DISEÑO DE PRODUCTOS PARA UN MODELO DE ECONOMÍA CIRCULAR: APLICACIÓN A ASPIRADORES DE USO DOMÉSTICO

Abstract

The increase in the generation of waste along with the rapid consumption of resources requires the emergence of a new economic model in order to, among others, optimize resource yields and enhancing renewable flows within the system. This model is known as Circular Economy (CE) being this an alternative to the today's linear ‘take, make, dispose” model. One of the main principles of circular economy is focused on maximizing the use of resources, recovering them after its use in order to be integrated as raw material into the system again. Therefore, it is necessary that strategies such as design for maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and / or recycling of the product were taken into account from the early stages of design. With this approach and considering a case study of vacuum cleaners, this study aims to analyse the design recommendations able to be integrated into a circular economy model, considering main components, potential failures, disassembly systems, materials, etc. From the physical characterization of a sample of vacuum cleaners, design recommendations that are being applied to the current vacuums are identified, as well as some proposals that should be considered to adapt the current models to be integrated into circular economy.