Plastics Scorecard (v.2.0 beta): Defining the Path to Sustainable Electronic Enclosures

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Plastics Scorecard (v.2.0 beta) Defining the
Path to Sustainable Electronic Enclosures
Mark Rossi, PhD (Clean Production Action) Tim
Greiner (Pure Strategies)
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Overview

• Our Goals Guiding Principles
• Current Eco Performance of Plastics in Products
• Plastics Scorecard
• Polymers in Electronic Enclosures and Emerging
  Biopolymers
• Recommendations

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Our Goals

• Provide compass on how to specify more
  sustainable plastics, both bio- and fossil fuel-
  based plastics
• Advance the development of more sustainable
  plastic electronic enclosures and moving away
  from legacy polymers, which are not based upon
  green chemistry
• Promote closed loop systems for plastics
• Call for design revolution in plastics

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Guiding Principles for more Sustainable Plastics

• Life Cycle Thinking
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Renewable Resources
• Green Chemistry
• Closed Loop Systems

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Eco Performance of Plastics among Products in
EPEAT Database
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Eco Performance of Plastics among Products in
EPEAT Database
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Eco Performance of Plastics among Products in
EPEAT Database
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• v. 1.0 Plastics Environmental Preference
  Spectrum developed with Health Care Without Harm
• This is a beta version! Comments welcome
• Plastic products scored on a scale of red to
  green
• Scorecard designed as a generic platform that can
  be applied across various product categories
  (making modifications for different product
  categories)
• Initial application electronic enclosures

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Plastics Life Cycle

• Feedstock production extracting or growing
• Plastics manufacturing
• Primary chemicals e.g., ethylene chlorine
• Intermediate chemicals e.g., ethylene
  dichloride
• Monomer e.g., vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)
• Polymer e.g., polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
• Additives e.g., plasticizers, stabilizers,
  colorants, etc.
• Molding into product
• Product use
• Product end of life management

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Chemicals of High Concern

• As defined by Benchmark 1 in the Green Screen for
  Safer Chemicals
• PBT, vPvB, vPT or vBT
• Carcinogen
• Mutagen
• Reproductive or Developmental Toxicant
• Neurotoxicant
• Endocrine disruptor

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Todays Polymers in Electronic Enclosures

• The big three
• Polycarbonate (PC)
• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
• High Impact Polystyrene (HIPs)
• And blends of these including PC/ABS, HIPs/PPO
  (polyphenylene oxide)

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Applying Plastics Scorecard to Electronic
Enclosures
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Emerging Polymers for Electronic Enclosures

• Fossil fuel Polymers
• Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)
• Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content option
  manufacture PBT from PET depolymerization (up to
  85 feedstock replacement)
• Common uses in electronics connectors, switches
• Enclosures initial applications desk top
  computers, mobile phones
• Biopolymers
• Polylactic acid (PLA)
• Feedstocks corn, sugar cane, sugar beets, rice
  starch
• Blends for electronics PLA with kenaf (RD), PLA
  with PC (laptops)
• Biobased nylons (polyamides) 610 and 11 (made
  from vegetable oils)

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Applying Plastics Scorecard to Electronic
Enclosures
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Recommendations Initial Steps for Electronics
Sector

• Develop agricultural procurement policies that
  promote more sustainable ag practices if sourcing
  biobased materials
• Move away from legacy polymers based on monomers
  and additives of high concern to polymers based
  on green chemistry
• Disclose all additives in polymers
• Increase use of post consumer recycled (PCR)
  content

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Thank You!

• Mark Rossi, Research Director
• Medford, MA 02155 USA
• mark_at_cleanproduction.org
• t) 781.391.6743
• www.cleanproduction.org