Sustainable Solutions for SCM

2. The price level of the material – in different alternatives the prices of the raw materials and recycled materials, which effect the development and meaningfulness of the recycling were compared. 3. The availability (supply) of the recycled material – the supply of the recycled material affects to the development of the market of the recycled materials and the amount of new use innovations. An adequate volume and steady supply makes the effective production planning and efficient logistics possible. Respectively the unstable and unsecured availability causes idle motion bottlenecks in the industry. 4. The utility level of the recycled material in the production process – the quality requirements, the properties and the supply of the recycled materials affect the utility level of the recycled material. 5. The life-time of the product or its parts – the life-time affects the recycling volume. The longer the life-cycle the product has, the smaller the recycling volume is. A long life-time saves raw materials and decreases the amounts of waste. 6. The market value of the product – the market value of the product containing recycled materials or recyclable parts may be different when compared to a product made of “virgin” raw materials. The value added caused by the recycling is immaterial and usually difficult to measure, but still it is clearly visible. The European industry and consumers are not YET willing to pay more for the environmental friendliness of the product (a growing part is!). It is not unusual anymore that environmentally bad products encounter problems in the European markets; Europeans may not pay extra for the environmental friendliness but they refuse to buy products with a bad reputation. 7. Transportation performance – the transportation performance varies with the usage of the recycled material. Alongside (or instead of) the old purchasing channels, the new channels of the recycled material purchasing appear. The integrated logistics helps the creation of the recycled material purchasing channels and the utilisation of the existing logistics. 8. The packing requirements – the packing requirements include the limitations or presuppositions for the use of recycled materials or recyclable packages. Also trade, the properties of the products and the consumers create their own requirements for the package. 9. The recycling possibilities of the packages – the recycling possibilities of the package after the first use effects to the choosing of the package type. When choosing the package system, the effects of the whole life cycle of the package should be considered. 10. Recycling possibilities of the product – the recycling forms of the product (such as using as it is, fixed, as material or as energy) effect the market value of the product. The products or materials that become problem waste exit the market eventually. 11. Dismantlability of the product – the easy dismantling of the product makes the recycling easier and saves the labour costs. The dismantlability of the product must also be considered in the future product planning.

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