Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in Radio

This report evaluates the sustainability and energy efficiency of radios, considering their impact on the environment. It reviews their efficiency, lifespan, and costs, and explores alternative power sources. The findings aim to determine the suitability of radios in terms of sustainability.

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SUSTAINABILITY SYSTEMS AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Name of student:
Name of institution:
Date:

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Executive Summary
Recently, the United Nations launched an initiative to mobilize all its member states to adopt
sustainable development goals (General Assembly, 2015). The objective of this initiative is to
have governments align their development projects towards the achievement of the sustainable
development goals launched earlier. In the long run, the projects undertaken by governments
should ensure the available resources aren’t depleted.
One of the main priorities for most countries at the moment is the fight against climate change
(Gifford, 2011). Several cases of adverse weather conditions, rising sea levels, and very strong
storms have been reported in the past. Therefore, everyone has a responsibility to play their part
towards the realization of this global assignment.
By completing this report, the students are given an opportunity to contribute towards crafting a
solution to the problem at hand. The student is expected to conduct a life cycle analysis for two
selected products used by masses in Australia. One of the main areas of focus during this
analysis is to identify the effects of their use on the environment. Based on how environmentally
friendly the product turns out to be, the student goes ahead and recommends its use over the
other available alternatives.
During the analysis, the student also considers both the initial and maintenance costs for the
item. Also, the efficiency of the product is evaluated. Based on these parameters, a decision
made on the suitability of the product. The most suitable products are the one with the most
favorable features as per the findings of the analysis.

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Plastics are non-biodegradable (Demirbas, 2011). Same case to metals. Owing to this fact, it is
very important to use the right strategy to dispose of these items. The disposal criteria used
should be one which reduces the negative effects of the item to the atmosphere.
If not disposed of well, these items end up causing blockages to the drainage system. Other than
that, they affect the aeration of the soil, making it not favorable to the organisms that live in the
soil. Both plastic and metallic waste also give the environment a very unattractive look. The cost
of rectifying the damages caused by these irresponsible disposals is very high. This trend can,
however, change if a preventive approach is adopted other than the curative approach.
The use of plastic mugs should be completely abolished. However, in the circumstances that they
are not completely abolished, there should be a proper way of ensuring that the used plastics are
recycled. Similarly, all the scrap metals should be recycled in order to make or manufacture
other important items instead of disposing them off to the environment.
The best alternative is the metallic mug. A metallic mug is the best alternative because metals are
recyclable. Metals do not release toxic gases into the environment. Therefore, the metallic mugs
ae more sustainable than the plastic mugs.
Introduction
According to research conducted earlier, it was established that in several areas within Australia,
there were fragments of plastic products on water surfaces (Reisser, et al., 2013). From the
research findings, it could be established that the fragments were as a result of degradation of

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initially larger particles of polyethylene and polypropylene. This is an indication that there has
been continuous contamination of the environment by plastic products. This, therefore, calls for
drastic measures to contain this vice. One of the best ways to address such challenges is by
conducting a life cycle analysis. This exercise helps identify what threats are posed to the
environment by these products and therefore necessary measures are taken to address the same.
Life cycle analysis has been conducted on plastics for several years now (Lazarevic, et al., 2010),
the same case as metallic items. Both regulators and manufacturers are interested in the findings
of such analyses. This is because the information is very useful in policy formation and decision
making. Countries such as Kenya and Rwanda have in the recent past banned the use of plastic
bags, citing their adverse effects to the drainage system (Citizen Digital, 2019). The two
countries claim that the plastic bags have not been disposed of properly in the past, causing
serious blockages to the drainage systems in most places.
This report assesses how effective a plastic mug and a metallic one could be. The report
compares the two. To help with this, a life cycle analysis is conducted for both of them and the
findings used to measure the effectiveness. Both the cost and effect on the environment are
some of the main areas of interest.
Problem Statement
This report focuses on addressing the impact of plastic and metallic mugs on the environment.
Mugs are mostly used to serve juicy and liquid items. Some of the foodstuffs that require a mug

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to take include tea and porridge. Considering that a majority of the population normally take
either tea or porridge, it is very likely that very many mugs are produced per year. These mugs
are bought by the members of the public, who then use them and dispose them at some point.
Their disposal strategy is one of the most critical aspects of this report.
Plastics are non-biodegradable (Demirbas, 2011). Same case to metals. Owing to this fact, it is
very important to use the right strategy to dispose of these items. The disposal criteria used
should be one which reduces the negative effects of the item to the atmosphere.
If not disposed of well, these items end up causing blockages to the drainage system. Other than
that, they affect the aeration of the soil, making it not favorable to the organisms that live in the
soil. Both plastic and metallic waste also give the environment a very unattractive look. The cost
of rectifying the damages caused by these irresponsible disposals is very high. This trend can,
however, change if a preventive approach is adopted other than the curative approach.
Life Cycle Analysis Process
The following procedures were recommended by the International Organization for Standards
(ISO) for carrying out a life cycle analysis (Chen, et al., 2010).
Life Cycle Analysis
Goal definition
and Scope
determination
Life Cycle
Inventory:
Involving
identifying
inputs and
outputs
Impact Assessment:
environmental effects.
Interpretation: data
analysis

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Weight and Functional unit
Metallic Mug Plastic Mug
Weight 453.5 grams - 850 gram 340 grams - 453.5 grams
Functional unit One cup of coffee One cup of coffee
Data source: (Jennie, 218), (Richter, et al., 2017)
Impact analysis in Gabi

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Hot Spot Identification
Plastics are non-biodegradable (Demirbas, 2011). Same case to metals. Owing to this fact, it is
very important to use the right strategy to dispose of these items. The disposal criteria used
should be one which reduces the negative effects of the item to the atmosphere.
If not disposed of well, these items end up causing blockages to the drainage system. Other than
that, they affect the aeration of the soil, making it not favorable to the organisms that live in the
soil. Both plastic and metallic waste also give the environment a very unattractive look. The cost
of rectifying the damages caused by these irresponsible disposals is very high. This trend can,
however, change if a preventive approach is adopted other than the curative approach.
Remedial Measures

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The use of plastic mugs should be completely abolished. However, in the circumstances that they
are not completely abolished, there should be a proper way of ensuring that the used plastics are
recycled. Similarly, all the scrap metals should be recycled in order to make or manufacture
other important items instead of disposing them off to the environment.
Best Alternative
The best alternative is the metallic mug. A metallic mug is the best alternative because metals are
recyclable. Metals do not release toxic gases into the environment. Therefore, the metallic mugs
ae more sustainable than the plastic mugs.
References
Chen, C. et al., 2010. LCA allocation procedure used as an incitative method for waste recycling:
An application to mineral additions in concrete. October, 54(12), pp. 1231-1240.
Citizen Digital, 2019. Poor quality shopping bags banned, two years after plastic ones, s.l.: s.n.
Demirbas, A., 2011. Waste management, waste resource facilities, and waste conversion
processes. Energy Conversion and Management, 52(2), pp. 1280-1287.
General Assembly, 2015. Transforming our world, s.l.: s.n.
Gifford, R., 2011. The dragons of inaction: Psychological barriers that limit climate change
mitigation and adaptation. American Psychologist, 66(4), pp. 290-302.

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Jennie, 218. How Many Grams a Cup Weighs – paper, plastic, ceramic, glass cups. [Online]
Available at: https://gramcup.com/grams-a-cup-weighs-paper-plastic-ceramic-glass-cups/
Lazarevic, D., Austin, E., Buclet, N. & Brandt, N., 2010. Plastic waste management in the
context of a European recycling society: Comparing results and uncertainties in a life cycle
perspective. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, December, 55(2), pp. 246-259.
Reisser, J. et al., 2013. Marine Plastic Pollution in Waters around Australia: Characteristics,
Concentrations, and Pathways. pp. 7-13.
Richter, V. et al., 2017. Life Cycle Assessment: Comparative LCA of using Disposable Cups VS
the GreenCup for drinking Coffee on KTH Campus Valhallavägen, s.l.: s.n.
Wu, B., 2011. Consumption and economic law. Consumption and Management, pp. 61-97.
ENERGY EFFICIENCYE
Executive Summary
According to a research report published in December 2018, the carbon emission levels
increased to 558.4m tons of carbon dioxide (The Guardian, 2019). This a high record according
to the findings from earlier reports. If this trend is to continue, the country would be faced with
very serious challenges in regards to climate change in the near future. This would make the
weather every unpredictable and inconsistent, making it difficult to predict.

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Radio is not only used as a medium of passing important information to the Australian citizens.
It is also used to entertain and educate them. Some radio programs are aimed at training the
target groups such as family issues and health-related matters. The use of radio has grown to be
popular due to the fact that it reaches a large population at the same time. This makes it very
suitable to conduct mass communication. Even the government finds it an appropriate medium
for communicating some of its policies to the people.
Due to its popularity, it, therefore, goes without saying that a large population of the country has
access to a radio. Since it uses energy and emanates carbon and waves to the atmosphere, it,
therefore, possess a threat to the environment.
It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate how sustainable and how environment-friendly a radio is.
That is the primary mandate for this report. It evaluates these aspects of the radio. The paper also
reviews its efficiency and the approximated lifespan. Its initial and maintenance costs are very
important for this study as well. When all these aspects are we analyzed, it would then be
possible to make a decision on the suitability of the radio.
Other than electric power, solar energy can also be used to listen to the radio. This way, the
amount of electricity used may be drastically used. There is a need to find other alternative
sources of power that would result in reduces power consumption. This helps reduce the cost of
power. Also, people may choose to watch televisions rather than listening to the radio. The
information may be passed more effectively due to the fact that there is a visual aspect. When not
being used, it is important to switch electronic appliances (Anastasi, et al., 2009).

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Problem Statement
The levels of carbon and its components in the atmosphere are more concentrated in certain parts
of Australia than others. An example of areas with a high concentration of such substances is
Western Australia (Biswas, 2014). These substances are a great threat to the atmosphere and are
associated with the climate change problem that has pounced on a number of countries in the
recent past.
Other than that, energy consumption eves in Australia in the recent past has been quite high. The
same trend has also been seen in the level is of environmental pollution. These two aspects are a
great threat to the growth and well-being of a country. Economic growth is a function of a
consistent climatic pattern since such a pattern favors the growth of agriculture and results in
increased production. It is therefore very to ensure that the sources of energy used have limited
effect on the environment. One of the main features of the radio are recorded in the table below.
Sources of Energy
A radio uses electricity. There are numerous sources of energy that provide power for the
electricity. The common sources of energy are: coal, water (hydroelectric power), wind,
geothermal and sun (solar energy).
Relevant information
Radio
Cost $ 30 - $ 500
Efficiency Very efficient
Functional unit 3 years

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Amplitude Modulation 10kHz
Short wave 3000 KHz
Data Source: (Indian Media Studies, 2017), (Bharadia, et al., 2013)
State Selection
The State selected is Queensland
Energy Regulatory Bodies in Queensland
It is possible to regulate both power and the volume of the radio. The power buttons used to
switch the radio on and off while the volume button is used to increase or reduce the volume.
Nationally, it is the responsibility of the government to regulate energy consumption. They
have delegated this role to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).
Opportunities to reduce energy consumption
Other than electric power, solar energy can also be used to listen to the radio. This way, the
amount of electricity used may be drastically used. There is a need to find other alternative
sources of power that would result in reduces power consumption. This helps reduce the cost of
power. Also, people may choose to watch televisions rather than listening to the radio. The
information may be passed more effectively due to the fact that there is a visual aspect. When not
being used, it is important to switch electronic appliances (Anastasi, et al., 2009).

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References
Anastasi, G., Conti, M., Francesco, M. D. & Passarella, A., 2009. Energy conservation in
wireless sensor networks: A survey. Ad hoc networks, 7(3), pp. 537-568.
Bharadia, D., McMilin, E. & Katti, S., 2013. Full duplex radios. Computer Communication
Review , 43(4), pp. 375-386.
Biswas, W., 2014. Carbon footprint and embodied energy consumption assessment of building
construction works in Western Australia. International Journal of Sustainable Built

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Environment, December, 3(2), pp. 179-186.
Indian Media Studies, 2017. Radio Production. [Online].
The Guardian, 2019. Australia's annual carbon emissions reach a record high. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/14/australias-annual-carbon-
emissions-reach-record-high