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An investigation into the environmental impact of product recovery methods to support sustainable manufacturing within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

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Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>04/2011
<mark>Journal</mark>International Journal of Manufacturing, Materials, and Mechanical Engineering (IJMMME)
Issue number2
Volume1
Number of pages18
Pages (from-to)1-18
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The effects of climate change and government legislation has changed the way in which manufacturers can dispose of their waste, encouraging SMEs to source alternative disposal methods such as those indicated in the waste hierarchy. It is economically and environmentally beneficial to use product recovery methods to divert waste from landfill. The environmental impact of two product recovery methods, remanufacturing and repairing, has been compared via a carbon footprint calculation for a UK-based SME. The calculation has identified that repairing has a lower carbon footprint than remanufacturing, however this only extends the original life-cycle of the product, whereas remanufacturing provides a new life-cycle and warranty, and therefore seen as the most preferable method of product recovery to support sustainable manufacturing.

Bibliographic note

This paper is Winner of the Fifth Annual InfoSciR-Journals Excellence in Research Awards. Selection criteria included: contribution to the field; originality of the research; practicality of research/results; quality of writing; rigor of the research; and substantive research and methodology.