for Material Sustainability
- 54. Big Changes • Extraction phases out • Landfills stop growing • Consumers don’t own products; they lease them • Producers own materials and track them throughout the cycle • New jobs in collection, disassembly and re-sale of used products • The production-consumption system becomes sustainable 54
- 55. The Interface Story • Ray Anderson, CEO • Experienced an epiphany when he read Paul Hawken's, "The Ecology of Commerce" • Mission Zero • Recycling carpet 55 • http://www.interfaceflooring.com/
- 57. Organic Systems • Lumber, crops, orchards, livestock, fishing • Rate of harvest limited by rate of regrowth • Used products routed through compost 57 • Organic and inorganic materials kept separate in products
- 58. What Would It Take To Recycle Everything? 58 • Sustainable Systems • Recyclable Materials • Design for Disassembly • New Mindset • People Next P
- 59. 59 Recyclable materials are critical to recycling everything. We have to back up all the way to the molecules.
- 60. Innovations in Material Science • NOVA’s series, Making Materials on PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making- stuff.html • MIT’s Technology Review http://www.technologyreview.com/ • Discover magazine http://discovermagazine.com/ • New Scientist http://www.newscientist.com/ 60 These links are on my website at… http://www.recycle everything book.org/sb.html
- 61. A Few Examples • Polymers that mend themselves • Two-dimensional graphene • Artificial diamonds, rubies • Morphing materials 61 Japanese scientists create world’s hardest artificial diamond http://www.topnews.in/ Even more amazing…
- 62. Quantum Dots • Artificial atoms • Up to 50 times larger than a natural atom • Can simulate the properties of any element on the periodic table— by attracting / releasing additional electrons • Hacking Matter, by Wil McCarthy 62 Lin-Wang Wang Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_dots
- 63. Programmable Matter 63 Wikipedia or other reference
- 64. 64 If science can create materials like these, why can’t they create recyclable materials? They probably can.
- 65. What Is a ‘Recyclable’ Material? • No waste • No need for additives • Perpetually recyclable • Usable for same or similar purpose 65 SOLID NON- SOLID
- 66. Requirements Are the Key Requirements: • Durable • Washable • Wear-resistant • Black • 100% recyclable 66 Need: a hard plastic to serve as a housing for laptops, TVs, stereos, Netbooks, iPads, Kindles, etc.
- 67. How It Works in Industry 67 Material engineering Reprocessing plan (requirements) Facilities and equipment Product design Examples of reprocessing methods…
- 68. Reprocessing Methods: • Programmable matter • Temperature change • Melting • Freezing • Electro-magnetism • Microwaves • Mechanical • Shredding 68
- 69. 69 Result Technology reprocesses: • Circuit boards • Electric cables • Aluminum alloys • Electronic scrap • Compound foils Shreds, spins ??
- 70. What Would It Take To Recycle Everything? 70 Next • Sustainable Systems • Recyclable Materials • Design for Disassembly • New Mindset • People P P
- 71. Design for Disassembly 71 Material engineering Disassembly plan (requirements) Facilities and equipment Product design
- 72. Disassembly Requirements • Disassembly process must be easy and fast • All joins between parts must be reversible • Parts must be designed to be recoverable and reusable • Parts must be designed to have separable materials (for material reprocessing) • Disassembly and reuse must be cost-effective 72
- 74. 74
- 75. What Would It Take To Recycle Everything? 75 Next • Sustainable Systems • Recyclable Materials • Design for Disassembly • New Mindset • People P P P
- 76. Mindset • Resources are finite and must be managed • Everyone adapts to a closed system for handling materials • Consumers do not own products • Producers own materials and track them 76
- 77. What Would It Take To Recycle Everything? 77 Next • Sustainable Systems • Recyclable Materials • Design for Disassembly • New Mindset • People P P P P
- 78. 78 People & Institute for Material Sustainability Who or what is the Institute?
- 79. Institute for Material Sustainability • Non-profit organization • Early stages • Goal is to work with industry • Get systems for material sustainability up and running ASAP 79
- 80. Mission 80 The mission of the Institute for Material Sustainability is to help industries make the transition to systems for material sustainability. of 34
- 81. Vision Collaborative effort to: • Develop 100% recyclable materials for industry • Design products using these new materials and new processes for material recovery • Construct working models of systems for material sustainability • Establish a consulting agency to work with industry to co-develop and implement these systems 81
- 82. First Major Goal Set up and run a full system test • Recyclable materials • Product designs • Assembly and disassembly plans • Product test plans • Facilities and equipment • Expertise • Funding 82of 34
- 83. • Materials engineering • Computer simulations • Systems optimization • Requirements engineering • Lean manufacturing • Product design • Process design 83 An Appeal We are looking for people who can help with… • Assembly and disassembly • Equipment and facilities design • Finance • Business consulting • Website design • Funding, fiscal sponsorship
- 84. 84 A few final thoughts…
- 85. Jobs for Now and the Future • Materials engineering • Product design and engineering – Disassembly for product design – Disassembly equipment, facilities, systems • Logistics system design and optimization • Computer simulations • Financial analysis • Policy-making • Production • Many more 85
- 86. Reasons for Optimism • Climate change and rapid evolution • Accelerated innovation • Crisis and opportunity • Attitude 86
- 87. Help Make Some Noise Challenge: • Write emails to 5 news outlets, blogs, listservs (copy Janet) • Text provided on website (see link, below*) • Get free PDF of book Get PDF for $6 donation Print copy, $10 at book table, normally $12.95 87*http://www.recycle everything book.org/sb.html
- 88. Feedback, Questions 88 http://www.recycle everything book.org/sb.html
Editor's Notes
- DESIGN--need to add this one to the website We’re going to talk about what’s needed to make it happen
- How many of you are familiar with…? Explain how this presentation is going to pick up the story where Story of Stuff and Cradle to Cradle left off…
- Rhodium $2500 per ounce as of last September http://discovermagazine.com/2010/sep/11-elements
- Note that they didn’t say anything about reserves and how long they will last.
- DESIGN--need to add this one to the website
- Keywords: sustainability, green business, ecology, environment, manufacturing, story of stuff, cradle to cradle.
- No starting-point or end.
- How many of you are familiar with…? Explain how this presentation is going to pick up the story where Story of Stuff and Cradle to Cradle left off…
- No starting-point or end.
- Explain how materials travel between these roles. This graphic is a simplification.
- DESIGN--need to add this one to the website
- Reusing materials for the same or similar purpose—not lower-grade purpose such as filler or fuel
- How do we go about obtaining recyclable materials? Materials are engineered based on requirements.
- DESIGN--need to add this one to the website
- DESIGN--need to add this one to the website
- DESIGN--need to add this one to the website