World Changing Post #1

World Changing Post #1

Meghan Schwend

October 11, 2009

Page 119 of World Changing

In green production, it is essential to consider the whole life cycle of a product, rather than only making the production of the object sustainable. That is why designing for disassembly is crucial to the green movement. One solid example of this is pop-apart cell phones. Typically, after use, when a cell phone is discarded, it is shredded, rather than taken apart to be recycled. This adds up to tons of waste that will only increase in the coming years as cell phones become more readily available to people world-wide.

One developing feature, prototyped by Nokia, allows for used phones to be popped apart in two seconds so that its parts can be recycled. To disassemble a regular phone, it would take two minutes of someone disassembling it, which costs more to do than to simply shred the phone. To make recycling cost efficient, the Nokia prototype employs special polymers and alloys that change shapes when heated to an optimal temperature with a laser. This unthreads the screws, opening the case, exposing the circuit board.

One possible pitfall in this design would be accidental heat activation that pops the phone apart when still in use. With this in mind, the phone is designed so that the heat needed to disassemble the phone is 140-300 degrees Fahrenheit; a high enough threshold so that the phone can be left in a hot car without consequences.

Hopefully, the innovative pop-apart cell phone will be a trend that other commonly used electronics will follow regarding the end of its use. This concept, if widely practiced, can prevent massive waste and encourage sustainable production.