@conference{
author = "Ilić, Stefan and Spasenović, Marko and Vorkapić, Miloš",
year = "2024",
abstract = "Considering that by 2030 it is expected that 65% of the world's population will use some kind of wearable device, that the market for wearable devices will grow exponentially, and that the amount of electronic waste will greatly exceed 50 million tons annually, this amounts to an incredible figure of a predicted 852 million metric tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions generated by electronic waste in 2030, a large percentage of which will be generated due to the use of wearable devices. A reduction of waste can be achieved by applying principles of circular economy to the production and use of wearable devices. Since the lifecycle of a hardware product includes development, application of novel technologies, the possibility of improvement, replacement or modification of a component, disassembly, repair and reuse of different components, there is room for minimizing waste at each stage of the lifecycle. Using the example of a wearable device produced by our spinoff company, which is in the prototype phase, we present a plan to create guidelines for the application of circular economy principles when developing prototypes to final products, especially applied to wearable devices. Guidelines related to this early stage of product development can have a major impact on reducing e-waste on the wearables market, as each such product goes through a development path that includes a prototype in the first phase, then moving towards a final product for production. The expected result of the implementation of the plan is an extension of the lifetime of the product by up to 70% (with the use of bioplastic and thermoplastic materials), which will result in a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by up to 50%. The plan is based on the 7R principle: Redesign, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle and Recover.",
publisher = "Niš, Serbia : RAD Centre",
journal = "Twelfth International Conference on Radiation, Natural Sciences, Medicine, Engineering, Technology and Ecology (RAD 2024 Conference), Book of Abstracts, June 17-21, 2024, Herceg Novi, Montenegro",
title = "Applying principles of circular economy to wearable devices for greener production and use",
pages = "52-52",
doi = "10.21175/rad.abstr.book.2024.15.4"
}