A new concept in environmentally conscious design and manufacturing is explored and driven by the need to conserve resources and eliminate waste. The development of the Reprocessability Index (RPI) is aimed at providing a tool for comparing the potential for the reprocessing of product parts. The index is defined by specific physical attribute ratios of parts. The RPI model is applied to a set of basic parts established by the DCLASS Classification and Coding System. A more complete understanding of the RPI model is found through the results of several rotational parts from a washing machine that were analyzed with the RPI model.
