Epoxy tooling: Technologies, developments, sustainability and future interest to industry 4.0

The technology of epoxy tooling, at present under continuous development, is used for the rapid manufacture of cost-effective tools for small batch production. It is a valid alternative with no need for expensive investment in metallic moulds for the development of new products. Current investigations are focused on improvements to the production system, improved tool performance, the cost reduction of moulds and tool manufacturing sustainability. In this paper, both the advantages and the disadvantages of epoxy tooling in injection moulding, wax injection, metal stamping and hot embossing are compared with conventional techniques. Following a brief introduction of rapid tooling technologies, the latest advances of epoxy tooling and their implementation in different manufacturing processes are all analysed. These developments refer to the production of new ad-hoc epoxy composites, increased productivity using conformal cooling channels, the reduction of the tooling manufacturing costs through waste reuse and the emerging industry 4.0 technologies for smart manufacturing and tooling. The main objective is to identify both the challenges facing epoxy tooling techniques and future research directions.

Conceptualising Reuse in African Households: Perspectives from Chembe, Malawi

African households are often models of sustainability, practicing daily behaviours, which, if even not directly associated by the individual with Western conceptualisations of ‘recycling’ or ‘reuse’, have dramatically positive impacts on the amounts of household waste generated. However, rarely has the African household been given the same consideration, and there is a poor understanding within the discipline how poor individuals, and Africans in particular, understand and conceptualise ‘waste’ as both a problem and a resource. Drawing on Kennedy and Appadurai’s theoretical perspectives, the purpose of this article is to critically examine and contextualise household solid waste reuse practices in Chembe, Malawi, a rapidly densifying village and a constituent part of one of the nation’s premier resort destinations. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork with residents and stakeholders, findings suggest that, within Chembe, reuse practices, and the motivations that drive them, are both widespread and diverse, with a multitude of ‘waste’ items living multiple ‘lives’ before being ultimately discarded as ‘trash’. These behaviours are facilitated by the fact that many desirable waste items are widely available locally within Chembe, and although some of these reuse practices may be widespread within Malawi, others have been uniquely fostered by Chembe’s position as an affluent tourism destination with abundant and easily accessible waste streams. This investigation is particularly important within the context of rural Africa, and the Global South more broadly. Moreover, it should critically inform circular economy, zero waste, and broader waste management studies discourse, where African households have been habitually treated as problems needing solutions, rather than potential sources of innovation and learning.

Stabilization of expansive soil by using industrial waste

The production of sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA), glass fiber (GF) and ceramic dust (CD) in developing countries at very large scale usually poses a severe disposal problem. The purpose of this research is to determine whether these three waste products are suitable for improving the engineering characteristics of expanding soil. The study has been carried out by varying the content of SBA (0-20%), CD (0-20%) and GF (0-4%) in black cotton soil. Optimization was carried out to find out the composition of the ideal quaternary blend. The use of these materials was found to decrease the maximum dry density and swelling of soil with increase in optimum moisture content. In addition, the liquid limit was found to decline with increment in CBR and unconfined compressive strength. The study confirms the use of these waste materials as soil stabilizers in addition to provide a solution for waste reuse.

Comparison of Agro-Wastes For Dewatering Enhancement For Dredged Sludge From Sewers

With the increasing wastewater generation from domestic and industrial activities due to the rapid economic development, the generation of sludge, in particular dredged sludge from municipal sewer system, has been an issue in developing countries. This study evaluated the enhancement of sewer’s sludge dewatering via mixing the sludge with different agro-wastes, including corn core powder, rice husk powder, bagasse powder and peanut shell powder. The addition of these agro-waste powders helped decrease the sludge’s moisture contents up to 17% after mixing with the ratio of 1:3, 1:5 or 1:7. Statistical analysis revealed the impacts of both additive types and mixing ratio on moisture content reduction. Among the four types of agro-waste, rice husk was shown to be the best additive to dredge sludges with highest reduction of heavy metal concentration and moisture content. The addition of agro-waste powders to enhance the dewatering of sludges is quite promising in the context of promoting waste reuse and energy saving.

Social Cooperation as a Driver for a Social and Solidarity Focused Approach to the Circular Economy

The circular economy (CE) is currently a very widespread paradigm aimed at addressing the climate crisis. However, its notions seem often to be only focused on technical, industrial and economic growth-centric goals, without practically addressing social problems such as inequality and social exclusion. In this context, type B social cooperation (SC-B) emerges in the Italian context as a type of organisation explicitly aiming at addressing social issues. It has historically fulfilled this mandate by pioneering, among others, “circular” processes in the field of waste management. In doing so, it has consolidated a high level of organizational and management capacity, which has made it an exemplary model capable of innovating the CE discourse and including marginalized people while delivering high-quality environmental services. Through evidence gathered integrating different methods and sources (interviews with social cooperatives, literature review, case study research on filed actions), this paper aims to offer a reading of SC-B as a driver for promoting a social turn of CE and local development. Moving beyond waste management and towards waste reuse, SC-B could play an active role in creating local and regional waste transformation and upcycling chains, capable of creating new employment and inclusion opportunities as well as reducing environmental impacts by processing wastes directly in the territory, shortening their treatment chain.

Electronic Waste Recycling Business: Solution, Choice, Survival

This study aimed to investigate factors impacting the electronic waste management in Thailand and recommend guidelines to drive the electronic waste recycling business in the country. The study used the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a conceptual framework. The in-depth interview was carried out using the semi-structured interview with the target agencies including government agencies, local administrative organizations, establishments related to electronic waste management (Factories in categories 105 and 106) as well as community junk shops in Chatuchak District, Bangkok. The study findings revealed that in considering the volume of electronic waste generated in Thailand and the share of important basic metals and plastics as components in electrical and electronic equipment to be used as secondary raw materials, the potential value from electronic waste recycling (household electrical appliances) could reach over 9,000,000,000 baht (9,165,701,106 baht) with the increasing trend following the increased volume of electronic waste. The market of the electronic waste recycling business in Thailand had the potential to grow. Upgrading of the electronic waste management system in Thailand was required for more efficiency, in particular, the process of collection, buy-back of product waste, reuse, and increased technological potential. Advanced technology needed to be developed to extract metals from electronic waste in order to obtain more varied metals.

PERANCANGAN BRAND ACTIVATION DAN MEDIA PROMOSI UNTUK THERAPEUTIC

Currently, environmental issues are a sensitive matter and are widely discussed in the world and in Indonesia. Environmentally friendly products have started to be widely used and have become a new lifestyle for several groups of people. Many business actors take this opportunity to start a business which at the same time invites the public to care more about environmental health. Therapeutic is a new business created because of the founder's awareness of environmental issues that are currently happening. Carrying eco-friendly products, Therapeutic sells natural soap bar and scented products that are made from natural ingredients and do not cause environmental damage, as well as applying the concepts of less-waste, reuse, and eco-lifestyle. As a new brand that stands in the midst of a pandemic like today, Therapeutic has several obstacles, namely in Indonesia there have been many similar products or businesses that will cause Therapeutic to lose competitiveness and lose name when faced with competitors. In addition, Therapeutic still needs trust from consumers, which is very necessary for the types of products and systems from Therapeutic. From the problems faced, Therapeutic conducted research to find out what marketing strategies and promotional media were right to increase brand awareness. The formulation of the problem in this study is how the brand activation strategy and promotional media are in accordance with the target market to increase Therapeutic brand awareness in social media. This research uses qualitative and quantitative methods in collecting data. The qualitative method is carried out by interviewing several experts and extreme users of eco-lifestyle actors to find data on how to carry out the right promotion. The quantitative method is carried out by surveying the Indonesian people to find out what social media platforms are most effective in promoting. The results of this study concluded that the right brand activation strategy for Therapeutic is by carrying out activities that can attract public interest such as workshops, so that the activities carried out can simultaneously introduce products and brands and provide education. The right social media platform to promote Therapeutic activation is Instagram. Keywords: Brand Activation, Eco-Lifestyle, Eco-Friendly, Social Media.

Analysis of Circular Thinking in Consumer Purchase Intention to Buy Sustainable Waste-To-Value (WTV) Foods

One of the new fronts in food research is related to waste reuse and the impact of by-products on food nutrition intensity. These foods are Waste-to-Value (WTV) products that are suitable for demonstrating the processes of the circular economy (CE), in which another excess material is converted into a new food, generating higher nutritional properties. The manifestation of customer reaction is very strong when buying these products. Consumer findings can strongly support or hinder the development of circular systems through our purchasing decisions. In this way, it is essential to evaluate consumer WTV foods to learn about related consumer habits. Consumers can support or hinder the circular economy with their purchasing intentions. This analysis’s primary objective is to evaluate what different factors can be applied to consumers’ perception in purchasing sustainable WTV foods towards CE. In this study, a well-constructed questionnaire was prepared. Five hundred and forty-four (544) people participated in the survey, of which, 499 samples were analyzed. The primary research question was, “Would the consumer buy a sustainable Waste-to-Value (WTV) food product that affects the environment when it is produced? That is, it does not come from a circular system?” The other question is, how do the origin of products, information on production/nutritional value, consumer education, and certain socio-demographic characteristics affect the value of waste value for sustainable food consumption? According to the research results, in the case of the surveyed consumers, the younger age group (18–35 years old) shows a greater preference for buying sustainable products. It is also a surprising and new result that gender characteristics in this age group do not influence consumption patterns. Women and men showed the same preferences. Our second hypothesis is that education positively affects consumer intentions for sustainable WTV foods and especially organic products. The questionnaire did not confirm this.