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Now, the environment has become a subject for us not to study but to manage. Not only engineers, but business persons, policy makers, researchers and educators; all are requested to be aware of and work for sustaining the global environment. It has become the most important subject in our society that requires us substantial changes of methods in thinking and acting. Recycling, for example, is a word used among us already for several years and its meaning seems to settle, that is re-use of waste materials. Gradually, however, it is acquiring a new meaning. Recycling is now going to imply environmentally conscious design: such as designs for re-use of parts, for maintenance, for easy-disassembly, and for longevity. It also implies social systems for circulation of materials including different industrial sectors: mining, raw materials processing, manufacturing, distribution, maintenance, scrap and reclaim and wasting. Recycling is a dual circulation of material and information, and it must be stressed that the economical value added is to be given to the whole circulation. It is a challenging subject for the economics to evaluate the value added of the circulation and to allot contributions to each sector. Manufacturing industry is not allowed to enjoy its profit independently to other industries as less highlighted as waste processing industry. EcoDesign '99: 1st International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing, has been planned to create new concepts of design and manufacturing through integration of knowledge achieved by efforts being conducted in different fields and sectors for pursuing the sustainability. It is our hope that any of you participating in this symposium, who may be environmental professionals, design and manufacturing engineers, lawyers, economists, business persons, policy makers or people just interested in the paradigm shift of thought to the environmental problems, will acquire something meaningful for your next step in the coming century. We enthusiastically invite your participation.
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(C)1999-2001 Sec, EcoDesign |