Towards the circularity of outdoor lighting systems

Abstract

In recent years, there has been increasing attention to lighting energy efficiency, due to economics - lower energy costs - and environmental reasons - man-induced climate change. Driven by strict energy-efficiency requirements, the lighting industry started to replace the traditional lamps with LED lighting solutions, ignoring the limits of their maintenance and recycling. Faced with an increasing global population, rising resource consumption, and associated negative environmental impacts, shifting from a traditional economic linear model to a more sustainable paradigm of growth is now becoming increasingly urgent. Whereas the topic of circular economy has been widely investigated in literature in the past, little attention has been reserved for the different evaluation tools to assess and improve product circularity and how companies can become more resource efficient. Hence, the present thesis investigates the implementation of a circular economy in the lighting industry using circularity indicators and eco-design strategies. Concerning the real luminaires products, the role of the luminaire in the circular economy and recycling industry is explored, highlighting the limits of their End-of-life process. The main conclusions of the thesis reveal the significance of initial product development, reuse, remanufacturing, and repair strategies in a transition towards a circular economy.