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Home Courses Engineering Design for Circular Economy Course materials Lectures 3.3.1 Decision of repair

3.3.1 Decision of repair

Course subject(s) Module 3: Repair

In this video Ester van der Voet shows how to assess the sustainability performance of repair, and what the possible gains and tradeoffs are. She also describes the importance of a holistic view when it comes to decision making.

  • The criteria of judging a re- option were:
      1. Does it contribute to a larger availability of resources;
      2. does it diminish waste generation, and
      3. does it reduce environmental pressure.
  • Keep it use for a longer time, avoiding waste and also new products.
  • Repair: The product, or the repair crew, needs to travel and therefore use fuel.
  • It would be best if products could be repaired by the consumer at home, or very close by, in local repair shops.
  • By keeping energy-using products in use for a longer time, it prevents new and more energy efficient products from entering our homes.
  • Products with a predictive maintenance system, like the coffee machine, could lead to earlier replacement.
  • To really judge this on our three criteria, it would have to be compared with other end-of-life options, which are, or may become, available.
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