Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering June 2020
In-house glove recycling
Eliminating a waste stream with a circular approach
Axel Sjöberg
Johan Olsson Stjernberg
This thesis is submitted to the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Blekinge Institute of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
The thesis is equivalent to 20 weeks of full-time studies.
The authors declare that they are the sole authors of this thesis and that they have not used any sources other than those listed in the bibliography and identified as references. They further declare that they have not submitted this thesis at any other institution to obtain a degree.
Contact Information:
Author(s):
Axel Sjöberg
E-mail: axsj14@student.bth.se
Johan Olsson Stjernberg
E-mail: josf14@student.bth.seUniversity advisor:
Christian Johansson Askling Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Blekinge Institute of Technology Internet : www.bth.se
Phone : +46 455 38 50 00
A BSTRACT
Background. Between 2012 and 2017 the plastic supply in Sweden increased by almost 400
000 metric tons. In 2017, the hospitals in Sweden contributed to
4550 metric tons ofplastic waste, disposable gloves counted for 2100 metric tons, which is 358 million disposable gloves. The majority made in other countries than Sweden, which is not only contributing to a considerable waste stream but also vulnerability when the system is dependent on continuous material supplies.
Aim and Purpose. The research aim has been to understand the challenges and opportunities
of needs relating to plastic waste flows from the health care sector. From the needs, choose an area to develop an innovative solution that changes the current waste flow into value for the health care sector in Sweden.
Methods. For this thesis, the researcher has used the Design Research Methodology and the
MSPI innovation process. Design Research Methodology has been used to find and validate crucial information about the problem, by the usage of literature research and Unstructured interviews within the research area. MSPI was iteratively used with DRM to design the intended support as well as building the actual support.
Results. The final prototype proves that circularity for plastic materials in hospitals is
reachable. The Needfinding highlights the need for circularity, regarding both an effective use of the material and the health care’s readiness levels where access to Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is crucial, especially in times of crisis.
Conclusions. During the time of crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been clear that
changes regarding preparedness and access to PPE needs improvement. Circularity is one way of achieving greater control of the material flow, which affects the hospital's level of
independence. The development has proven one way of making the flow of disposable gloves circular by developing an inhouse recycling machine. This thesis work is just one angle of approach towards circularity and more efficient usage of material. To prove the concept in a hospital environment, future development is required.
Keywords: Waste to value, circular economy, PVOH, disposable gloves, health care
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S AMMANFATTNING
Bakgrund. Mellan åren 2012 och 2017 har plastförsörjningen i Sverige ökat med nästan 400 000 ton.
Under 2017 bidrog sjukhusen i Sverige till 4550 ton plastavfall varav engångshandskar bidrog med 2100 ton, vilket motsvarar 358 miljoner engångshandskar. Majoriteten är tillverkade i andra länder än Sverige, vilket inte bara bidrar till en stor avfallsström, utan också sårbarhet när systemet är beroende av kontinuerlig materialförsörjning.
Syfte och Mål. Forskningens syfte har varit att förstå utmaningarna och möjligheterna med plastavfallsflöden från vårdsektorn. Från behoven väljs ett område för att utveckla en innovativ lösning som stöder cirkularitet inom hälso-sjukvården i Sverige.
Metoder. Denna avhandling har genomförts med hjälp av DRM- och MSPI-innovationsprocess. DRM, Design Research Methodology, har använts för att hitta och validera avgörande information kring problemet och har också gett akademisk trovärdighet. Detta har gjorts med litteraturforskning och ostrukturerade intervjuer inom forskningsområdet. MSPI har använts tillsammans med DRM på iterativt sätt för att utforma det avsedda stödet och bygga det faktiska stödet.
Resultat. Projektets prototyp bevisar att cirkularitet för plastmaterial på sjukhus kan nås.
Behovsundersökningen visar på behovet av cirkularitet, både när det gäller materiell effektivitet och beredskapsnivåer på sjukhus där tillgången till personlig skyddsutrustning är avgörande. Speciellt i kristider.
Slutsatser. Under kristiden, covid-19-pandemin, har det varit tydligt att förändringar avseende beredskap och tillgång till personlig skyddsutrustning måste göras. Cirkularitet är ett sätt att uppnå större kontroll över materialflödet som påverkar sjukhusens självständighetsnivå. Projektet har visat ett sätt att göra flödet av engångshandskar cirkulärt genom att utveckla ett system för remanufacturing. Detta är bara en inställningsvinkel mot cirkularitet och en mer effektiv användning av material. För att bevisa konceptet i en riktig sjukhusmiljö krävs vidareutveckling.
Nyckelord: Från avfall till värde, cirkulär ekonomi , PVOH, engångshandskar, hälso-sjukvården
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Acknowledgment
We are very grateful for the support we have received during this project and thesis.
Our supervisor Christian Johansson Askling deserves a specially big thank you for the great support and guidance provided.
Thanks to Ryan Ruwald, who provided many helpful insights during the work of the thesis.
We want to thank our great BTH-team members M. Skoog, A. Backman and A. Ericsson.
We also want to acknowledge all team members in the ME310 project. Together we battled this journey with true grit and positive spirit.
To Peter Blaschke and Ulf Pettersson, who helped us with the building of the prototype, we want to send a big thank you.
We want to thank our corporate liaison Jenny Elfsberg and Martin Frank from Volvo Group for the opportunity and guidance.
A big thanks to Blekinge Institute of Technology and Stanford University.
To our understanding partners, Ida Granqvist and Johanna Fransson, who has been a constant support during this time, we are forever grateful.
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Nomenclature
PSS – Product service system PVOH – Polyvinyl Alcohol MDD – Medical device
PPE - Personal protection equipment AQL – Accepted quality assurance level EU – European Union
SMED – Svenska MiljöEmissionsData PET - Polyethylene terephthalate MVP - Minimum Viable Prototype PCE - Pieces
Abbreviations
Force majeure – Can be used during extraordinary circumstances and have different meanings
depending on the situation. In this case, it means that ordinary suppliers cannot deliver any or
a minimal amount of PP
C ONTENTS
ABSTRACT ... III SAMMANFATTNING ... V CONTENTS ... X
1 INTRODUCTION ... 2
1.1 PILOT STUDY ... 3
1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION ... 3
1.3 AIM AND PURPOSE ... 3
1.4 DELIMITATIONS ... 3
1.5 VOLVO GROUP ... 3
1.6 GLOBAL GOALS ... 4
2 THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS ... 5
2.1 HOSPITAL PLASTIC FLOWS IN SWEDEN ... 5
2.2 CIRCULAR ECONOMY ... 7
2.3 WASTE TO VALUE ... 8
2.4 PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEM (PSS), BUSINESS MODELS ... 9
2.5 REQUIREMENTS FOR SINGLE-USE MEDICAL GLOVES ... 11
Difference between gloves as a medical device and as personal protective equipment ... 11
... 11
2.6 CESTANDARDS ... 12
2.7 DISPOSABLE GLOVE MANUFACTURING ... 12
2.8 MATERIAL ... 13
PVOH ... 13
HydropolTM ... 13
3 METHOD ... 15
3.1 DESIGN RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (DRM) ... 15
Research clarification (RC) ... 16
Descriptive study (DS-1) ... 17
Prescriptive study (PS) ... 17
Descriptive study (DS-2) ... 17
3.2 MSPIINNOVATION PROCESS ... 17
Initiation ... 18
Inspiration ... 18
Ideation ... 18
Implementation ... 19
Design Thinking ... 19
10 X Canvas... 19
Lean Canvas ... 20
MVP ... 21
3.3 RESEARCH APPROACH ... 21
3.4 DATA GATHERING ... 21
Literature research ... 21
Unstructured Interviews ... 21
Observations ... 22
Analysis of data ... 22
3.5 MATERIAL TESTING ... 22
4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ... 24
4.1 UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS ... 24
4.2 OBSERVATIONS ... 25
Motala plastic sorting facility... 25
Incineration plant ... 25
4.3 INTENDED SUPPORT ... 26
System overview ... 26
Glove molding process ... 27
4.4 PROTOTYPING MANUFACTURING OF GLOVES ... 28
Iteration 1 ... 28
Iteration 2 ... 30
Iteration 3 ... 31
Iteration 4 ... 33
4.5 STERILIZATION OF PVOH SOLUTION ... 34
4.6 MATERIAL TESTING ... 35
4.7 MVP ... 36
4.8 LEAN CANVAS ... 38
Business model ... 39
5 DISCUSSION ... 40
5.1 DATA GATHERING ... 40
Literature research ... 40
Unstructured interviews ... 40
Observations ... 40
Analysis of data ... 41
5.2 METHODOLOGY DISCUSSION ... 41
Needfinding ... 41
DRM ... 42
MSPI ... 43
5.3 INTENDED SUPPORT ... 44
Glove molding process ... 44
5.4 PROTOTYPING MANUFACTURING OF GLOVES ... 44
Iteration 1 ... 44
Iteration 2 ... 45
Iteration 3 ... 45
Iteration 4 ... 45
5.5 STERILIZATION OF PVOH SOLUTION ... 46
5.6 MATERIAL TESTING ... 46
5.7 MVP ... 47
5.8 CHOICE OF MATERIAL ... 48
5.9 10XCANVAS ... 49
5.10 LEAN CANVAS ... 49
Business model ... 50
5.11 WASTE TO VALUE ... 50
6 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK ... 52
6.1 CONCLUSIONS ... 52
6.2 FUTURE WORK ... 52
7 REFERENCES ... 54
APPENDIX A ... 57
A.1.MATERIAL MECHANICAL TEST PROCEDURES ... 57
A.1.2DETERMINE FRICTION COEFFICIENT ... 57
A.1.3PUNCTURE TESTS ... 58
A1.4COATING METHOD ... 59
A.1.5RECYCLABILITY AND TENSILE STRENGTH ... 61
A1.6TEMPERATURE OF PVOH MIXTURE ... 63
List of Figures
Figure 1: Linear economy processes [15] ... 7
Figure 2: Circular economy process [17] ... 7
Figure 3: Different variations of product-service systems [22] ... 10
Figure 4 PSS Strategies [23] ... 10
Figure 5 Hot version Solubility of time vs. temperature [29] ... 13
Figure 6 Warm version Solubility of time vs. temperature [30] ... 14
Figure 7: Framework of DRM [31] ... 15
Figure 8: Different types of research projects [31] ... 16
Figure 9: Lean Canvas Template [39] ... 20
Figure 10: A dog bone sample made from Nitrile ... 22
Figure 11: System overview of intended support ... 26
Figure 12: Intended glove molding process ... 27
Figure 13: 3D printed molds ... 28
Figure 14: Applying the PVOH solution ... 29
Figure 15: First iteration of produce a glove from PVOH ... 29
Figure 16: Ceramic hand with one layer of PVOH ... 30
Figure 17: The ceramic hand during heat treatment ... 30
Figure 18: The result of iteration 2 ... 31
Figure 19: Measurement of Hydropol ... 31
Figure 20: Pressure cooking the Hydropol solution ... 32
Figure 21: Coated and dried glove on the hand mold ... 32
Figure 22: Glove made from hot Hydropol ... 33
Figure 23: Glove made from Hydropol material ... 33
Figure 24: PVOH ground to granulate ... 34
Figure 25: PVOH and water solution inside a pressure cooker ... 34
Figure 26: PVOH glove compared to nitrile glove ... 35
Figure 27: Cad model of the minimum viable prototype ... 36
Figure 28: Minimum viable prototype ... 37
Figure 29: Glove manufactured by MVP ... 37
Figure 30: Lean Canvas ... 38
Figure 31: 10X canvas ... 49
List of Tables
Table 1 Population data, used for appreciating the national impact the regions have for their waste streams in the Swedish health care in 2017 [3] ... 5Table 2 Compiled purchasing history for disposable plastic articles, from six different regions/county councils in the Swedish health care in 2017 [3] ... 5
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1 I NTRODUCTION
Since the industrial revolution and the introduction of mass production, the piles of waste have grown exponentially. Innovation in manufacturing has enabled products to be cheaper, which has led to consumption instead of preservation and maintenance [1]. Today, plastic is cheap and easy to manufacture. Plastic waste is highlighted as a significant environmental issue. A considerable amount of plastic waste ends up in the ocean, where it harms marine life. Today it is common to burn plastic waste where it contributes to increasing carbon dioxide emissions in the world [2] [3].
In Sweden alone, the plastic supply had increased from 900 000 metric tons in 2012 to almost 1,3 million metric tons in 2017. Approximately 413 000 metric tons of plastic each year constitutes hospital supplies, toys, household articles, items of furniture, and more [4]. A big part of hospital articles is imported from Asia, even though a fraction is manufactured in Sweden, making the hospitals vulnerable and dependent on continuously material supply. This arrangement creates an enormous amount of waste that traditionally have been burnt, exported, or sent to landfills. In 2017 the hospitals in Sweden were responsible for 4550 metric tons of plastic waste where disposable articles stand for 50% of the climate footprint. This waste includes, among other things, approximately 358 million single-use gloves (2100 metric tons), 15 million protective aprons, and 10 million plastic bags. This waste is then sent to incineration plants for energy recycling by burning the garbage and making it impossible to reuse the plastic material [4].
Creating value from waste by material recycling has started to be a common subject for environmentally aware company’s. Creating circularity for material flows makes businesses create value, both monetary and indirect values, such as marketing benefits [5] [6]. In 2015 in September, the United Nations’ 193 member countries agreed on Agenda 2030, which includes 17 global goals that are supposed to be met by the year 2030 [7]. The goals include, among others, good health and wellbeing, sustainable industry, innovations and infrastructure, sustainable consumption and production, and to decrease the environmental changes [8]. The regions in Sweden have started to plan and make changes for reaching global goals, among others, to increase sustainable material aspects in the procurement processes [9]. Hospitals in Sweden have started pilot projects where bioplastic is tested and used in different medical products, instead of plastic made from fossil fuels.
However, recycling bioplastic material is a complicated process in today’s recycling facilities, and there is a long chain of activities to fulfill before the material is recycled [4]. There are reasons why the flow of disposable articles are exceptionally high from the health care sector, and they are among others: hygiene and contagion risks, economic costs due to increased sorting of materials, mixed materials, and adhesives in the plastic products. It is, therefore, more comfortable to focus on decreasing the number of plastic materials by eliminating or reducing articles like shoe covers [10]. “The region of Stockholm’s ambition, for the year 2030, is to create an increased circularity for health care’s plastic products and to change procurement criteria to achieve innovations and increased circularity” [10, p. 2].
1.1 Pilot study
This master thesis is a project funded by Volvo Group in collaboration with students from Blekinge Institute of Technology and Stanford University, making this a global team. The challenge derives from the project prompt, which was presented by Volvo: “We dream of a future of waste & recycling that will be safe, optimized and sustainable from the curbside collection, through a circular system, until ending up at compost, landfill or energy recovery. We believe in turning Waste into Value by reducing the reliance of mining the bedrock for material and instead of capitalizing on Urban Mining opportunities in society. The future waste & recycling industry should be an impressive industry with zero accidents, zero emissions, zero unplanned downtime, and much higher productivity. Convenience and predictability for everyone involved is wanted – for households, drivers and operators and all other humans”.
The future of waste and recycling is an area that needs improvement and innovation. Meaning that it is up to the global team to identify needs, define a problem, and subsequently develop a solution that creates value in the waste sector.
1.2 Research question
How can the health care sector in Sweden reduce their PPE waste streams and gain value by introducing a waste to value perspective?
1.3 Aim and Purpose
The aim and purpose of this thesis are to highlight today's PPE waste streams and prove how waste streams can be turned into value by creating an innovative prototype that demonstrates the feasibility of the intended circular system.
1.4 Delimitations
The technical innovation will be designed primarily to be used at hospitals.
This thesis will be focused on the waste to value aspect and manufacturing process of the gloves. Proving that PVOH as biologic material can be recycled and reused at an in-house factory, as well as an autoclave can be used for sterilization of the recycling material. It is not for proving 100% sterility after the autoclave process. It will also be limited to those areas at hospitals that allow for PVOH as the material to use. The chosen product to remanufacture is used as medical devices at hospitals and intended to be the replaced item. The remanufactured glove is designed to be used as a protection for the wearer against infections and aims to replace nitrile gloves at hospitals.
The whole recycling process has proven to be a significant research area to attack.
Given the time frame for this thesis, the team has chosen to focus the work on the glove molding process and proving critical system functions.
A big part of the development and testing has been on the PVOH material. The used material for the final concept is Hydropol, based on PVOH.
1.5 Volvo Group
Volvo group has manufactured vehicles since 1927, and the company started at the Island of Hisingen in Sweden. The first vehicle to be produced was the car Volvo Öv4 Jacob. Between 1940-1945, Volvo expanded and bought most of the shares in
Svenska Flygmotor AB, which later became Volvo Aero. In 1950 Volvo acquired AB Bolinder-Munktell, a construction equipment manufacturer, forming Volvo Construction Equipment. In the following years, Volvo opened more manufacturing plants in Sweden and Belgium. In the late 1970s, Volvo switched from a Swedish exporting company to a European company with the base in Sweden. Since then, Volvo has continuously expanded to other countries and explored new markets. In 1999 Volvo sold the car division to Ford and created a new group, Volvo Group, with a focus on the commercial market, including Renault and Mack Trucks. This group has grown and today consists of Volvo trucks, Volvo Penta, UD trucks, Terex Trucks, Renault Trucks, Prevost, Nova bus, Mack trucks, SDLG, Eicher, and Arquus. During this time, Volvo group has become one of the world-leading manufactures of trucks, buses, marine engines, industrial engines, and construction equipment [11].
1.6 Global goals
In 2015 the member countries of the United Nations declared a universal agenda of goals. The agenda is current to the year 2030. The agenda is a collective agreement to fight economic and social injustices as well as work towards environmentally sustainable development. The agenda divides into seventeen sub-goals. [7]
For the moment, our planet's resources are consumed faster than replenished.
Therefore, changes are needed to reduce our ecological footprint substantially and to think differently about how we are consuming resources and products. Sustainable consumption will give benefits to the environmental, social, and economic aspects as well as increasing human health [12]. It will also enhance competitiveness and growth on the global market and is necessary to change the negative environmental impact on the earth. The main global goal until 2030 includes seventeen environmental targets to improve [12].
Every target has several milestones to achieve, e.g for target 12, responsible consumption and production.
Decrease the amount of waste
Achieve sustainable usage of natural resources
Achieve a responsible waste management process to decrease the ecological footprint
Increase developing countries' capability of scientific and sustainable consumption and production as well as inform the public in environmentally friendly living [12].
The global goals are also about fighting the occurring climate changes that are a threat to the world's civilization as we know it today. The greenhouse gas emissions are steadily increasing, and as a result, the world's average temperature could increase more than 2°C which is believed the tipping point [13]. If this tipping point is reached, it will have negative impacts on water supply, natural disasters, human health and security, ecosystems, and ocean acidification. It is already possible to see some of the effects, and it may be a catastrophic change if we do not react now and fast. By education and that every citizen takes responsibility for their actions, it is possible to achieve a positive change that is good for the planet. The capacity to handle climate change and implementing actions towards climate changes in politics and planning can be improved by increasing knowledge in developing countries [14].
2 T HEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS 2.1 Hospital plastic flows in Sweden
In 2012 Svenska MiljöEmissionsData, SMED, on behalf of the Swedish environmental protection agency, conducted a project to map the plastic waste flows in Sweden, lastly updated 2017 [4]. The problems of plastic waste have become hot topics to debate when plastic waste ends up in the oceans and the challenges that exists of recycling more significant amounts of plastic waste. The Swedish environmental protection agency, together with the sea and water authority, has been given a mission from the government to decrease the littering by suggesting new policy instruments [4]. The European Commission also has a plastic strategy that describes several suggestions to limit the use of plastic products, e.g., by giving instructions for mandating 25% recycled plastics in PET-bottles [4].
A sub-study to investigate what types of disposable plastic products that are used in health care in Sweden and also to quantify the number of disposable plastic products used each year, as well as to list the most common types of plastic was conducted in 2017. This study focuses on articles that are ordered in a minimum amount of 10 000 entities each year and used in care-specific purposes [4].
Table 1: Population data, used for appreciating the national impact the regions have for their waste streams in the Swedish health care in 2017 [4]
Region/County council Population (Number) Percentage of population
Stockholm 2 308 143 22,8
Dalarna 286 165 2,8
Västmanland 271 095 2,7
Sörmland 291 341 2,9
Uppsala 368 971 3,6
Örebro 298 907 3,0
Sum 3 824 622 37,8
The nation of Sweden 10 120 242 100
In order to estimate the number of disposable products, six regions and county councils evaluated their consumption. They scaled the result to represent national estimates, as can be seen in table 1. The result of the estimation showed that the most common products are cups, gloves, aprons, and bags. The region of Sörmland listed especially ten items that they believe will increase the emissions substantially; they are different kinds of garbage bags, shoe covers, examination gloves (not all kinds of gloves), and aprons [4].
Table 2: Compiled purchasing history for disposable plastic articles, from six different regions/county councils in the Swedish health care in 2017 [4]
Type of product Description Purchasedproducts (number of
articles in thousands)
National upscaling (number of
articles in thousands) Gloves Gloves of different
kinds of plastic and rubber, as
vinyl, nitrile,
136 000 358 000
polyisoprene, polyethylene, latex
and more Cans, bottles, lids,
cups, test tubes and bowls
Plastic storage items with disposable character
36 000 95 000
Syringes and
cannulas Syringes and cannulas with or
without needles
35 000 92 000
Aprons, protectives, jackets, hats, shoe
covers, and protective
eyewear
Aprons for protecting the wearer against splashes during
surgery and examinations
34 000 89 000
Hoses, associated bags, taps, valves,
tubes, gates, adapters, aggregates, nozzles, and
pumps
Hoses and valves with different
purposes and usage areas
30 000 79 000
Bags and waste
bags For different kinds
of waste 22 000 58 000
Other instruments Mixed instruments of plastic with
disposable characters like pipettes, blood sticks and more
9 000 24 000
Sealing plastic, pockets and sterile
bags
4 000 11 000
Respiratory masks
and mouthguards Products intended
to be used by staff 3 000 8 000
Sum N/A 309 000 813 000
As can be seen in Table 2, the number of purchased gloves was almost half of the total amount of purchased disposable articles, which results in 2100 metric tons of glove waste each year [4]. It is possible to estimate the weight of gloves because they have a known weight that varies very little. In contrast, other articles vary in weight more, and that makes it difficult to estimate the total weight of disposable items each year. If the other disposable products are assumed to weigh ten grams per entity, the total weight will become 4550 metric tons in 2017. As can be seen in table 2, the disposable products consist of different kinds of plastic materials, e.g., vinyl, nitrile, polyisoprene, polyethylene, and latex.
Recycled and biobased plastics are used in various quantities in health care in Sweden. It is difficult to estimate the exact amount because the different regions have different requirements in the procurement processes and have not come equally far in their sustainability work. However, the different regions in Sweden are testing choices to fossil plastic products, and if the testing works well are new requirements needed in the procurement process. These requirements increases the amount of
recycled and biobased plastic in health care. In 2017 the numbers of recycled plastic items from the Swedish health care was not investigated, due to lack of data [4]. It is a process that is continuously developed to get reliable data. However, in 2017, the total generated amount of waste was approximately 64 000 metric tons, and 30%
was recycled, including energy recycling. A challenge for increasing the recycled material is the hygienic factor, products that have been in contact with body fluids are often considered to be contaminated and therefore sorted for incineration.
Despite that some of the contaminated products will be burned, it is possible to achieve some significant improvements for a better recycling process of those products [4].
2.2 Circular economy
Figure 1: Linear economy processes [15]
A linear economy is the traditional way of consumption habits. The first step is
“take” which means extracting material from the Earth’s crust. Next step is “make”
which means transporting virgin material to the production facility, distributing the product to retailers as well as consumption of the material and then “waste” which means disposing of the material that often ends up at landfills around the world [16], as can be seen in figure 1.
Figure 2: Circular economy process [17]
As can be seen in figure 2, a circular economy differentiates from a traditionally linear economy and is in its purest form when waste does not occur at all. This means
that as much as possible of the used resources will be recycled and reused again as many times as possible, as well as materials that cannot be recycled will in a sustainable way be returned to nature´s cycle by reusing the energy through burning or as compost. It does not mean that new products from virgin materials will not be manufactured. It means that manufacturing with virgin material shall be as little as possible not to tear more than needed on our planet [16]. Some new production is always going to be needed because the quality of recycled material will decrease, and the material will not have the same physical properties as the virgin material after the recycling process. The pressure on the world’s fossil resources is continuously increasing as the population on earth increases. That is one reason why it is vital to introduce a circular economy in society, and it is needed if global goals to decrease the material consumptions shall be met. To achieve a circular economy the society needs to decrease the consumption of new products and increase the reuse of products. Change the design of new products so it will be easier to dismantle and recycle, increase the recycling of used products, and reuse the energy in products that cannot be recycled [16].
With agenda 2030, the society of the modern world is continuously working towards increasing the circularity of today´s and tomorrow’s society [7]. However, some challenges need addressing when moving towards a circular economy.
Companies used to thinking in linear terms may have a hard time changing and becoming more environmentally friendly because of economic aspects. For instance, plastic producers often use oil and other fossil resources in their products. It is cheaper for them to produce plastic from virgin material than to use recycled material [18] [16], which leads to more burning of plastic in incineration plants, which in turn increases the CO2 emissions and contributes to the climate change. Alternatively, if the plastic does not end up at incineration plants, a lot of it may end up in nature and harming wildlife [19]. The producers in the European Union do only need to inform the retailer and consumers about substances in their products that are listed on the European Union list of special poisonous substances, meaning that this information is not reaching the recycling facilities [16]. The lack of information affects the recycling process because recycling facilities may not have correct information about adhesives and other chemicals in all products. The legislation in the United Nations allows higher levels of dangerous substances in reused materials than in virgin material, meaning that poisonous chemicals are recycled with the products, this may harm the users of recycled products [16]. The information given indicates that the consumers of today's society have the responsibility to ensure that old products are staying in the circular economy system. Instead, this responsibility should be on the producers to ensure that their products stay in a circular system, which is possible to achieve by the implementation of harder legislation on the producer’s usage of modern business models [16].
2.3 Waste to value
The value of materials are often measured by its purpose. This means that waste is not valuable even though the material remains same, only different purpose.
According to the Mistra report, only 5% of the material used in the world recycled and 60% of all material is lost after first usage [20]. Production, design and systems for reusing the material all have impacts on the material value.
Some companies have adopted the idea of creating value and, at the same time allowing for reduction or elimination of waste flows. An example of that is the Vecoplan inhouse recycling facility, they turn production waste of plastics into recycled material, and production companies can do this in-house with their
technology. They are enabling companies to reduce their material supply, waste, and costs. Vecoplan is keen to adapt their machines to specific circumstances for the recycling of different materials and quantities. They use shredding machines to shred the material, conveyors to move the shredded material, screening to sort the material in different fractions, and separate machines that make the output more homogenous by eliminating foreign materials [6]. These fractions can then be introduced in the manufacturing process, which keeps material value.
Another company in the recycling business is the Erema group. They are world- leading in the development and production of plastic recycling systems [5]. They are recycling plastics from collection systems, used PET bottled and plastic waste from manufacturers. They are also offering in-house recycling for different kinds of plastic materials. The Erema group has several success stories, where they have managed to manufacture shower gel bottles from household recycling sacks and manufactured PET bottles from 100% recycled PET flakes, and much more. The company calls the PET recycling for Bottle-To-Bottle, they are combining four steps during the recycling process, decontamination, stabilization, melt filtration and injection stamping is energy compared with traditional systems reduced with 30%
and Co2 emissions by 25%. They are offering their products as a service and is responsible for the maintenance of their products, making it easy for the user to incorporate the machines in their businesses [5].
2.4 Product service system (PSS), business models
PSS exists in many different forms and variations, and it is an innovative business model where the aim is to listen to the customers’ needs and deliver a suitable combination of products and services, compared to regular sales where only the product is in focus [21]. One of the innovative areas of PSS is the service thinking that may make it easier for the customers to fulfill their goals and make it possible to entirely new opportunities for making business. PSS is also changing the design of the products, so they will be easier maintained, updated, and serviced, creating a robust product flora throughout the whole life cycle. PSS also makes it easier to have a specific customer in mind at the very beginning of the design process. The company that provides the service is also responsible for agreements, physical elements, timing, and risks that are related to the service. This does not mean that the producer of the product necessarily is the provider of the service [21]. PSS starts to be more common today and is noticeable in a broad market range, e.g., Business- to-Business (B2B), Business-to-consumer (B2C), and Business-to-Government (B2G) [21].
PSS business models have proven to be successful in various kinds of industries, e.g., defense industries, car paint shops, and photocopiers. A reason why is because PSS makes it possible to have a deeper understanding and better dialog with the customer, where the relationships are based mutually, makes it easier to provide value by fulfilling the customer needs [21].
Figure 3: Different variations of product-service systems [22]
As can be seen in figure 3, a PSS business model is adaptable from pure product-oriented focus to pure service. Product-oriented means that the provider provides a service that is connected to the product, e.g. suppliers commit to a take- back agreement for the product and recycle it when the products user phase is ended, which also may be a B2C business model if the product is a household device. The focus area is still on selling physical products, but with a variation of committed services for which the customer pays. The value created is the decreased work and responsibility the customer has throughout the product life cycle, while the delivered value, as mentioned before, the services related to the product and the capturing of value is that the customer pays value delivery and creation. If the user-oriented business model is adopted, the customer rents or leases the product instead of buying.
For example, if a person chose to lease a car for a certain amount of time, the ownership of the product would not be changed to the customer, makes the responsibilities and risks higher for the provider of the product and the product will be available to next customer after returning to the provider. The focus is still on the product. For the result-oriented business model, the customer pays for a pure service or a specific outcome [23].
Figure 4 PSS Strategies [23]
These different PSS approaches highlight tactics that are suited to be used for each orientation, as can be seen in figure 4.
2.5 Requirements for single-use medical gloves
The requirements for staff protection when using single-use gloves are well defined. However, the medical difference and requirements between when to use
“sterile surgical gloves” used during surgical procedures and “single-used medical gloves” are not well defined [24]. Gloves in health care are used for the following situations:
Protection from radiation
Protection against chemicals
Protection for the user against blood, excretions, secretions, and pathogens that may be capable of reproduction
Protection for the patient or sterile work area against pathogens which may be on the user’s hand [24]
Different environments will have different demands on the glove’s quality.
Germany has a description of single-use gloves that do not have any regulations against being sterile, and it is “germ-poor.” This term does only exist in Germany, and only means that the risk of getting infected from the gloves is minimal. It is discussed if the term shall be used at all. The discussions focus on the risk of infection variables:
How is the glove used?
The amount of pathogen in the working area?
The toxicity of present viruses in the area?
Even France has a name of their own: “gants d’examen,” meaning “examination gloves,” and England has the term “Clean single-use gloves,” which neither gives a fulfilled description of the contamination risk from the gloves or the amount of microbial load on them. Therefore, the term “pathogen-free single-use gloves”
suggested being used [24].
Difference between gloves as a medical device and as PPE
Sterile surgical gloves need to protect both the user and patient against infections. Single-use gloves are not to be used for sterile activities [24]. They are only intended to protect the user. They do, however, provide indirect protection for the patient by hold back massive contamination. They will guarantee no risk of getting infected if hand disinfection is used on the skin afterward. Artificial contamination with E. coli bacteria shows that only 2log10 of the bacteria was still on the skin after usage of hand disinfection [24]. This means that single-use gloves also can prohibit infection transmission if used correctly. These two types of gloves are both classified as medical devices. If the single use-gloves are intended to be used in non-sterile areas, they need to fulfill the following requirements [24]:
Storage of minimum three years accordingly to EN 455-4
Biocompatibility for chemicals, endotoxins, and exclusion from powder as well as proteins that may leak accordingly to EN 455-3
They need to be labeled as “MDD 93/42/ECC.”
A tearing strength during manufacturing that is at least 9 Newtons, accordingly to EN 455-2
AQL of ≤1.5 accordingly to EN 455-1
These requirements do not mention microbiological safety limits. This makes it possible for manufacturing companies not to sterilize the gloves during the production process [24].
An independent investigation has been made to analyze the microbiological quality on 11 different single-use glove models that was 3-6 months old. Included were two ethylene-vinyl-acetate models, one neoprene model, five nitrile models, and three latex models. All gloves were tested accordingly to the method approved amount of CFU in regular potable water in Europe. These gloves may be used in contact with skin and mucous membranes, which make it possible to use the drinking water limits as acceptable requirements of cleanliness. Therefore, the term
“pathogen-free single-use gloves” is suggested to be used [24].
2.6 CE Standards
CE standards were first introduced in the early 1990s, and it was introduced to give the manufacturers a chance to prove that their products are made accordingly to the requirements that the EU directives decide. When a product is certified with the CE logo, it means that it is fulfilling the requirements for the European Union health, environment, and security standards. It also means that the product can be sold freely within the EU [25]. The directives that transfer the regulations are needed to know what applies to each CE marked product completely. Each CE-market product is also an “insurance of agreement” included, which is a document including that the manufacturer promises that the product is following the EU’s safety standards [25].
High-risk products need that the manufacturer uses several independent agencies that are certified to do control, certification, and testing accordingly to the EU. In Sweden, it is possible to ask Swedac to get information about who can issue CE certification within a specific product area. The CE logo shall have a consistent form and have an identification number if the product is approved through third-party agencies. It is allowed for a manufacturer to design their CE logo, but it needs to follow specific requirements and look like the original logo. The responsibility for fulfilling the CE standard is on the manufacturing company, and the product may get a sales ban if the requirement is not followed. Followed are some examples of products that are or can be marked with the CE logo [25]:
Leisure boats
Construction products
Toys for children
Medical technology products
Personal protection equipment And much more [25].
2.7 Disposable glove manufacturing
The procedure for manufacturing gloves is similar for latex, nitrile, and vinyl gloves. Vinyl is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), for using the material like a glove is a chemical plasticizer added, making the material flexible. The process of manufacture the gloves starts with ceramic hand molds that pass through water and bleach to remove any residues from the previous manufacturing process and then a drying procedure for the hand molds. After that are the ceramic hand molds dipped in calcium carbonate and calcium nitrate mixture, ensuring that the vinyl coagulates around the molds and another drying process. The next step is to dip the ceramic hands into a vinyl mixture, then heating the mold to a high temperature, creating the
forms of the vinyl glove while drying. The gloves are then treated with chlorine or polymer coating to harden the surface and making it slicker. The last step of the process is to remove the vinyl gloves from the ceramic hand molds [26].
All manufactured gloves are quality tested, the quality test is based on guidelines from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The tests have different standards depending on the user area, where the exam-grade gloves have higher requirements than industrial-grade gloves. The last step is to pack and ship the gloves. This company is in Asia, and most of the gloves are shipped with ocean freight to their destination [26].
2.8 Material
In this project, the developing team has elaborated with water-soluble plastic.
To fit the constrains in manufacturing and handling, the team has elaborated with two water-soluble polymers.
PVOH
Polyvinyl alcohol is a polymer soluble in water. It was first synthesized in the 1920s and has since then been shadowed by other plastics like polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET [25]. It is manufactured by hydrolysis of Poly Vinyl Acetate, which is not water-soluble. It is a synthetic polymer and degrades biologically. Water acts as the polymer’s plasticizer giving the PVOH its mechanical properties. The more water the plastic has absorbed, the more elastic the plastic becomes until it dissolves. This property makes PVOH an interesting material for circularity because its processing agent is water [27], which is easily provided. This specific property is also an obstacle because it restricts the material’s usability in different environments, depending on the relative humidity. In dry environments, the plastic will become brittle and not malleable, while in humid environments, it loses its stiffness and integrity. PVOH is resisting oil and many chemicals, which makes it a useful material in many applications such as biomedical equipment, water- soluble packaging, and adhesives. [27]
Hydropol
TMHydropol is a plastic-based on PVOH. Unlike ordinary PVOH, Hydropol has much higher levels of hydrolysis, which makes the reaction to water controllable by the water’s temperature. It is still soluble in water, but only if the water has a temperature above 40°C for the warm and 70°C for the hot version [28]. In cold water, the material will dissolve, but the time for this is very long. See Figures 5 and 6.
Figure 5 Hot version Solubility of time vs. temperature [29]
Figure 6 Warm version Solubility of time vs. temperature [30]
This property makes Hydropol a much more useful material for applications regardless of the relative humidity. The thermal properties of Hydropol make it suitable for conventional manufacturing processes. It also gives stability to the material’s mechanical properties, which makes the shelf life in a humid environment much longer than PVOH with lower levels of hydrolysis. [28]
3 M ETHOD
3.1 Design Research Methodology (DRM)
The used method in this thesis is called Design Research Methodology and is suitable for use in design projects. It helps the researchers answer three main questions [31]:
What do we mean by a successful product?
How is a successful product created?
How do we improve the chances of being successful?
The first question is taken care of by investigating and decide the goals of the project, also based on the goals to create criteria that are to decide if the research contains enough valuable information. To answer the second question it is needed to increase the understanding of how to design, and then it will be easier to make improvements. To gain a greater understanding it is needed to investigate and determine the influences of success and the interaction of these influences and how to assess them. The last questions give birth to thoughts related to how this new understanding will be used for the development and evaluation of support that needs answers. By doing the evaluation, it is possible to identify if the developed prototype leads to success that was determined by criteria from the first question. As it is possible to see in figure 1, these questions are answered systematically in four different stages [31].
Figure 7: Framework of DRM [31]
As can be seen in figure 7, the different stages are Research Clarification, Descriptive study 1, Prescriptive study, and Descriptive study 2. The main process flow in figure 7 is visualized by the bold arrows, while the light arrows show iterations that’s need to be made [31].
Methodologies used in projects are often intended to be used to enhance thrustfully and useful results, by making the research process well planned and smooth working. This research method cannot guarantee a successful outcome. The
DRM method is heuristic instead of algorithmic, meaning that each team member has personal interests, background, and makes each project different [31].
This methodology is applied in an opportunistically and flexibly manner to increase the likeliness of capturing valuable fractions of the research and interesting paths that can arise during the process.
Figure 8: Different types of research projects [31]
As can be seen in figure 8, DRM can be used in seven different ways. The choice to make is dependent on the type of research project. Where the review-based study is mainly focusing on reviewing the literature, an initial study is used to finish a project and includes early stages to show the impact of the result as well as prepare other stakeholders to use the results. A comprehensive study uses literature review, empirical study, and support is developed as well as an evaluating of this support.
This thesis follows path number five [31].
Research clarification (RC)
The intention of this phase is for the researchers to develop a truthfully and realistic research goal. By doing so, the researchers need to find evidence or indications which support the assumptions the research goals are based upon. This information is given primarily by conducting literature reviews that combine the two factors, product success, and task clarification. Taking these findings into account an initial description of both the current and wanted situations is developed to clarify and make hidden assumptions concise. The following part of this stage is dedicated to formulating criteria that can be used for measurement the result of this research.
The main goals of this stage are:
Conducting an initial reference model.
Conducting an impact model.
Conducting preliminary criteria [31].
Descriptive study (DS-1)
In this stage, the research focuses on comprehensive studies regarding the problem statement from the Research clarification stage. By conducting further literature studies, empirical research, testing, and reasoning, the developers are aiming to obtain a deeper understanding of the design and success factors. The reference model, with success criteria and measurable success criteria, is completed in this stage. Finding and suggesting key factors for the prescriptive study is of importance in this stage.
The main goals of this stage are:
To complete the reference model, success criteria, measurable success criteria, and key factors.
To update the initial impact model [31].
Prescriptive study (PS)
This study is performed when the (RC) and (DS-1) stage is completed and contributes to developing the intended support. The gained knowledge from the earlier stages helps further to develop the initial description of the prevailing situation. This developed description also declares key factors that are needed to transform the prevailing situation to the improved desired situation. Essential to have in mind is that the intended support does not need to be the developed support when the effects are evaluated.
The main goals of the PS stage are:
Description of intended support, intended introduction plan, and intended impact model.
Actual support, documentation of actual support, description of actual support, actual introduction plan, and impact model.
Results of support evaluation and Outline evaluation plan [31].
Descriptive study (DS-2)
This step is performed to gain an understanding of the developed products affect and its capability to make the desired situation real. This understanding comes from prototype iterations as well as reflections. The learnings are used to evaluate the development of the product. The evaluation distinguishes between application and success evaluation. The first one focuses on determining if the support works and can be used for fulfilling the intended task and addresses the stated key factors. The success evaluation focuses on the intended impact and if the impact is as expected, especially if the wanted situation that is documented in the impact model has been realized.
The main goals of the DS-2 stage are:
Results from the application and success evaluation.
Suggestions that improves actual support, intended support, used criteria, reference model, actual and intended impact model, as well as actual and intended introduction plan [31].
3.2 MSPI Innovation Process
MSPI teaches at the Blekinge institute of technology in Sweden and is focusing on the dynamics of an innovation process. MSPI consists of four stages (initiation, inspiration, ideation, and implementation), which clarifies a structured path for increasing the chances of a successful innovation process [32].
Initiation
During this phase, the team is focusing on framing teaming and planning.
During the framing, the team is focusing on making an effective process, it is important that each team member has an open-minded mindset and is susceptible to impactful and innovative solutions. A way of doing this is to use “How might we question” [33]. A key factor for making this successful is to create questions that are not too broad or to narrow. To narrow questions may negatively affect the creativity, and too broad questions may make it hard to start generating ideas. The ideas shall focus on the user and user experience, and they shall give room to evolve during the project. During the teaming stage, the focus lies upon creating a well-formed team that strives against the same goal. It can be achieved by setting up individual and team-based goals, expectations, roles, how to make the collaboration effective, how to make the communication effective, how to make the decision making effective, and how to solve potential conflicts. Moving on to the planning, the MSPI process advocates visual and agile planning, which highlights potential roadblocks, next steps, and relevant outcomes from the previous week [32].
Inspiration
This phase is about conducting Needfinding to understand unfulfilled needs in the society as well as get the best possible understanding of the area the project is focused on. Needs survives longer than any developed support. Needs will act as a guideline during development, and needs will also help the designers understand how to create a valuable product. Possible methods to do Needfinding are frame and prepare, watch, ask, interpret, conducting Trendwatching, and Techwatching.
“Frame and prepare” involves meeting the customer without major preparations and ask informative questions. “Watch” is conducted by observing users and gives the researcher acknowledges a greater understanding of how an existing solution is used.
“Ask” is about interviewing the customers. “Interpret” is done by gathering all collected information and making prioritized statements that describe the needs. The researches use trendwatching as a tool to understand where the society is heading, learn about key factors that start a trend rather than a short time fashion. As well as learn about near time trends and longtime prognosis. Techwatching gives the researcher an understanding of the possibilities with different technologies, and potential tools to use for identifying trending technologies are Hype cycle and Technology radar [32] [34] [35].
Ideation
The ideation part is conducted when the researches have a deep understanding of the focus area and describe methods to use when the project goes from deep understanding to innovative ideas, as well as how that is done effectively. The methods to use is dependent on the group constellation and members’ personalities.
It does not exist a standard method to use for all occasions. Examples of effective methods can be brainwriting, brainstorming, heuristic ideation technique, object brainstorm, random stimuli, and reversed assumptions.
The ideation phase is also about diverging and converging. [32]
When exploring multiple areas of innovation, the team is in the diverging phase.
This phase is a broad exploration, and many ideas and concepts are generated. The primary purpose is to learn and create choices for upcoming development [36]. Data gathering by conducting interviews and observations are essential for the idea generation. Brainstorming sessions generate ideas, and the ideas spread widely within the project prompt at this stage.
Converging is about making choices. After the diverging phase, the developers have many ideas and need to decide which ones to pursue. In this stage, the team needs to converge on specific ideas to continue to develop and test. [36]
The ideation part of a project is also known to be an iterative phase, it is a method for refining concepts and make decisions step by step [32].
Implementation
Implementation is about refining concepts as much that it is possible to start testing them and focusing on building the right solution rather than building the solution right. The degree of freedom is still high in this phase, making it cheap to fail and start over. Killing your darlings is a crucial step to take. The team members shall be objective against the prototypes and concepts developed, which makes it easier to discard and focusing the energy to develop new concepts or/and prototypes.
A value proposition is conducted in one or two sentences, this is made to capture the value of the designed prototype and will also give a hint if the prototype manages to do what the concept says. This stage is also about communicating the prototype result of the project, and it can be done with a pitch occasion. When conducting a pitch, the main question to answer will be, what is the essence of the offering? The pitch shall be kept simple and pinpointed at the audience that is hearing the pitch [32].
Design Thinking
The innovation process has been according to the design thinking methodology.
Design thinking is a way of approaching a development, especially feasible in a project without a concrete problem statement. The cornerstones in design thinking are Desirability, Feasibility, and Viability. Desirability meaning the need that humans have for a solution. Feasibility meaning the technological conditions for a solution. Viability meaning the economic incentives for a solution. The development is human-centered and aims to create value out of waste. This means that the data gathering and research aim to find human needs in this area where development is needed. The challenge in this innovation project is to find an area where development is needed and to find a balance between desirability, feasibility, and viability. [37]
10 X Canvas
The 10X canvas is a development tool used in projects to support exponential change. It helps the developer to aim into a future end-goal, typically with very high expectations, and lets the developer create what is needed to prove critical questions along the way. It is based on prototyping and development along a road of minimum viable prototypes, prototypes that proves the critical questions and takes the development over roadblocks. It helps the development with planning by dividing the development into milestones. This gives the developer a chance to, in a structured manner, plan the development and muster the pieces needed for progress. The technology needed, partnerships needed, skills needed, and the next step to act upon.
[38]
Lean Canvas
The Lean Canvas, see figure 9, is a tool for developing the concept’s business aspects and to present a clear proposition of the developed product.
By filling in this template, a 1-page business plan helps to interpret a conceptual idea to its key features. The Lean Canvas is an alternative method to formulate a business model for a concept. This method can also make it brighter for others to read and understand compared to other tools for developing business plans [39].
Figure 9: Lean Canvas Template [39]
When writing this Canvas, the process of writing is done in the following order and with these key aspects in mind [39]:
1. Problem:
List the top 1-3 problems 2. Customer segments:
List your target customers and users 3. Unique value proposition:
Single, clear, compelling message that states why you are different and worth paying for
4. Solution:
Outline a possible solution for each problem 5. Channels:
List your path to customers (inbound or outbound) 6. Cost structure:
List your fixed and variable costs 7. Revenue streams:
List your sources of revenue 8. Key metrics:
List the key numbers that tell how your business is doing 9. Unfair advantage:
Something that cannot easily be bought or copied
MVP
Minimum viable product/prototype is an early iteration of the product that showcase the features in a clear way for potential customers. It is used to prove the feasibility of the concept both technically and business vise. The MVP is also beneficial because it gives the potential customers an understanding of the product and allows for early feedback. [40]
MVP focuses a limited and prioritized set of functionalities aimed at proof-of- concept and/or early adopters. Therefore, it can seem sparse or incomplete compared to a more mature product, but nevertheless it should be possible to sell to (a limited set) of customers [40].
3.3 Research approach
The DRM framework is used as the foundation of this thesis design approach and is combined with the MSPI innovation process. Where DRM is the backbone that determines the academic strategy for the researchers to use, the MSPI innovation process is used for the development and design of the final concept [31] [32].
The research approach is direct and adaptive. Direct meaning that the team is conducting research on the field with direct contact with stakeholders. Learning from the reality observed. Adaptive means that the project allows for pivoting in new directions when needed. The exploration is leading the development to different places on the road to the solution. All detours affect the project outcome, direct or indirect. The information gathered is from relevant stakeholders and examined by the team to find patterns and evidence leading to conclusions by inductive reasoning.
[41]
3.4 Data Gathering
The data gathered for this thesis is qualitative data from interviews, observations, and literature research.
Literature research
Literature research has been conducted to find valuable information regarding the scope of the project, as well as academic credibility. The research has been conducted through open internet resources, and PowerPoints shared with the researchers from the Swedish health care and through academic research articles on Google Scholar.
Unstructured Interviews
Data are gathered by conducting interviews with experts in the different areas explored. The interviews have focused on details of the processes and a more holistic perspective of the waste management business. The technique used for interviewing has been unstructured interviews. An unstructured interview is a method where the goal is to gather detailed and holistic data by letting the interviewee influence the questions. General topics are prepared beforehand, but the specific questions are formulated during the interview to give the interviewee space to express data without imposing constraints. [42]
