Product Category Rules (PCR) are a standardised method of modelling a products End Of Life (EOL) processes.

In Makersite, complex EOL models can be created using the built in tools & your imported product data. This can be carried out manually on the Makersite platform, using PCR data objects to build a model from scratch, or for larger studies, an importer has been developed that allows a full model to be first setup in an Excel template, & imported.

The PCR import template consists of three Excel sheet tabs;

This sheet defines the proportion of each EOL process for per region the material relates to.

Columns:

Material

Dataset name from Makersite e.g. 'Acrylic Resins'

This MUST match the name of the dataset in Makersite exactly.

Region

Region name from Makersite e.g. 'European Union (28 countries)'

This MUST match the name of the region in Makersite exactly.

Recycled

Proportion of the material that is recycled for each region. This is a number between 0-1.

0=0%

1=100%

Credit Factor

This is an EU standard for measuring recycling content. Enter a number between 0-1. If unknown, set to 0.5.

The number represents a scaling factor, based on EU rules for measuring recycled content & its impact. 0 represents 100% virgin material with no recycled content, & no EOL recycling. 1 represents 100% recycled material.

This sheet defines the EOL Processes in Makersite that will mapped to your material datasets & regions.

Columns:

Material

Dataset name from Makersite e.g. 'Acrylic Resins'

This MUST match the name of the dataset in Makersite exactly.

Region

Region name from Makersite e.g. 'European Union (28 countries)'

This MUST match the name of the region in Makersite exactly.

Virgin

Enter the name of the Process dataset that represents the production of the material.

e.g. 'GLO: butyl acrylate production | butyl acrylate'

This MUST match the name of the Process in Makersite exactly.

Credit

Enter the name of the Process dataset that represents the production of the material.

e.g. 'GLO: butyl acrylate production | butyl acrylate'

This MUST match the name of the Process in Makersite exactly.

Recycling

Enter the name of the Process dataset that represents the recycling process for the material.

Incineration

Enter the name of the Process dataset that represents the incineration process for the material.

e.g. 'CH: treatment of waste plastic, mixture, municipal incineration with fly ash extraction'

This MUST match the name of the Process in Makersite exactly.

Landfill

Enter the name of the Process dataset that represents the landfill process for the material.

e.g. 'GLO: treatment of waste plastic, mixture, sanitary landfill'

This MUST match the name of the Process in Makersite exactly.

This sheet defines

Once the import file is complete, it can now be imported into Makersite.

NOTE: The file name of the Excel sheet will be applied as the the PCR name when imported into Makersite, it is advisable to make this a unique before importing to avoid any issues with data being overwritten or confusion between versions of import data. The PCR name can be edited after importing on the Compose page.

From the Makersite Dashboard, select the 'Importer' app from 'Favourite Apps' or 'Additional Makersite Tools'.

Scroll down the list in the pop-up to select 'PCR Importer'.

The importer page will now open.

Either drag & drop your import file into the importer window, or select 'Upload File' from the toolbar & locate & select your file from the location it is stored on your PC.

Once the file has completed importing, the PCR app page will open & show an overview of your imported data.

The PCR will be opened in Compose mode by default.

The 'PCR Name' includes the file extension (.xlsx) by default, this can be removed or the name changed entirely by selecting the blue pencil in the top right corner of the 'Information' box.

There are some fields that are required for the PCR to function correctly that are not included in the import file, & therefore need to be added at this stage.

Firstly, set the 'Product Category', this is the UNSPSC code associated with the product the PCR is based upon.

Typing in the field will search for the closest matching code/category.

Secondly, set the 'Scaling' factor. This is a number calculated externally to Makersite & applies to the whole PCR.

The final step is to setup the 'Market Share' tab. Full instructions on how to do this can be found here.