Lesson video

Hi there, everybody.

My name is Mr. Booth, and welcome to today's lesson.

It's great that you could join me.

We've got a fantastic lesson.

Today, we are gonna be looking at the environmental impact of materials.

It's really important that we do this in order to design more sustainable products that have less of a negative impact on the environment.

This lesson is part of the Materials testing unit.

Today's outcome, I want you to be able to identify the environmental impact that materials have during a product's life cycle.

Three key words for you today.

The first is LCA, Life Cycle Assessment.

This assesses the environmental impact at every stage of a product's life.

We then have carbon footprint, the total amount of greenhouse gases a product or activity produces.

And finally, the environment, the natural world, what we are trying to protect.

We have three learning cycles today.

We have the product manufacture, the product use, and also the product disposal.

We're looking at the lifecycle of a product, so let's start with manufacture.

A Life Cycle Assessment or LCA is a method used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product from start to finish.

It looks at all stages of a product's life, the manufacture, the use, and of course, the disposal, its end of life.

It can be used to see how sustainable a product is.

The manufacture stage in a Life Cycle Assessment involves sourcing raw materials.

These can be renewable, such as timber, or non-renewable, such as metal ores or crude oil.

Metal ores and crude oil, we need to extract them from the ground.

They're not renewable.

One day they will run out, Whereas logging or cutting down trees is renewable 'cause we can always plant more trees.

Quick check for understanding.

What does renewable resources mean? Is it a, cannot be replaced when they're used up, such as fossil fuels, b, never run out and can be replenished naturally, such as wind and solar, or c, new resources that are purchased by a school for projects? Pause the video now.

Have a go at this and come back to me when you've answered.

It is, of course, b, never run out and can be replenished naturally, such as wind and solar.

Well done.

Any method used to source materials has an environmental impact.

One impact is the product's carbon footprint.

This is a measure of greenhouse gases a product produces.

Sourcing and transporting materials emit carbon dioxide or CO2.

Raw materials need to be processed into usable forms, into stock forms. These processing methods often use energy and produce greenhouse gases themselves, adding to the product's carbon footprint.

Metals require smelting, which uses high amounts of energy.

Processing raw materials can also result in water consumption and pollution.

Vast liters of waters are required for cooling when extracting and refining metals.

Quick check for understanding.

What is needed in large quantities for cooling when extracting metals? Is it a, water, b, people or c, electricity? Pause the video now.

Have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, water.

Well done.

Energy and water are consumed during the manufacturing process, which results in air and water pollution.

However, there are other types of waste as well, and this could be material offcuts that we don't need anymore.

It could be defective products that are made, which we need to be disposed of, or it could be packaging waste, which can be significant.

We're now onto your first task.

First, I would like you to explain how LCA can be used to assess how sustainable a product is, and then I want you to discuss the impact the manufacturer of this frying pan has on the environment during the manufacturing stage.

Pause the video now.

Have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

So how did you get on? Well, first of all, I wanted you to explain how LCA can be used to assess how sustainable a product is.

Well, Life Cycle Assessment is a method used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product from start to finish.

It looks at all stages of a product's life during manufacture, use, and disposal.

I then wanted you to discuss the impact that the manufacturer of the frying pan has on the environment during the manufacturing stage.

And here we have Sofia and Andy discussing that.

Sofia says, "Sourcing and transporting materials emits carbon dioxide, CO2," and Andeep says, "Metals require smelting, which uses high amounts of energy." Great discussion.

We're now onto our second learning cycle, which is product use.

In the Life Cycle Assessment, the use stage considers environmental impacts that occur while the product is being used.

Some products require ongoing energy, which adds to the carbon footprint of the product, such as some require electricity, and some might require fuel in order to operate.

Excessive energy consumption to make products function contributes to their carbon footprint.

Some products need additional products to be able to function properly, which requires additional materials and processing.

For example, some products might need batteries in order to operate, and others might need refills, such as printers.

Quick check for understanding.

Which factors increase the carbon footprint of a product during use? Is it a, requiring batteries, b, requiring fuel, c, requiring instructions or d, local sourcing of raw materials? Pause the video now.

Have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

So it is, of course, the first two, requiring batteries and requiring fuel.

Well done.

Repairable designs are more sustainable than disposable products.

And here we have the Kibu headphones.

Now they are a repairable alternative to disposable electronics.

Their modular design allows for easy part replacement.

They're also made from recycled and recyclable materials.

The longer a product lasts, the lower its environmental impact.

That seems pretty obvious, doesn't it? There are steps designers can take to ensure a product lasts a long time.

They can choose materials that resist wear and tear so they last longer.

They can allow components to be swapped out instead of replacing the whole product.

And of course, they can make parts easy to access, replace, or upgrade.

And these are all considerations that manufacturers and designers should have when making products.

Quick check for understanding.

Which material would likely give a product the longest lifespan? Is it a, cardboard, b, pine, c, stainless steel or d, a biopolymer? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, stainless steel.

Tend to be a lot harder than the other materials there.

we're now onto Task B.

I would like you to discuss the impact this torch has on the environment during the use stage.

State one way this could be reduced.

I would then like you to describe how smartphone manufacturers could make their products last longer.

I'm sure you've all had a smartphone, which has needed replacing, even though probably only the screen is cracked.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

So how did it get on? Well, first of all, I wanted you to discuss the impact that the torch has on the environment during the use stage.

And here once again, we have Sofia and Andeep discussing this point.

Sofia says, "The torch requires batteries to operate.

These will need to be replaced and disposed of during use." And then we have Andeep saying, "Rechargeable batteries could be used or a charging port could be included on the torch, allowing it to be recharged like a smartphone." Another great discussion from Sofia and Andeep.

I then wanted you to describe how smartphone manufacturers could make their products last longer.

Well, they could allow components to be swapped out instead of replacing the whole product, such as the screen or batteries.

They could also make parts easier to access, replace, or upgrade.

Wouldn't that be great if they did that? We're now onto your final learning cycle, which is Product disposal.

In the Life Cycle Assessment, the disposal stage examines what happens to a product when it reaches the end of its life.

Most products are sent to landfill or incineration.

Some products are recycled into new material.

Although, it's probably a lot less than you think.

And then very few products are upcycled into new products.

In landfill, products can take decades or even centuries to break down.

They can also leach harmful chemicals into the environment.

Burning waste with incinerators releases carbon dioxide and toxic gases into the air, even if we are harnessing the energy from the incinerators.

Quick check for understanding.

Which is a major disadvantage of landfill disposal? Is it a, it removes CO2 from the atmosphere, b, it can take centuries for products to break down, c, it produces renewable energy, or d, it requires no land space at all? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, b, it can take centuries for a product to break down.

Well done.

Recycling reuses materials, such as metal, glass, paper, and even some polymers.

Recycling reduces the demand for new materials, lowering the product's carbon footprint.

However, recycling also requires energy and transport to empty those bins.

Another check for understanding.

Which statement about recycling is correct? Is it a, recycling makes materials non-renewable, b, recycling always has no environmental cost, c, recycling reduces demand for raw materials, or d, recycling increases landfill waste? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, c, recycling reduces demand for raw materials.

Well done.

Now, upcycling and reusing products can reduce the demand for new materials.

and it can also lower the environmental impact in a Life Cycle Assessment.

So you might want to reuse a glass jar to store things like fixings or screws in there, and also you might want to upcycle clothing into something new.

Or for example, you could make a pair of jeans into a bag or maybe even make a pair of jeans into a pair of shorts when it comes to summer.

We're now into Task C.

I would like you to discuss one environmental impact of disposing of products through incineration.

I then want you to use an example and give one way a product could be upcycled.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answers.

So how did you get on? Well, first of all, let's have a look at our discussion point.

I wanted you to give one environmental impact of disposing of products through incineration.

And again, we have Sofia and Andeep discussing.

Sofia says, "Although the energy can be used, it releases harmful gases into the environment." And Andeep says, "This is such as carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming." Great discussion again.

And then using one example, I wanted you to give a way in which product or products can be upcycled.

Well, here we have a lovely skateboard, which, of course, has been upcycled into an instrument that we can play.

Paper could also be upcycled into decorations, and in this case, of course, we've got some music paper, probably from a music book, which has been upcycled into this beautiful decoration of a heart.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Let's have a quick summary.

A Life Cycle Assessment or LCA checks a product's impact from start to finish.

A carbon footprint rises with energy and resources used in manufacture, use, and disposal.

Recycling, reuse, or upcycling reduce the carbon footprint in an LCA.

Designers use the LCA to find ways to cut emissions and also improve efficiency and make products more sustainable.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

You've been absolutely fantastic.

I hope you've enjoyed it, and I look forward to seeing you all next time.

Goodbye.