Fig. 1 shows the material flow through a factory making moulded polymer products. Analyse how the company could reduce both its material costs and its envir...

This question assesses material management across purchasing, production and waste. Strong analysis links each action to both cost and environmental effects, then makes a judgement.

1. Purchasing: buying polymer in bulk can lower the unit price. Consolidating deliveries also means fewer transport journeys, reducing transport emissions. However, bulk orders increase the amount of stock held, tying up money and storage space. Specifying recycled polymer reduces the use of virgin feedstock and may cost less, although its properties can be more variable. [2]
2. Production: redesigning a moulding with thinner walls, strengthened where necessary by ribs, reduces the mass of polymer used in every product. Shorter moulding cycles also reduce energy used per unit. Careful process control reduces defective mouldings, preventing the loss of both the polymer and the energy already used to process it. [3]
3. Waste: sprues, runners and reject mouldings can be granulated into regrind and fed back into production, so waste becomes usable feedstock. Waste that cannot be reused internally should be separated by polymer type, because clean, single-polymer waste has a higher recycling value than mixed waste. [2]
4. Judgement: the best approach combines all three areas: prevent waste through efficient purchasing and controlled production first, then reuse unavoidable polymer waste. This reduces costs and environmental impact rather than simply moving waste elsewhere. [1]

For high marks, analyse the trade-off as well as the benefit: for example, bulk buying may reduce price and delivery emissions but increases stock holding.