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Bio-Based Plastics in Product Design: The State of the Art and Challenges to Overcome

Bos, P. (author), Ritzen, L. (author), van Dam, S.S. (author), Balkenende, R. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author)

Replacing fossil-based feedstock with renewable alternatives is a crucial step towards a circular economy. The bio-based plastics currently on the market are predominantly used in single-use applications, with remarkably limited uptake in durable products. This study explores the current state of the art of bio-based plastic use in durable...

journal article 2024

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Bio-based plastics in a circular economy: A review of recovery pathways and implications for product design

Ritzen, L. (author), Sprecher, B. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, A.R. (author)

Bio-based plastics are attracting increasing attention due to their perceived sustainability and circularity. While enabling circularity by using renewable feedstocks, they still contribute to plastic pollution. Furthermore, their rapidly growing market will cause bio-based plastics to constitute significant fractions of plastic waste,...

review 2023

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The strategic value of design for remanufacturing: a case study of professional imaging equipment

Boorsma, Nina (author), Peck, David (author), Bakker, Tanya (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

Remanufacturing offers an approach to extend product lifetime beyond its first use. After restoring products to original quality, they are reintroduced to the market. To make products more suited for this approach, and to increase resource-efficiency, design for remanufacturing can be incorporated for new product development. Academic...

journal article 2022

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Development of the Circular Product Readiness Method in Circular Design

Boorsma, N.E. (author), Polat, E. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Peck, David (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

Design indicators can be used by companies to track circular design implementation, which can yield insights into their performance and opportunities for improvement. Yet, existing indicator methods either lack depth with regard to circular design, are incomplete, or do not use design semantics. This study explores product-level circularity...

journal article 2022

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Circular Composites by Design: Testing a Design Method in Industry

Joustra, J.J. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Bessai, R. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

The design of composite products for a circular economy is challenging. Materials such as glass-fibre-reinforced plastics have long product lifetimes but are hard to recycle. For the effective reuse and recycling of products, parts, and materials, recovery strategies must be selected and implemented in the product design stage. This extends the...

journal article 2022

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Bio-based plastics in durable applications: The future of sustainable product design? A design review

Bos, P. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author), Sprecher, B. (author)

This design review evaluates the use of bio-based plastics in durable consumer products. The main question is: how does the use of bio-based plastics influence the product’s design, functionality, marketing & communication, and sustainability? Although higher material prices would lead one to expect that higher value applications would be...

conference paper 2022

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How User Manuals Support the Diagnosis of Common Faults in Household Appliances: An Analysis of 150 manuals

Pozo Arcos, B. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

Product repairs are at the core of sustainable consumption and user manuals can play a relevant role in facilitating them. They are the accredited source of product information for end users and are therefore sought as an important means for the diagnosis and subsequent repair of household appliances. However, despite increasing societal demand...

journal article 2022

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The Disassembly Map: A new method to enhance design for product repairability

De Fazio, F. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Flipsen, Bas (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

Designers and engineers need better tools and methods to create highly repairable products. Design for disassembly and reassembly is an important product related design feature that can enhance repair. In a highly repairable product, the components that fail most often should be easily accessible for repair or replacement. This paper...

journal article 2021

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Faults in consumer products are difficult to diagnose, and design is to blame: A user observation study

Pozo Arcos, B. (author), Dangal, S. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Faludi, Jeremy (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

The process of fault diagnosis is an essential first step when repairing a product: it determines the condition of the parts and identifies the origin of failure. We report on how product users go through the process of fault diagnosis in consumer products and the influence of design features on this process. Two groups of 12 participants were...

journal article 2021

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Key competencies for design in a circular economy: Exploring gaps in design knowledge and skills for a circular economy

Sumter, Deborah (author), de Koning, J.I.J.C. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

In a recent study, we identified seven key circular competencies for design: (1) Design for Multiple Use Cycles, (2) Design for Recovery, (3) Circular Impact Assessment, (4) Circular Business Models, (5) Circular User Engagement, (6) Circular Economy Collaboration, and (7) Circular Economy Communication. These were derived from small‐scale...

journal article 2021

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Circular economy competencies for design

Sumter, Deborah (author), de Koning, J.I.J.C. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

This study addresses what competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) designers need in order to successfully design products and services for a circular economy. Existing literature, though sparse, has identified a number of circular economy competencies for design. Yet, a coherent overview is lacking. To complement the competencies found...

journal article 2020

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Practices of fault diagnosis in household appliances: Insights for design

Pozo Arcos, B. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Flipsen, Bas (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

Fault diagnosis is the process of identifying and characterising a fault when a failure occurs. It is, therefore, an essential step to take before product-repair. In this study, we ask how conventional users diagnose faults in household appliances and how the design of these appliances facilitates or hampers the process of fault diagnosis.To...

journal article 2020

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Incorporating design for remanufacturing in the early design stage: a design management perspective

Boorsma, Nina (author), Balkenende, R. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Tsui, T.P.Y. (author), Peck, David (author)

Adopting design approaches that allow products to last multiple use-cycles supports European Commission objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce primary material impacts. Remanufacturing is an example of an appropriate circular strategy and it can be applied in a variety of industries that are intensive materials users....

journal article 2020

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Reprintable paste-based materials for additive manufacturing in a circular economy

Sauerwein, M. (author), Zlopasa, J. (author), Doubrovski, E.L. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

The circular economy requires high-value material recovery to enable multiple product lifecycles. This implies the need for additive manufacturing to focus on the development and use of low-impact materials that, after product use, can be reconstituted to their original properties in terms of printability and functionality. We therefore...

journal article 2020

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Circular Product Design: Addressing Critical Materials through Design

Bakker, C.A. (author), den Hollander, M.C. (author), Peck, David (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

For product designers, the world has traditionally been one of resource<br/>abundance. Introducing them to a resource-constrained world thus<br/>requires new design strategies. This chapter explores how embedding<br/>circular economy principles into design practice and education could<br/>help product designers take critical material problems...

book chapter 2019

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Design competencies for a circular economy

Sumter, Deborah (author), de Koning, J.I.J.C. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

Limited research has been done on design competencies for a circular economy in practice. Yet, an overview of design competencies for a circular economy would be useful to understand which topics should be emphasized in both education and practice. This paper focuses on deriving circular economy competencies for product designers working in...

conference paper 2019

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An innovative route to circular rigid plastics

van Engelshoven, Y.D. (author), Wen, P. (author), Bakker, M.C.M. (author), Balkenende, R. (author), Rem, P.C. (author)

An innovative route for plastics recycling is proposed, based on a combination of a logarithmic sorting process and colour plus high-resolution near-infrared (NIR) sensors. Although counterintuitive, it is shown that such a technology could sort clean flakes from rigid packaging waste into a very large number of different plastic grades with...

journal article 2019

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Exploring the potential of additive manufacturing for product design in a circular economy

Sauerwein, M. (author), Doubrovski, E.L. (author), Balkenende, R. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author)

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is acknowledged for its potential to support sustainable design. In this paper, we explore whether the opportunities that additive manufacturing offers for sustainable design are also useful when designing for a circular economy, and to what extent additive manufacturing can support design...

journal article 2019

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Annotated Portfolios as a Method to Analyse Interviews

Sauerwein, M. (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

This paper explores the use of annotated portfolios as a method to support the qualitative analysis of interview data about design projects. Annotated portfolios have so far been used to support artefacts with text in order to discuss them in the context of ‘research through design’ In this paper, we interpret the five-step method of McCracken...

conference paper 2018

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Capabilities required to tackle barriers to remanufacturing

Boorsma, N.E. (author), Peck, David (author), Fischer, Susanne (author), Bakker, C.A. (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

The transition towards a circular economy proposes to deliver sustainable, lower carbon opportunities to society, governments and companies. This paper focuses on finding barriers encountered during remanufacturing activities and interpreting the barriers by using a framework for dynamic capabilities. Dynamic capabilities enable companies to...

conference paper 2018