The indirect emissions were mostly from the electricity use in the factories. This break-even point will change depending on the category of environmental impact being considered. BIC Comfort 3 Refillable Three-Blade Disposable Razors for Men, Sensitive Skin Razor for a Comfortable Shave, 1 Handle and 12 Cartridges With 3 Blades, 13 Piece Razor Kit. However, it is fairly easy to find what the disposable razors components are made of, due to its simplicity. The life cycle assessment results shown here allow clinicians and health care administrators to understand the balance between direct benefits of a given LMA choice to local patient care and the environmental and human health impacts of that choice that occur far from the operating room. 15 - 21 Our group recently performed a life cycle assessment of anesthetic drug trays, finding that reusable trays were both environmentally and . The razors are mainly made of plastic, so they will be decomposing at a very slow rate in the landfill. When designing a product for circularity it is often difficult to know where to begin. They also reported how they dealt with their non-hazardous waste 76 percent was recycled, 11 percent incineration with energy recovery, 10 percent was sent to land disposal, and the remaining 3 percent was sent off for a different treatment (For You for Everyone Registration Document). Cited Here. If you count the actual razor cover (if you haven't lost it long ago) then it will be four pieces for recycling. Amersfoort, The Netherlands: Product Ecology (PR) Consultants, 2011, 11. Poly(Phenylene Oxide). The Polymer Science Learning Center, www.pslc.ws/macrog/ppo.htm. To compile a detailed life cycle inventory of the environmental burdens Anyone can send in razors of any kind, and the plastic and cardboard packaging as well. Gillette Razor Local Recycling Solutions.TerraCycle, www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/gillette-local-recycling. Despite its ability to be recycled, it often ends up in the landfill as many people dont know how to properly recycle it, people are too lazy to recycle, or the plastics arent labeled properly (Polypropylene. Wikipedia). Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) Hazard Summary. It is at this stage that very small amounts of other metals such as iron, silicon, and chromium may be added to the carbide to increase its strength and durability. Health care facilities can decrease their environmental impacts by using reusable LMAs, by selecting disposable LMA models that are not made of certain plastics, and by ordering in bulk from local distributors. The sheets are then cut out using a process called die stamping, using a tool called a die stamp which is a special, one-of-a-kind precision tool that cuts and forms sheet metal into a desired shape or profile, where the blades are die stamped at a rate of 800-1,200 strokes a minute into the desired shape and size (Hedrick, Die Basics 101: Intro to Stamping.). All of these equipment-related cases occurred before the routine implementation of sterilization procedures currently used in health care facilities. Buy Now. The next step in the process is the assembly of all the parts. 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 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. Sustainable Development Report. An LCA is an accounting of the inputs and outputs for a product system, beginning with extraction of raw materials from the earth and continuing through all of the steps of transportation, manufacturing, product fabrication, product use, and end-of-life, which may include reuse, recycling . Comparison of the single use and reusable intubating laryngeal mask airway. LCA is the most common tool for quantifying the environmental effects associated with a product, process, or service's entire life (Baumann and Tillman 2004).LCA was performed in accordance with the international standards of the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 . London Life-cycle assessment stages The final product is then gathered and prepared to go through the final step which is the packaging of razors. 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). The number of times an LMA is reused is a particularly uncertain assumption, because there have been reports of premature disposal.16 Use in excess of the manufacturer recommended 40 times has also been reported,17 and 100 to 200 uses appears to be possible with proper handling and preuse checks.1821 Here, 10, 20, 30, 60, 80, and 100 cycles are considered as alternative assumptions. Alternate assumptions were used to test model sensitivity and to create bounds to aid interpretation of the results (Table 2). qILL@#nO @8 BIC put out a report detailing how they deal with the waste from their factories. This is shown through their commitment to their eco-design process and new recycling programs that are undergoing testing. The metal must be mined and extracted from the mountain causing an emission of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases (Wang). Production of razor blades across the industry is fairly standard. What Is Tungsten Carbide or Hard Metal? AZoM.com, 2 Aug. 2009, https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=4827. Whereas transportation has a relatively significant GHG impact for the disposable LMAs, by comparison the transportation of reusable LMAs has little impact on GHG emissions, because 40 disposable LMAs must be shipped to provide an equivalent function to 1 reusable LMA. Sets Strategy to End 'Staggering' Garbage Crisis.The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Sept. 1988, www.nytimes.com/1988/09/23/us/epa-sets-strategy-to-end-staggering-garbage-crisis.html. And then there's the water. . Certain practices would further reduce the environmental impacts of reusable LMAs, such as increasing the number of devices autoclaved in a single cycle to 10 (25% GHG emissions) and improving the energy efficiency of the autoclaving machines by 10% (8% GHG emissions). Overall, while the materials for disposable razors are few, and the products basic design makes it appear simplistic, the products lifecycle is far from simple. Another material used is polystyrene. Dbendorf, Switzerland, 2011, 12. At every point during planning, production, and even marketing, the quantity of consumption should be analyzed to adjust business models accordingly. Sensitivity and simple life cycle cost analyses were conducted to aid in interpretation of the results. Another advantage is that the process produces a single score (Eco-Indicator Point) for the all the impacts of the product, not just individual ones for each part. Disposable razors are a product that can be found in almost any average bathroom. Features Downloads. The product fails to include proper instructions for its waste management, causing it to be disposed of, as the name suggests. There much environmentally friendly options when it comes to shavings, such as the traditional safety razor and straight razors, which can have a much longer life than disposable razors. 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. How Does Polystyrene Recycling Work?HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 4 Apr. a 4.1% (Bic). Bics direct emissions were from: a combustion of fossil fuels, primarily natural gas and fuel oil, mainly used to heat buildings. A Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable Razors. Anesth Analg 2004;99:6267, 17. At the end of applying the additives, the blades are once again heated, to cement the coating onto the blade. 2 offers from $9.92. Contrary to common expectation, hair is actually pretty hard. 2002/03 and 2005/06, to include an assessment of the effects of a range of behavioural assumptions on the life cycle environmental impacts of the reusable nappy types, and to compare these with each other and with modern disposable nappies. The number of BIC razors that are used by consumers is astounding. The metal is then quenched in water to bring it to -76 to -112 degrees Fahrenheit to harden the material (Safety Razor). Interpretation of results The last step in the process is to interpret the results and compare them against each other. Die Basics 101: Intro to Stamping. The Fabricators, 18 July 2018, www.thefabricator.com/thefabricator/article/stamping/die-basics-101-intro-to-stamping. Quantifying the Environmental Impacts of Labor. This reflects the equivalence between 40 disposable LMAs and their associated materials, waste, and 40 uses of 1 reusable LMA. Safety Assessment of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) Released from PVC Medical Devices. In BIC factories they pride themselves in producing a quality product, so the blades go through a series of highly precise visual inspections with cameras which help with rejecting blades that do not meet BIC standards (Case Studies) After that they go through visual inspection is done be BIC employees to reject any blades that the cameras were not rejected by the inspection camera system, the blades are then send off to be coated and burned. Polypropylene. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypropylene. But this is expected from a large brand like Gillette. 1. The main causes of the reusable LMA's environmental impacts are the steam used in the autoclave sterilizing machine and, to a lesser extent, the wastewater generated from washing the LMAs. The second component of the razor is the plastic body which is made of a fairly inexpensive plastic called polystyrene. Finally, the assessment will be carried out on the new design to assess if it has a lower impact than the other options analysed. The steps in LCA are (1) goal and scope definition, (2) life cycle inventory analysis (LCI), (3) life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), and (4) interpretation of the results. 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). Safety Razor. How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. However, the viability of the disposable razor is always thrown into question because of the sheer amount of resources that it expends. It has been assumed that the packaging contains cardboard, even though it has been made from other natural fibres like bamboo, as there is no info on those materials in the Eco-Indicator tables. To aid in solving this issue, I believe consumers should stray away from wasteful disposable razors and be encouraged to go with more sustainable and longer lasting options such as classic safety razors. Disposable BIC razors are hollow and made using injection molding, but making the razors hollow is only possible because of the fluid nature of polystyrene (The Bic Razor, Still the Sharpest of the Bunch.). They are resins that maintain a high dimensional stability, which helps create fast and cheap plastic razor handles (Safety Razor). How One Company Keeps Used Razors Out Of Oceans.Green Matters, Green Matters, 25 Sept. 2017, www.greenmatters.com/news/2017/09/25/Z1oInGt/razors-ocean. Wolters Kluwer Health All of these software packages and models are in widespread use by life cycle assessment practitioners in the US and internationally. The largest difference in environmental impacts is seen in the impact category of carcinogenesis, in which reusable LMAs cause 5% of the impacts of disposable LMAs. Redesigning the Razor Life Cycle Assessment.The Great Recovery, www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/3682/. Finally, the need for manual labor in the cleaning process of reusable LMAs contributed to the costs of these LMAs. Overall, reusable LMAs were found to have fewer negative environmental effects in nearly all categories, typically contributing <50% of the impacts of disposable LMAs. In this paper, this will be exactly what we will discuss, from what materials go into making a disposable razor and how they are made, to what happens to it after its tossed out, and all the energy and waste that is used and expelled throughout its lifecycle. This short course will give you an introduction to life cycle assessment (LCA) methods and how to apply them in real-life situations.. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a rapidly evolving tool used to determine impacts of products or systems over a range of environmental and resource issues. Facilities that select reusable devices should implement inventory and operating procedures that ensure that devices are reused to the greatest possible extent. More immediate levels of waste, however, happen during the processing of disposable razors before they are even brought to the buyer and the landfill. a Centers for Disease Control. After the end of their recommended lifetime, reusable LMAs were also placed in municipal solid waste containers. Tungsten Carbide. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_carbide. The metal and plastic components of the cartridges will be assembled, where they will then go to the next station where the blades will be inserted. A Comparison Life Cycle Assessment between Razor Blade and Electric Shaver. Dec. 2012. Several waste management scenarios were also considered, including 100% landfilling and 100% incineration, because practices are highly location dependent. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) measures the impact of products on the environment. Case Studies. Case Studies : Reducing BIC's Rejection Rates | KEYENCE America, www.keyence.com/solutions/case-studies/bic.jsp. 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. How One Facility Completely Eliminated the Use of TCE Schick Razor Blade Manufacturing in Knoxville, Tennessee. 2017. Individually autoclaving the reusable LMA (because of stock shortages, for example) increased life cycle GHG emissions by >400%, whereas loading with 10 LMAs per cycle decreased emissions by nearly 25%. E-LCA is a time tested assessment technique that evaluates environmental performance throughout the life cycle of a product or from performing a service. Life Cycle Impact Assessment is the estimation of indicators of the environmental pressures in terms of e.g. To make the handle and cartridges, these various plastics are heated together and melted together along with optional colorants and various filler materials. Phoenix: IEEE, 2008, 23. Disposable razors are made up of three components: a hollowed plastic handle, the razor blade, and the plastic head of the razor that holds the blade (Safety Razor). There are land, air, and water-based transportation methods. This means, of the 2 billion razors disposed of annually within the United States, each razor will be on the planet longer than the people who used them. 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. In this case it was very difficult to see what materials the product contained and exactly how it was manufactured (as the big manufacturing companies wouldnt disclose this information), so some of the data had to be assumed. Bic did have an increase in non-hazardous waste due to: expansion work or renovation of buildings or development of new products and manufacturing equipment (For You For Everyone: Registration Document, Bic) For carbon footprint assessments for large companies, they are assessed on direct (scope 1) emissions and indirect (scope 2) emissions of greenhouse gases. After getting the sharpened blade they are coated with a thin film to allows them to not lose sharpness after only a few shaves (Manufacturing Processes). These steps are not necessarily conducted in succession, but iteratively. Siddle, Dave. %%EOF Manufacturing Processes (RAZOR): KAI FACTORY: KAI Group.KAI FACTORY | KAI Group, www.kai-group.com/global/en/kai-factory/process/razor/. Figueredo E. Changes in the intracuff pressure of the laryngeal masks airway caused by repeated use. LeBlanc, Rick. For You for Everyone Registration Document. 11,772. An exact number for the energy use for BIC was not obtained. 39 ($0.37/Count) FREE delivery Thu, Mar 2 on $25 of items shipped by Amazon. Anesthesia & Analgesia114(5):1067-1072, May 2012. Razor blades dull quickly after repeated use, and are recommended to be used only three to ten times, making them a cheap alternative to reusable cartridges. A combination of transportation methods is used depending on where the product needs to go. The majority (77%) of life cycle CO2e emissions for the reusable LMA is from natural gas production and combustion to produce steam for the autoclave machine. Direct emissions refer to any emissions that resulted from the burning of fossil fuels and Indirect emissions refer to any emissions that resulted from the generation of electricity. There are various ways that the product can get there. Criteria for the selection and purchase of medical devices typically include safety for patients and staff, efficacy and ease of use, and purchase and handling prices. Cargo planes and other transport aircraft use jet fuel which produces 135,000 BTU per gallon (Energy Consumption by Mode of Transportation.). Its aim is a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact of products and services. Get new journal Tables of Contents sent right to your email inbox, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cjd/qa_cjd_infection_control.htm, Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Laryngeal Mask Airways, Articles in PubMed by Matthew Eckelman, PhD, Articles in Google Scholar by Matthew Eckelman, PhD, Other articles in this journal by Matthew Eckelman, PhD, May 2012 - Environment and Anesthesia Practice, A Comparison of Reusable and Disposable Perioperative Textiles: Sustainability State-of-the-Art 2012, Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Anesthetic Drugs, Environmental and Occupational Considerations of Anesthesia: A Narrative Review and Update, Global Warming Potential of Inhaled Anesthetics: Application to Clinical Use, A Survey of Anesthesiologists' Views of Operating Room Recycling, Privacy Policy (Updated December 15, 2022), International Anesthesia Research Society. 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). In the case of the disposable razor however, it is fairly simple due to its nature. The blades, which are made from a carbide steel made using tungsten carbide, the handle, which is made from a combination of plastics such as polypropylene, polystyrene, and phenylene oxide (PPO), and the cartridge, which is made up of these plastics and sometimes the carbide steel as well (Safety Razor, madehow.com). To begin the process of making tungsten carbide, the tungsten must first be extracted. Reducing Trichloroethylene (TCE) Waste in the Fabricated Metals Sector.EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 9 Aug. 2016, www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/reducing-trichloroethylene-tce-waste-fabricated-metals-sector. 2006 have considered a process water flow of 10,000 m3/day for a time period of 15 years (system design life) as the function unit used in order to compare the different wastewater treatment processes . 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. LCA is a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service. SimaPro is our flagship product: life cycle assessment software that gives sustainability experts, product designers and decision-makers the power to gain insight into the environmental performance of products and services, to define hotspots and to drive positive change. Anaesth Intensive Care 2004;32:5304, 4. J Clin Anesth 1997;9:432, 20. 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. LCA can be used to compare alternative products, processes or services; compare alternative life cycles for a certain product . Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2002, 26. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. On the basis of manufacturer information and density testing, the materials used in the 2 LMAs were identified and their compositions measured using a microgram scale (Table 1). The original LMA was a reusable device (Intavent International SA, Henley-on-Thames, UK). 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. Reusable LMAs in general appear to be made largely of silicone, lacking these same concerns for PVC/DEHP. 3. 45. A life-cycle inventory of cloth and disposable diapers was conducted based on diapering habits in Canada The parameters evaluated were energy consumption, water consumption, raw materials 15 Crop water use and water use efficiency on irrigated cotton farms in Australia S. Tennakoon, S. Milroy Environmental Science 2003 93 761 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[]/Index[748 22]/Info 747 0 R/Length 72/Prev 421064/Root 749 0 R/Size 770/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream Contribution: This author helped design the study and prepare the manuscript. This is where most of the complexity of an LCA is involved. Safety Razor.How Products Are Made, www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Safety-Razor.html. What Is Polystyrene? Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2009;53:6878, 19. BIC says its product beats out other models by 59 percent. There is uncertainty in several model assumptions. Disposable razors are designed for consumers that prefer minimum spending . Its an extremely strong and durable metal compound, making it perfect for the use of razor blades (Siddle, How Is Tungsten Carbide Formed?; Tungsten Carbide. Wikipedia.org). Camera visual inspection is performed and This is all to ensure BICs quality standards are being met and ensure a quality product. With the recommended use of three to ten uses for disposable razors, they quickly end up in the landfill to decompose. The studies have not found it to be harmful to drinking water, or public safety, however, it is an ongoing research of soil data that continues. For You For Everyone: Registration Document.Bic World, Bic, 2016, www.bicworld.com/sites/default/files/2017-03/BIC_DRF2016_EN.pdf. This is based on our Life Cycle Inventory flows from phase 2. Recommendations for Infection Control for the Practice of Anesthesiology. 1982, www.nytimes.com/1982/04/11/business/how-bic-lost-the-edge-to-gillette.html. One of their most popular products is the disposable razor, which they started to manufacture in 1975. Two Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methodologies were employed using SimaPro software 51,52 to calculate the environmental impacts of manufacturing both the plastic and compostable coffee . Disposable razors are a commonly used item for most Americans, and over two billion razors are thrown away every year in the United States (Shabecoff). But what really goes into making one of these seemingly mundane disposable razors and what happens to it after its tossed in the trash? There could be hundreds of different sources for their materials. BIC has done their best to deal with waste in an environmentally conscious manner. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely-used technique to comprehensively assess the impacts of a product or a process on the environment and acts as an effective tool in gauging the. In conclusion, disposable razors are being used and thrown away at a rate that is unsustainable for the finite space on the planet. The GTG LCIs are added together to give a cradle-to-gate (CTG) life cycle inventory . Swiss Center for Life Cycle Inventories. The stability of the plastic components, while necessary for shelf stability and use, takes longer than one persons life-span to decompose. A comparative cradle to grave life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to determine and analyze the environmental impacts of using disposable acrylic speculums versus using reusable stainless-steel speculums in a women's university health clinic where around 5,000 pelvic exams are conducted on a yearly basis. A SYSTEMATIC METHODOLOGY FOR ACCURATE DESIGN-STAGE ESTIMATION OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION FOR INJECTION MOLDED PARTS. Teoh W, Lim Y. The tracking can come from sales, and in 2018 more than $1.2 billion in disposable razors were sold in the U.S., with varying prices but many disposables costing less than $1 each (Olsen). Put the blades in the steel recycling section. A 2005 analysis published by U.K. It has been assumed that the only part recycled at the end of life is the packaging. Chu L, Mathur P, Trudell J, Brock-Utne J. 5.Interpret and analyse the results. A complete life cycle cost analysis would complement the life cycle assessment results shown here; however, a simple analysis reveals that, assuming full utilization, a $200 reusable LMA costs $5 per use, plus $3 per cleaning for a unit cost of $8, excluding utility and hospital overhead costs. 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. Comparison of disposable and reusable laryngeal mask airways in spontaneously ventilating adult patients. Please enable scripts and reload this page. 11 / Piece. The use of LCA to introduce life-cycle thinking into decision-making for the purchase of medical devices in the NHS. After the products are packaged, there has to be a way for them to get to the end consumer. Anaesth Intensive Care 2010;38:538, 9. The largest source of GHG emissions for the disposable LMAs (23%) is the production and polymerization of PVC, the main material constituent. 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. The tables didnt contain values for welding steel, so it has been assumed that the value is close to welding aluminium which is in the table. This is done on an assembly line by the robotic arm the inserts the razor blade into the small crevices in the plastic body. The next step the blade goes through is called polishing in which is done using strops made out of cowhide to get the desired blade edge shape, the blade is then cut into the sizes of the individual blades, which are then sent off to be inspected. In phase 3, we evaluate how significant the impacts are. Complete with an ergonomic shaped non-slip rubber handle for great control and maneuverability and easy rinse blades for 100% better rinsing (vs . The designed short user-time of disposable razors, causes their life cycle to be spent mostly in the landfill where they will remain for hundreds of years due to non-biodegradable plastic, however, recycling the plastic and steel is possible if sent to specific recycling facilities, which could reduce the life cycle and negative impact on the environment. The laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was introduced into clinical use in the late 1980s and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the US in 1991. BIC reported that every year around 2.6 billion of their razors are chosen by consumers every year (Shaver's). In this paper, many details about the life cycle stages were not included. 3. Int Anesthesiol Clin 2010;48:139, 24. Approximately 24 L/min of water are used by the autoclave for cooling, for a total of 960 L of water needed to sterilize an LMA 40 times. LCA is a standardized, science-based tool for quantifying the impact in order to assess lifetime environmental impact. Once extracted, the tungsten is then shipped to a desired location for it to be manufactured into the metal compound. For me, I had a few extra bits of plastic that I snapped off because they . The remaining percentage is split up between energy consumption in their three facilities in: Clichy (France), Shelton (U.S.), and Cajamar (Brazil) (For You For Everyone: Registration Document, Bic). HUO0NpnaJd@"&u[kj-+8=WU\*w)OMYb_ry> 1F3 nyNnb 0 Contribution: This author helped conduct the study and analyze the data.