Talk given to Glasgow School of Art School of Simulation and Visualisation Dec 13th 2021

1. Green shoots
What sustainable electronics really means
Talk given to Glasgow School of Art
School of Simulation and Visualisation
Dec 13th 2021
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
lowcarbondesigninstitute.org
@lo_c_d_i on twitter

3. therestartproject.org/
I’m a trustee of The Restart Project

4. Go see the Waste Age exhibition at the Design Museum in London (until Feb 2022)

5. ‘After mining, the largest mass of waste
comes from making electronics’.
- Josh Lepawsky, p.19
From the Waste Age catalogue

6. -Design for repair
-Reduce material use
-Increase modularity
-Avoid serialisation
-Increase durability and
remanufacturing
-Using recycled or scrap
materials
-Better product chemistry
Josh Lepawsky on the role of design

7. A waste-free process doesn’t exist, not matter how circular it appears.

8. Some pioneers

9. Weak signals
- Repair cafés
- Library of Things / tool libraries
- Repair events in maker spaces
- Primary school curriculum
- 10-session programme for schools: https://therestartproject.org/restart-at-school/
- University lectures
- https://www.ntnu.edu/design has one repair class
- MOOCs
- https://www.ecotronics.fi/

10. Weak signals
- Research
- 2021 paper on integrating repair into product design education
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354469189_Integrating_Repair_into_Produ
ct_Design_Education_Insights_on_Repair_Design_and_Sustainability
- Reading
- List of design and ethics books and
resources https://betteriot.wordpress.com/design-and-ethics/
- Open Dott Repair Diaries https://opendott.org/repair-diaries
- Regulation & guidance
- UK right to repair law https://therestartproject.org/news/the-uks-new-right-to-repair-is-
not-a-right-to-repair/
- Kickstarter environmental guidelines https://www.kickstarter.com/environment

11. -Alternative materials
-Legible PCBs and components
-Plastic molding, glues and screws
-Is it a tamper-proofing problem or a packaging
opportunity?
-Open source software or legacy hardware?
-What is your local e-waste policy?
-Integrating repair partners into costs
-Rewarding effective repair partnerships
Design for repairability – my scaffold for a curriculum

12. https://repairablebydesign-winter2021.eventbrite.co.uk
Interested in this topic?

13. Thanks!
What sustainable electronics really means
Talk given to Glasgow School of Art
School of Simulation and Visualisation
Dec 13th 2021
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
lowcarbondesigninstitute.org
@lo_c_d_i on twitter