Fig 15 shows a simplified product lifecycle diagram for a cardboard food packaging box. The diagram shows the stages the product goes through from raw mater...
Question 1 Report
Fig 15 shows a simplified product lifecycle diagram for a cardboard food packaging box. The diagram shows the stages the product goes through from raw materials to disposal.
(a) Name the stage labelled A in the product lifecycle. [1]
(b) Explain how designing for disassembly can reduce the environmental impact of a product at the end of its life. [2]
[Total: 3 marks]
Answer Details
(a) The stage labelled A in the product lifecycle is recycling (also acceptable: recovery or reclamation). [1] This stage sits between disposal and raw materials in the lifecycle, because recycled materials feed back into the supply chain as secondary raw materials, reducing the need to extract virgin resources. The dashed arrow in the diagram indicates this return loop.
(b) Designing for disassembly means designing the product so that it can be easily separated into its individual material types at the end of its useful life, for example by using snap-fit connections instead of adhesives, or labelling materials clearly with recycling codes. [1] This allows each material (cardboard, plastic film, metal clips) to be recycled separately through the appropriate recycling stream, rather than being sent to landfill as unseparable mixed waste. Recycling these materials reduces the demand for new raw materials and the energy and environmental cost of extracting and processing them. [1]
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