Integration of waste-specific expert-knowledge in a design environment for sustainable products

Designers who want to develop environmentally sound products have to consider the actual environmental impact which will be caused by their products during the whole life cycle. For recycling and disposing of electric goods this leads to the insight that it is not sensible to base an impact analysis on a scenario with a single process option like complete dismantling or complete incineration. With the product example: vacuum cleaner, the authors explain an approach to define a recycling and disposal mix, which depends on the product. The emphasis is laid on a poll that was used to analyze the behavior of users who want to get rid of a vacuum cleaner. The paper is an outcome of the joint research project SFB 392 "Development of Environmentally Sound Products" granted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).