Category: Sustainable Product Design

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Competition Inspiration: Digitizer

The 2013 International Sustainable Electronics Competition begins in less than a month. The spirit of this competition is to prompt the industrialized world to dialogue about product designs and non-product concepts for environmentally responsible green computing and entertainment. The goals of this competition are to learn about ways to extend the useful lifecycle of electronic products, reuse electronic scrap for new and productive means, explore ideas to address the social and environmental impacts of electronics, and contribute to the body of knowledge that advances the practice of environmentally responsible product design for current and future technology products. We invite you to create a broad range of concepts and innovations to address these issues. Engineering, design, sustainability, or business knowledge will be helpful, but are not required for success in this competition. We encourage participation from interested students and recent graduates from any academic discipline. See the “Rules” section of the competition web site for complete details. Registration is free, and cash prizes will be awarded.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be featuring some of the winning videos from previous years’ competitions as inspiration for those of you who may be considering entering. Below, check out a concept called “Digitizer” for making a film camera function like a digital camera when desired. The unit was also conceived to be manufactured from e-waste, thus preventing the generation of e-waste by keeping older cameras from being discarded, and/or giving analog cameras a dual function, and reusing scrap that might otherwise be landfilled. This concept was 1st place in the “Reuse” Category in 2012 and was submitted by J. Makai Catudio and Ryan Barnes. (Note that the categories have changed this year. See our previous blog post and the “Categories” descriptions on the competition web site.)

What can you imagine as a solution to the environmental and social problems related to electronic device design, production, use, and end-of-life management? See more concepts from previous winners on the SEI You Tube channel.

And for those of you who are not eligible to enter, if you find ideas like Digitizer inspiring and want to support SEI’s efforts to encourage students around the world to consider the impacts of our ubiquitous electronics, consider making a donation in support of the competition. Your gift will go toward cash prizes and program administration, and will be acknowledged on the “Sponsors” page of the competition web site. Questions can be directed to Joy Scrogum.

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International Sustainable Electronics Competition: Sponsorship Opportunities

Donations are being accepted to support the International Sustainable Electronics Competition, part of the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). These donations are used for cash prizes in the competiiton and program administrative costs. There are five sponsorship levels: “Friend” is for donations up to $99; “Bronze” signifies gifts of $100 to $499; “Silver” donations are from $500 to $1499; “Gold” sponsors have provided $1500 to $4999 in support; and “Platinum” designates sponsors that have contributed $5000 or more. As a donor, you will be acknowledged on the competition web site unless you wish to remain anonymous. Corporations and organizations will have their logos and a link to their web site featured on the competition web site.

The competition began in 2009 as a local event on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and grew out of a class on e-waste issues taught by UIUC industrial design professor William Bullock. Participants focused on reuse of electronic scrap to make new products that first year. The event became international in 2010 with submission and judging occurring online. This continues currently, with entries including a brief YouTube video of the concept, among other requirements. The competition categories have evolved over time to include prevention as well as reuse, and for 2013, the categories have changed to “Product” and “Non-Product” to make the multidisciplinary nature and whole life-cycle focus of SEI more apparent. See our previous post, “International Sustainable Electronics Competition: New Name, New Categories, New Criteria” for further information on the changes for 2013 and the competition web site for complete rules, requirements, and videos for previous years’ winners. Also, check out the recently finalized list of expert jurors for 2013.

Each year, SEI staff members are amazed and inspired by the interesting and innovative ideas put forth by competition participants. It makes us proud to be part of this unique educational experience, which prompts college students and recent graduates throughout the world–society’s future leaders–to learn about and propose solutions for the environmental and social issues associated with our ubiquitous electronic devices. So consider even a modest $15 donation to show your support for inspiring students to conceive of new, more environmentally responsible ways to design, manufacture, use, and manage electronics. Contact Joy Scrogum (217-333-8948) for more information or see http://www.ewaste.illinois.edu/sponsors.cfm.

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International Sustainable Electronics Competition: New Name, New Categories, New Criteria

The International E-Waste Design Competition has changed its name, categories, & judging criteria. The competition, now known as the International Sustainable Electronics Competition, is part of the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). It originated in 2009, when it emerged from a class on e-waste issues taught by industrial design Professor William Bullock, an affiliated faculty scientist at ISTC. The competition was focused entirely on reuse of electronic scrap during that first year. What began as a local UIUC event became an international competition in 2010, with submissions being made online by college students and recent graduates from around the world. The competition has evolved a bit each year, and grew to incorporate the entire life cycle of electronics, rather than focusing solely on reuse. Organizers noticed that recent entries seemed to incorporate both prevention of e-waste generation (through design modifications to extend the useful product life cycle of electronic devices) and reuse of electronic scrap, regardless of whether or not they were submitted for the “Prevention” or “Reuse” category. So for 2013, categories have been changed to “Product” and “Non-Product,” with the concepts of prevention and reuse integrated throughout the revised judging criteria. The new name and judging criteria are part of the continuing effort to better focus the competition on ideas for a sustainable system for the design, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life management for electronics. The competition has always been open to students in any discipline, but most entries were from engineering or industrial design students. The new categories will make the multidisciplinary nature of the competition more apparent, as “non-product” entries could more obviously be made by students from other fields.

To learn more about the competition and new categories, visit www.ewaste.illinois.edu. Entries include, among other elements, a brief project description paper and YouTube video summarizing the concept. Expert jurors award cash prizes to the top three projects in each category. Registration is free and will open on September 1, 2013. For more information, contact Joy Scrogum at jscrogum@illinois.edu or 217-333-8948.

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HDTVs Now Meet EPEAT Standards

This post was written by ISTC staff member Kirsten Walker.

As of April 2, 2013 high definition televisions are part of the greener electronics family of EPEAT. LG and Samsung, who contribute to one third of the global shipments and revenues, are  major participating companies.  Televisions must meet 24 performance evaluation criteria to be included in the EPEAT registry. Some of the criteria include life cycle basis, elimination of toxic substances, use of recycled and recyclable materials, design for recycling, product longevity, energy efficiency, corporate performance and packaging. The inclusion of TVs comes shortly after the approval of imaging equipment like scanners or copiers.

According to the EPEAT blog, “Since 2006, purchasers choosing EPEAT-registered electronics over products that don’t meet the system’s criteria have eliminated greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 11 million U.S. vehicles’ annual impact, avoided more than 394,000 metric tons of hazardous waste and reduced solid waste by nearly 167,000 metric tons – equivalent to  nearly 86,000 U.S. households’ annual waste.”

For more information, visit the the EPEAT blog, Green Tech Advocates, and Environmental Leader

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Call for Papers: “Electronic Waste–Impact, Policy and Green Design”

Challenges logoSEI’s Professor William Bullock and Joy Scrogum will guest edit a special issue of the journal Challenges, entitled “Electronic Waste–Impact, Policy and Green Design.”  From the issue’s rationale:

“Electronics are at the heart of an economic system that has brought many out of poverty and enhanced quality of life. In Western society in particular, our livelihoods, health, safety, and well being are positively impacted by electronics. However, there is growing evidence that our disposal of electronics is causing irreparable damage to the planet and to human health, as well as fueling social conflict and violence.

While global demand for these modern gadgets is increasing, policy to handle the increased volumes of electronic waste has not kept pace. International policy governing safe transfer, disposal, reclamation, and reuse of electronic waste is nonexistent or woefully lacking. Where laws do exist about exporting and importing hazardous waste, they are routinely circumvented and enforcement is spotty at best. While European Union countries lead the way in responsible recycling of electronic and electrical devices under various EU directives, most industrialized nations do not have such policies. In the U.S., for example, most electronic waste is still discarded in landfills or ground up for scrap.

It is imperative that we consider how green design practices can address the growing electronic waste problem. This special issue is meant to do just that and spur discussions on how electronic products can become greener and more sustainable.”

If you are interested in submitting a paper for this special issue, please send a title and short abstract (about 100 words) to the Challenges Editorial Office at challenges@mdpi.com, indicating the special issue for which it is to be considered. If the proposal is considered appropriate for the issue, you will be asked to submit a full paper. Complete instructions for authors and an online submission form for the completed manuscripts are available on the Challenges web site at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/challenges/special_issues/electronic-waste. The deadline for manuscript submissions is June 1, 2013.

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Greening the Gift of Gadgets

It’s the holiday season, and odds are many people are out frantically shopping for last minute gifts, many of which will involve electronics of some sort. If you’re giving the gift of gadgets this year, here are a few things to keep in mind.

First, and always, consider–do you or the loved one in mind really NEED the new device, or does an existing device serve the person’s purposes adequately? Will it improve your life in a substantial way, or is this a status symbol? In Western culture in particular, there’s a push to have the latest and greatest gadget. A new version of a device is released and thousands flock to purchase it, even if they barely use half the features on the older version of the device which they already own. There’s a perception that one needs the latest version in order to keep up with new technology, or at least to keep up appearances, and all too often the actual functionality of a device and how it fits a person’s specific situation and needs, is lower on the list of purchasing considerations. Consumers can be fickle, and can suffer from app envy. Stop for a minute and think about this. Watch The Story of Stuff. Then watch The Story of Electronics.

If you still feel compelled to buy, are you able to buy a used version of the device? What about a refurbished version? Many electronics retailers offer refurbished versions of devices for slightly lower prices, which operate just as well as a brand new device. My refurbished wireless router at home is a fine example of the reliability of such items. It’s always desirable to see products reused as much as possible before recycling. Any way in which the product lifecycle can be extended is positive in terms of environmental impacts.See this HowStuffWorks article on How Refurbished Electronics Work.

If for whatever reason a used or refurbished version isn’t an option, take some time to consider the environmental ratings of the products and brands you’re considering. Helpful consumer guides include the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, the latest version of which was just released in November 2012. , and the Good Guide (although currently, the Good Guide only ranks cell phones according to environmental, social, and health criteria). Always look for ENERGY STAR rated devices which will operate more efficiently. Such devices will have the ENERGY STAR logo on them, and you can do some research ahead of time on the program’s web site. Determine whether or not the device you’re interested in is EPEAT registered. EPEAT stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, and involves standards for categorizing electronic products at various levels based upon a variety of environmental considerations. The category standards for a given device category are developed with the input of various stakeholders, including those involved in electronics development and purchasing, as well as representatives from governments, environmental advocacy organizations and academia. Contrary to common misconception, EPEAT is a voluntary registry, not a certification in which a third-party issues a product its stamp of approval, as evidenced by Apple’s voluntary decision earlier in the year to remove certain products from the registry, and subsequently voluntarily choose to add them back after public outcry over this decision and criticism related to designs for certain products that made them more difficult to disassemble and/or recycle. See http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57472035-37/apple-reverses-course-re-ups-with-epeat-green-standard/ for more on that. Even so, if a product meets EPEAT standards, you can feel confident that its environmental impact has been carefully considered throughout its lifecycle. See this infographic for more on the environmental benefits of EPEAT rated products. Raise Hope for Congo ranks companies on their efforts towards using and investing in conflict-free minerals. (See the “Conflict Minerals” post category of this blog for more information on what conflict minerals are and why they’re important.)

Once you’ve dutifully done that homework, you should be ready to buy, right? Well, if you’re in the U.S., maybe you should further consider whether or not your state has electronics product legislation on the books. See the State & Local page of the SEI web site Law & Policy section to find out and have a summary of the type of law your state has, the devices covered, and a link to the full text of the legislation. Why does this matter? Well, some states (like Illinois, for example) require manufacturers to register or submit recycling plans with a state agency prior to being allowed to sell their products within that state. It’s all part of efforts to ensure that certain electronic devices don’t end up in landfills and that manufacturers are supporting the end-of-life management of their own products (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_producer_responsibility). As a recent article in a National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) newsletter pointed out, some brands are not compliant with state laws. You might want to buy a certain brand because of great holiday deals being offered–but maybe those products aren’t even supposed to be sold in your state! It’s worth checking the NCER resources related to this.

You’ve waded through all these environmental considerations and are feeling good about your choices. The new gadget is wrapped and ready for giving. But then you remember–what should your loved one do with their old device? There are many different options, and what is available to you will depend on your location. A good place to start is the SEI fact sheet on Electronics Take-Back and Donation Programs. A quick way to check for options in your area is to visit the Earth911 web site. And you can always contact your county or municipal recycling coordinator–he or she will be able to tell you whether or not there are collection events offered in your area, and which local retailers and recyclers accept electronics for recycling.

Now for extra points—how environmentally friendly was the gift wrap you used? 🙂

Happy holidays from SEI!

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2012 International E-Waste Design Competition Winners Announced

Winners have been announced in the International E-Waste Competition.  The competition is part of the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. International E-Waste Design Competition Logo

College students and recent graduates from around the world were encouraged to submit their ideas for products and services. The entries were ideas that prevent e-waste generation through life-cycle considerations (E-Waste Prevention Category) or that incorporate e-waste components into a new and useful item (E-Waste Reuse Category). The competition is designed to prompt dialogue about product designs for environmentally responsible computing and entertainment. To read the full press release, click here.

The winners were announced during a ceremony on December 4, 2012 at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), the coordinating agency for Sustainable Electronics Initiative. ISTC is part of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois. The webinar will be archived on the ISTC web site at http://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/sustainability_seminars.cfm in the next few days. In the meantime, if you would like to watch the webinar, visit https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/594203991 and enter your email address if you had previously registered for the webinar. If you had not registered, you may do so, and then watch the webinar at that link.

Jurors awarded monetary prizes to the top three projects within each category, along with one honorable mention award. The first place winners will receive $3000, second place is $2000, and third place receives $1000. A total of $12,000 was awarded, which has been made possible through generous contributions by Peter Mcdonnell (Friend level) and Dell (Platinum level).

Winners were as follows (see the full press release for brief project descriptions):

Reuse Category

  • Platinum ($3000): digitizer. This concept was submitted by a pair of industrial design students from the University of Wisconsin-Stout: J. Makai Catudio and Ryan Barnes.
  • Gold ($2000): The Wake-Up Project. The Wake Up Project team consists of three industrial design students from the University of Wisconsin-Stout: Danny Kopren, Sam Wellskopf, and Lennon TeRonde.
  • Silver ($1000): Fluorescence Microscopy Using A Recycled Paper Scanner. This concept was submitted by a recent graduate in electrical engineering (Dustin Gallegos), and two current students, one in biomedical engineering (Lillian Hislop) and the other in general studies (ZhanHao Xi), at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Prevention Category

  • Platinum ($3000): EverCloud. This team was comprised of five industrial design students from Auburn University: Sean Kennedy, Christi Talbert, Dylan Piper-Kaiser, Sarah Caudle, and Daniel Piquero.
  • Gold ($2000): E3: Energy Efficient Electricity. The concept was developed by three industrial design students from California State University at Long Beach: John Lee, Soyoung Bae, and Sam Sauceda.
  • Silver ($1000): loopbook—the future of computing. Loopbook was submitted by a recent graduate in product design and technology from the University of Limerick in Ireland, Damian Coughlan.

Honorable Mention

  • Sounds Amass.This concept was proposed by a recent graduate in industrial and product design from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Tai Ka Cheong.

The competition was started at UIUC in the fall of 2009. In 2010, the competition was expanded so students from all over the globe were able to submit their projects and an online video. Each project was judged on the project description and video. The international scope was evident through students who submitted entries from Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Turkey, and the United States. The jury was comprised of a variety of experts, including:

  • Jason Linnell, Executive Director, National Center of Electronics Recycling (NCER)
  • Bill Olson, Director, Office of Sustainability and Stewardship, Mobile Devices Business, Motorola, Inc.
  • Steven Samuels, Former Brand & Design Manager for ReCellular, Inc.
  • Kerstin Nelsen Strom, Ecodesign Section Chair, Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)
  • Jennifer Wyatt, Environmental Scientist, Materials Management Branch, U.S. EPA Region 5

Videos from the winning entries will soon be available on www.ewaste.illinois.edu. In the meantime they are available on the SEI YouTube Channel. And you can watch them below. Congratulations to the winners and all of our participants for choosing to be part of the solution to the growing e-waste problem by conceiving of how our electronic products could be produced, used, and disposed of in more sustainable ways. Stay tuned to the competition web site for more information, coming in the new year, about the 2013 competition.

 

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Webinar: Sustainable Electronics: Lessons Learned from the RoHS and the Pb-free Transition, 11/5/12

Join us for a webinar on Monday, November 5, 2012, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CDT. This seminar will be hosted at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in Champaign, IL, and simultaneously broadcast online. The presentation will be archived on the ISTC web site (see http://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/sustainability_seminars.cfm for more information and additional webinar archives).

Dr. Carol Handwerker, Reinhardt Schuhmann Jr. Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, will present “Sustainable Electronics: Lessons Learned from the RoHS and the Pb-free Transition.” Register online  for this webinar at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/712035655.

Abstract: With the impending ban on Pb in electronics in 2006, the consumer electronics industry world-wide began working together in the late ’90’s to define a standard Pb-free solder alloy for electronics manufacturing. The speed of the transition and the level of cooperation demonstrated in preparing industry to manufacture products with Pb-free solder provide benchmarks for sustainability-driven technology transitions in a rapidly changing global industry.  What does this tell us about future changes in materials and processes as we learn more about the consequences of our electronics use?

SEI, the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR), and ISTC are hosting a series of seminars this fall focused on sustainable electronics research and issues. Watch the SEI calendar for upcoming seminar dates. You may contact Nancy Holm, SEI Research Coordinator, to be added to the mailing list to receive email notifications of upcoming seminars.

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Registration for 2012 International E-Waste Design Competition Closes Tomorrow, Nov. 1

Reminder: Registration for the 2012 International E-Waste Design Competition will close at 4:59 PM Central time, tomorrow, November 1, 2012. If you have registered and are working on a submission, be sure to submit all required information before that time. Once the deadline passes, you will no longer be able to access your online submission form using your log in and password.

Participants are encouraged to enter required information, such as contact information and proof of eligibility for team members, as soon as possible. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit all of your information and end up racing against time to get necessary files uploaded. When updating your entry, it is important to remember scroll all the way down to the bottom of the submission form and click on “Update Project Information.” This saves the new material you added to your entry. Failure to click on the “update” button could result in information not being saved. You don’t want to be disqualified for not having a complete entry because you forgot to click on the “update” button, so please make sure to click that before you sign out at any point.

Jurors will begin to assess entries after the deadline passes, and will make final decisions by the end of November. Winners will be announced on December 4, 2012, at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and via webinar. Details on registration for that webinar will be posted as the date approaches. Cash prizes, made possible by sponsors including Dell, Inc., will be awarded in each of two categories (E-Waste Prevention and E-Waste Reuse).

Good luck with your entries!

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Webinar: Closing the Loop on Electronic Devices, 10/3/12

Join us for a webinar on Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CDT. This seminar will be hosted at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in Champaign, IL, and simultaneously broadcast online. The presentation will be archived on the ISTC web site (see http://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/sustainability_seminars.cfm for more information and additional webinar archives).

Craig Boswell, Co-founder and President of HOBI International, Inc., will present “Closing the Loop on Electronic Devices.” Register online  for this webinar at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/667661975.

The incorporation of Design for Recyclability (DFR) in to the design process is an extremely critical step towards the creation of more recyclable electronics products. A product’s design can have the single greatest impact on both the logistics and the costs of the recycling process. Constraints set forth by the design can dictate not only the methodology used to recycle the product but also the revenues (or costs) generated from the recycling process. This presentation provides an overview of the application of DFR concepts to the design of electronics products.

SEI, the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR), and ISTC are hosting a series of seminars this fall focused on sustainable electronics research and issues. Watch the SEI calendar for upcoming seminar dates. You may contact Nancy Holm, SEI Research Coordinator, to be added to the mailing list to receive email notifications of upcoming seminars.