CONNECTING THE LOOP: TEACHING END-OF-LIFE DESIGN ISSUES THROUGH PRACTICAL WEEE DISASSEMBLY
Year: 2024
Editor: Grierson, Hilary; Bohemia, Erik; Buck, Lyndon
Author: Potter, Claire J; Greenfield, David
Series: E&PDE
Institution: University of Sussex, United Kingdom; SOENECS, United Kingdom
Page(s): 503 - 508
DOI number: 10.35199/EPDE.2024.85
ISBN: 978-1-912254-200
ISSN: 3005-4753
Abstract
It is often cited that ‘80% of a product’s environmental impact is decided at the design stage’ (European Commission, 2012) and yet it can be very difficult to ensure that undergraduate students truly appreciate the impact of their decisions in the early stages of the traditional double diamond design process. Whilst lectures, statistics and information can give the students an academic outlook on end-of-life issues, there is much to be gained from a hands-on engagement in the delivery of education around these pressing problems. This paper examines two case studies from two sessions where design for disassembly was taught in a practical way, with each student physically taking apart a waste laptop through a guided session completed in collaboration with a local community interest project focussed on WEEE. By examining feedback from each session, these case studies discuss the impact of physical sessions on the understanding of disassembly by undergraduates, and also its context and importance in the role of design in the circular economy. The circular economy – a system that aims to keep materials and resources in constant flow, whilst also creating a regenerative future is arguably a critical system to be understood by all undergraduates, equipping them with the broadest sets of skills and contextural, experience-based understanding.
Keywords: circular economy, design for disassembly, reuse, repair, WEEE