Exercises: Sustainable and accessible design

Explain what ecodesign is and mention two specific design decisions that make a product more sustainable.

Explain what it means for a product to be accessible and give an example of an everyday object that is well designed for people with reduced mobility.

The figure orders the "three Rs" of sustainability according to priority, but one of them is missing. State which one it is, reason why it occupies that position in the hierarchy, and give an example of each applied to your school supplies.

Explain the difference between reusing and recycling using a glass jar as an example: describe one action of each type using that same jar.

What does it mean for a product to be "repairable"? Name three design features that make this possible (screws instead of glue, available spare parts, disassembly manual).

Give an example of universal design present in your school (automatic door, ramp, pictograms, visual as well as audible signal) and explain who benefits from it, in addition to its main target audience.

Explain what the "right to repair" is and mention two practices by some manufacturers that make it difficult (glued-in batteries, parts that are not sold, special screws).

Classify these decisions according to the "R" they apply (reduce, reuse or recycle): buying in bulk without packaging, using glass bottles as plant pots and putting paper into the blue bin. Justify each one.

Compare two backpacks: a very cheap one, made of blended fabrics with parts that are impossible to separate, and a more expensive one, repairable and with available spare parts. Reason which one better follows ecodesign criteria in terms of durability, repairability and end of life.

"Design for all" benefits many more people than it seems. Explain, using two examples (a ramp, subtitles...), how a solution designed for accessibility ends up being useful for anyone.

Rank these options from most to least sustainable and justify the order: buying a reusable bottle, recycling every single-use bottle, using single-use bottles daily without recycling, and refilling a single-use bottle a few times before recycling it.

A product is advertised as "green" mainly because its packaging is green and features drawings of leaves. Explain what greenwashing is and write three specific questions you would ask the manufacturer to check the real sustainability of the product.

Compare a modular mobile phone (with replaceable parts: battery, camera, screen) with a sealed one: sustainability, initial cost and user experience. Which would you choose and with what nuances?

Design the packaging for a small toy applying three ecodesign criteria: a single material, minimum volume and a second life for the packaging. Describe it and justify each decision.

Explain what the "water footprint" of a product is, using a cotton T-shirt as an example, and what purchasing and usage decisions reduce it.

A park bench must be comfortable and safe for elderly people. Define three specific design requirements (seat height, backrest, armrests to help stand up) and justify each one.

A juice is advertised as "eco-friendly" but its packaging is a multi-layer carton (cardboard, plastic and aluminium joined together) that very few recycling plants can process. Analyse which ecodesign criteria it meets and which it does not, and propose a reasoned redesign for the packaging.

Design a pencil holder for the classroom following three ecodesign criteria (material, manufacturing process and end of life) and two accessibility criteria. Justify each decision you make.

To counter the statement "sustainable is always more expensive" using technical and quantitative arguments, analyze this case: a school is considering replacing 20 60 W incandescent light bulbs in a classroom (cost: 1,20 €/unit; lifespan: 1000 h) with equivalent 9 W LED models (cost: 4,50 €/unit; lifespan: 15 000 h). The lighting operates for 1000 h per year, and the price of electricity is 0,20 €/kWh.

1. a) Calculate the total cumulative cost of each option after 3 years (including initial purchase, necessary end-of-life replacements, and electricity consumption).
2. b) Determine after how many hours of use the LED investment pays off and justify, using your data, the difference between short-term purchase cost and life-cycle cost.

A school canteen is undecided between compostable disposable tableware and reusable tableware with a commercial dishwasher. Evaluate both options regarding water, energy, waste and annual cost, and defend a decision with reasoned arguments.

Your family has a 4-year-old laptop that runs slowly and whose battery barely lasts 20 minutes. They are about to buy a new one on sale for 320 € that has the RAM, storage drive, and battery soldered to the motherboard (impossible to replace or repair).

Apply responsible technology purchasing criteria:

1. a) Propose three specific technical checks or interventions (hardware and software) that you should carry out before considering the computer obsolete.
2. b) If buying a new computer ultimately proves unavoidable, draft three mandatory technical and environmental requirements that the purchase must include (modularity, parts availability, and efficiency) to prevent premature obsolescence and electronic waste, justifying each one.

A company markets wireless headphones with a thermally glued plastic casing (screwless), a sealed non-replaceable lithium battery, and non-removable ear pads. When the battery degrades after 2 years, users typically throw them into the residual waste bin.

1. a) Analyze why this product is an example of the linear economic model and identify two specific technical barriers that prevent recycling or reusing it at the end of its life.
2. b) Redesign the product and its life cycle according to the circular economy: detail what changes you would apply to the physical design (materials and joints) and propose an alternative business model (such as a deposit-refund system or leasing/pay-per-use) that ensures materials do not end up in landfills.

A local council must choose the material for street furniture: recycled plastic, certified wood or concrete. Evaluate durability, maintenance, accessibility (temperature in the sun, roughness) and end of life for each option, and defend a choice.

Assess the phrase "the most sustainable product is the one that is not made". Apply it to three real alternatives to consumption (repairing, sharing, renting) and discuss in which cases these alternatives fail or are not worth it.