Governing the Commons

(1963). Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Technometrics: Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 128-130.

Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine

https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/13123/3/Fulltext.pdf

Evolution of design for sustainability: From product design to design for system innovations and transitions

The turning point.

Thinking the future of membranes: Perspectives for advanced and new membrane materials and manufacturing processes

https://iris.polito.it/bitstream/11583/2538711/1/Barbero-Dutto-Ferrua-Pereno_E%26B.pdf

Analysis on existent thermal insulating plasters towards innovative applications: Evaluation methodology for a real cost-performance comparison

Background. Approximately 2 million chronic haemodialysis patients produce over 2 000 000 tons of waste per year that includes about 600 000 tons of potentially hazardous waste. The aim of the present study was to analyse the characteristics of the waste that is produced through chronic haemodialysis in an effort to identify strategies to reduce its environmental and financial impact. Methods. The study included three dialysis machines and disposables for bicarbonate dialysis, haemodiafiltration (HFR) and lactate dialysis. Hazardous waste is defined as waste that comes into contact with bodily fluids. The weight and cost of waste management was evaluated by various policies of differentiation, ranging from a careful-optimal differentiation to a careless one. The amount of time needed for optimal management was recorded in 30 dialysis sessions. Non-hazardous materials were assessed for potential recycling. Results. The amount of plastic waste that is produced per dialysis session ranges from 1.5 to 8 kg (from 1.1 to 8 kg of potentially hazardous waste), depending upon the type of dialysis machine and supplies, differentiation and emptying policies. The financial cost of waste disposal is high, and is mainly related to hazardous waste disposal, with costs ranging from 2.2 to 16 Euro per session (2.7-21 USD) depending on the waste management policy. The average amount of time needed for careful, optimal differentiation disposal is approximately 1 minute for a haemodialysis session and 2 minutes for HFR. The ecological cost is likewise high: less than one-third of non-hazardous waste (23-28%) is potentially recyclable, while the use of different types of plastic, glues, inks and labels prevents the remaining materials from being recycled. Conclusion. Acknowledging the problem of waste management in dialysis could lead to savings of hundreds of millions of Dollars and to the reuse and recycling of hundreds of tons of plastic waste per year on a worldwide scale with considerable financial and ecological savings

/pdf/eco-dialysis-the-financial-and-ecological-costs-of-dialysis-4rd0ss44oc.pdf

Eco-dialysis: the financial and ecological costs of dialysis waste products: is a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ model feasible for planet-friendly haemodialysis waste management?

Systemic Design Method Guide for Policymaking: a Circular Europe on the Way

Monitoring and managing of a micro-smart grid for renewable sources exploitation in an agro-industrial site

This article aims to frame the role of Systemic Design (SD) as an alternative design model for the future of design for sustainability, by defining and assessing a structured process to execute Holistic Diagnosis (HD), an innovative context framework. Taking as its background a deep understanding of the design for sustainability and systems thinking concepts that frame SD as a field where HD is rooted, multiple case-study analyses were performed. HD demonstrates its ability to overcome the design boundaries in different fields such as industrial production, local communities, and policy-making, thereby providing a more in-depth understanding of complex environments with an iterative process: assess, research, collect, visualize, and interpret. This framework is a relevant tool for designers to address problem framing in complex scenarios to obtain future sustainable solutions with an innovative and transdisciplinary approach, thereby promoting a horizontal dialogue among all involved components.

Silvia Barbero

Papers

Analysis on existent thermal insulating plasters towards innovative applications: Evaluation methodology for a real cost-performance comparison

Eco-dialysis: the financial and ecological costs of dialysis waste products: is a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ model feasible for planet-friendly haemodialysis waste management?

Systemic Design Method Guide for Policymaking: a Circular Europe on the Way

Monitoring and managing of a micro-smart grid for renewable sources exploitation in an agro-industrial site

A Systemic Design Method to Approach Future Complex Scenarios and Research Towards Sustainability: A Holistic Diagnosis Tool