Preliminary assessment of solid waste in Philippine Fabrication Laboratories

i

This article has been updated. A Correction to this article was published on .

i

The Original Article was published on

i

The Original Article was published on

i

This article has been updated

i

This article was retracted on

i

This article has been updated

Abstract

Solid waste management is seen as a response to the increase in waste generation due to the rising number of industrial facilities. This includes digital manufacturing facilities such as Fabrication Laboratories (FAB LAB) which acts as innovation centers that generates prototypes using a common set of digital fabrication equipment. Previous studies have tackled with the environmental impacts of FAB LABs in a macro-level scale; however, there has been a lack of research specifically assessing the solid waste of laboratories, more so on Philippine FAB LABs. A baseline assessment study on FAB LABs of the Philippines could be applicable in future implementations of solid waste management systems through the crafting of institutional policies and guidelines for environmental sustainability. Using data gathered from 11 respondent FAB LABs, this study quantified percentage compositions of the waste according to waste type as well as the relative waste generated by each respondent FAB LAB. Machine availability was seen as a factor in waste generation resulting in the high generation of wood and plastic waste. Moreover, it was observed that earlier established laboratories generally had more active makers than recently established ones, hence the older FAB LABs statistically produced more waste. Approximately 53% of the overall waste produced was considered recyclable by Philippine standards but the actual recyclability of the waste was still undetermined due to the ambiguous criteria for recyclables and the lack of feedback data from recycling facilities. The initial findings suggest that an implementation of continuous waste monitoring, sufficient in-laboratory protocols, and coordination between FAB LABs and recycling facilities could improve actual waste recyclability and-by extension-the environmental sustainability of Philippine FAB LABs.

Keywords

Fabrication Laboratories / environmental sustainability / solid waste management / digital manufacturing / solid waste assessment

CHANGE HISTORY

A Correction to this paper has been published:
https://doi.org

The Retraction Note was updated to reflect reception of statements of disagreement from all authors.

This article has been retracted.Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail:
https://doi.org

References

[1] Blikstein P, Krannich D (2013) The makers’ movement and FabLabs in education: experiences, technologies, and research. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC '13). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 613-616.

[2] Kohtala C (2016) Making sustainability: how Fab Labs address environmental issues, Aalto University.

[3] Bohne R (2014) Machines for Personal Fabrication, In: Walter-Herrmann J, Büching C (Eds.), FabLab: Of Machines, Makers and Inventors, transcript Verlag.

[4] Ferdinand J, Petschow U, Dickel S (2016) The Decentralized and Networked Future of Value Creation: 3D Printing and its Implications for Society, Industry, and Sustainable Development.

[5] El-Haggar SM (2007) Sustainable Industrial Design and Waste Management, Elsevier.

[6] Knips C, Bertling J, Blömer J, et al. (2014) FabLabs, 3D-printing and degrowth - Democratisation and deceleration of production or a new consumptive boom producing more waste? Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity. 2014

[7] Chandrappa R, Brown J (2012) Solid Waste Management: Principles and Practice, Berlin Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag.

[8] US Enviromental Protection Agency (2016) Criteria for the Definition of Solid Waste and Solid and Hazardous Waste Exclusions.

[9] Doble M, Kumar A (2005) Biotreatment of Industrial Effluents, Oxford, United Kingdom, Butterworth-Heinemann.

[10] Marshall RE, Farahbakhsh K (2013) Systems approaches to integrated solid waste management in developing countries. Waste Manage 33: 988-1003.

[11] Mishra A, Mishra S, Tiwari A (2013) Solid Waste Management- Case Study. Int J Res Adv Technol 2: 396-399.

[12] Fleischmann K, Hielscher S, Merritt T (2016) Making things in Fab Labs: a case study on sustainability and co-creation. Digit Creat 27: 113-131.

[13] US Congress. Office of Technology Assessment (1995) Managing Industrial Solid Wastes from Manufacturing, Mining, Oil and Gas Production and Utility Coal Combustion, Washington, DC, DIANE Publishing.

[14] Byard DJ, Woern AL, Oakley RB, et al. (2019) Green fab lab applications of large-area waste polymer-based additive manufacturing. Addit Man 27: 515-525.

[15] Alabi RA, Wohlmuth K (2019) The Case of Sustainable Management of Waste in Germany (and Bremen) and Practical Lessons for Nigeria (and Lagos), Bremen, Germany, Institute for World Economics and International Management (IWIM).

[16] Hoornweg D, Perinaz BT (2012) What a waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management. Urban Dev Ser Knowl Pap 15: 87-88.

[17] Tun MM, Juchelková D (2018) Assessment of solid waste generation and greenhouse gas emission potential in Yangon city, Myanmar. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 20: 1397-1408.

[18] Achankeng E (2003) Globalization, Urbanization and Municipal Solid Waste Management in Africa, African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific 2003 Conference Proceedings , Adelaide, South Australia.

[19] Palczynski R (2002) Study on Solid Waste Management Options For Africa, African Development Bank.

[20] Abarca-Guerrero L, Maas G, Hogland W (2012) Solid waste management challenges for cities in developing countries. Waste Manag 33: 220-232.

[21] Khajuria A, Yamamoto Y, Morioka T (2008) Solid waste management in Asian countries: Problems and issues, 643-653.

[22] World Resources Institute, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme, et al. (1996) World Resources 1996-97, New York ; Oxford, Oxford University Press.

[23] Gomez G, Meneses M, Ballinas L, et al. (2008) Characterization of urban solid waste in Chihuahua, Mexico. Waste Manag 28: 2465-2471.

[24] Alam P, Ahmade K (2013) Impact of Solid Waste on Health and The Environment. Int J Sust Dev Green Econ 2: 165-168.

[25] Ivers LC, Ryan ET (2006) Infectious diseases of severe weather-related and flood-related natural disasters. Curr Opin Infect Dis 19: 408-414.

[26] Beigl P, Lebersorger S, Salhofer S (2008) Modelling municipal solid waste generation: a review. Waste Manag 28: 200-214.

[27] United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2002) Solid Waste Management: A Local Challenge with Global Impacts.

[28] McDougall F, White P, Franke M, et al. (2001) Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Life Cycle Inventory. Int J LCA 6: 320.

[29] Zeng Y, Trauth KM, Peyton RL, et al. (2005) Characterization of solid waste disposed at Columbia Sanitary Landfill in Missouri. Waste Manag Res 23: 62-71.

[30] Fab City Research Lab, Fab Foundation (2020) FabLabs.io - The Fab Lab Network, Labs | FabLabs, 2020. Available from: https://www.fablabs.io/labs?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q%5Bcountry_code_eq%5D=ph&q%5Bactivi ty_status_eq%5D=&per=25&commit=Filter.

[31] Tokushima Y (2016) Creating an Innovative Environment with FabLab - Case study: Bohol, the Philippines. New Breeze, Quarterly of the ITU Association of Japan 28: 18-21.

[32] Velasco LC (2017) Making the FAB LAB Fabulous - A Project Scope Management Challenge.

[33] Cruz Sanchez F, Lanza S, Boudaoud H, et al. (2015) Polymer Recycling and Additive Manufacturing in an Open Source context : Optimization of processes and methods, Proceedings: 26th Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium - an Additive Manufacturing Conference, Austin,Texas,USA, University of Texas, 1591-1600.

[34] Allesch A, Brunner PH (2014) Assessment methods for solid waste management: A literature review. Waste Manag Res 32: 461-473.

[35] Moser H (2016) Transformative Innovation for International Development: Operationalizing Innovation Ecosystems and Smart Cities for Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction, Washington, DC, Center for Strategic & International Studies.

[36] Zender Environmental Engineering Services (2001) A Guide to Closing Solid Waste Disposal Sites in Alaska Villages, Rural Alaska, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals and Zender Environmental Engineering Services.

[37] Saeed MO, Hassan MN, Mujeebu MA (2009) Assessment of municipal solid waste generation and recyclable materials potential in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Waste Manag 29: 2209-2213.

[38] Atienza V (2011) Review of the Waste Management System in the Philippines: Initiatives to Promote Waste Segregation and Recycling through Good Governance, Chiba, Japan, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization.

[39] Bates-Green K, Howie T (2018) Materials for Laser Cutter Machines, Lynnwood, Washington, National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education.

[40] Feil A, de Quevedo DM, Schreiber D (2015) Selection and identification of the indicators for quickly measuring sustainability in micro and small furniture industries. Sus Prod Consum 3: 34-44.

[41] Kamberg ML (2016) Creating with Laser Cutters and Engravers, New York, The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

[42] Gerhards P (1997) Entertainment Centers You Can Make: Complete Plans and Instructions for Freestanding and Built-In Modules, Stackpole Books.

[43] Lopera DK (2019) FAB LAB Mindanao: Machine Operations and Internal Management Systems.

[44] Babayemi J, Dauda K (2009) Evaluation of Solid Waste Generation, Categories and Disposal Options in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Nigeria. J Appl Sci Environ Manag 13: 83-88.

[45] University of Washington: Environmental Health & Safety (2017) Milling Machines and CNC Mills: Safety Precautions, Washington, DC, University of Washington.

[46] Aliverti P, Maietta A (2015) The Maker’s Manual: A Practical Guide to the New Industrial Revolution, San Francisco, USA, Maker Media, Inc.

[47] Brun J, Cheng E, Alcudia M (2018) The challenges of managing a Fablab in a developing country: the Philippines, Proceedings from the Fab14 ‘Fabricating Resilience’ Research Papers Stream , Toulouse, France, Creating 010, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, 75-83.

[48] Rebullida MLG (2008) Stakeholders’ Relationships in Recycling Systems: Experiences in the Philippines and Japan, Promoting 3Rs in Developing Countries - Lessons from the Japanese Experience , Chiba, Japan, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization, 80-106.

[49] Antonio LC (2010) Study on Recyclables Collection Trends and Best Practices in the Philippines, Jakarta, Indonesia, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia.

[50] Callister, Jr. WD, Rethwisch DG (2012) Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering: An Integrated Approach, New Jersey, USA, John Wiley & Sons.

[51] Birkeland J (2012) Design for Sustainability: A Sourcebook of Integrated Ecological Solutions, Design for Sustainability: A Sourcebook of Integrated Ecological Solutions , Oxfordshire, England, Earthscan Publications Ltd., 205.