Designing Products for Re-use

Many plastics are used for single-use disposable applications, such as packaging, agricultural films and disposable consumer items, and is the main source of waste plastics.

Human factors plays a key role when considering the materials and design features of these plastics and can help manufacturers achieve functional yet reusable product designs. 

However, In many cases, reusable device manufacturers do not consider reprocessing until after the design is complete. 

One way in which Human Factors can impact these reusable products is through design considerations.

The choice of material is crucial for a product to ensure it is reusable, reliable, and durable.

Ensuring a device is reusable includes avoiding design decisions that create inaccessible areas or excessive wear by the user especially when considering devices that need to be cleaned and sterilized (like in the medical field). 

Ease of disassembly must also be considered when designing for reuse as users will be discouraged from recycling components and will simply trash the product instead.

Ensuring that a product is well designed for recycling at the end of its lifecycle is also another critical factor for reducing waste. 

Recycling may not be intuitive, so using clear labeling and providing instructions that are clear and well defined should adequately assist the end user with recycling the product. 

This is just one of the many ways in which Human Factors can contribute to ensure minimal waste makes it to the ocean

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