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I get that, I'm just comparing it to something that's manufactured & transported once. Cradle to grave. Just saying that because something is recyclable it is

I get that, I'm just comparing it to something that's manufactured & transported once. Cradle to grave. Just saying that because something is recyclable it is therefore good for the environment is marketing fluff. For example, ~18 uses of a ceramic cup = 1 'recyclable' paper cup. https://www.quora.com/Which-one-is-a-more-environment-friendly-solution-paper-cups-which-wastes-paper-or-washable-mugs-which-wastes-water-when-washing https://www.quora.com/Which-one-is-a-more-environment-friend...

FuriouslyAdrift 11y ago
Even the scrap that gets cut off and punched out is sucked into an air return that gets mashed into a big bundle. We ship those back to RockTenn for cash. Corrugated gets used over and over. "Corrugated is the single most recycled packaging material: 91 percent of corrugated produced in 2012 was recovered for recycling, and almost all of that material was recycled into new products." - http://www.corrugated.org/ViewPage.aspx?ContentID=38 http://www.corrugated.org/ViewPage.aspx?ContentID=38
- andrewflnr 11y ago
  I think the point GP is trying to make is that durable goods can easily trounce recyclables in terms of utility/resources, no matter how efficient your recycling is.
  - FuriouslyAdrift 11y ago
    Like all systems, you have to measure all the inputs and outputs. Assuming a durable good is more efficient and/or safe than a remanufacturable one is exactly that: an assumption. It is frequently wrong. Non-recycled aluminum is horrible but recycled is a nearly perfect resource. Glass is about as good as it gets. That mug in the example might require horrible amounts of highly toxic inputs to be created and not be able to reclaim any of those input debts through recycling. By looking at the totality of the production, you come to realize that durable good is actually a really bad idea (all assumptions here in this specific instance are totally pulled out of my butt... do not take as a claim to accuracy... thanks)

FuriouslyAdrift 11y ago

Even the scrap that gets cut off and punched out is sucked into an air return that gets mashed into a big bundle. We ship those back to RockTenn for cash. Corrugated gets used over and over. "Corrugated is the single most recycled packaging material: 91 percent of corrugated produced in 2012 was recovered for recycling, and almost all of that material was recycled into new products." - http://www.corrugated.org/ViewPage.aspx?ContentID=38 http://www.corrugated.org/ViewPage.aspx?ContentID=38

andrewflnr 11y ago
I think the point GP is trying to make is that durable goods can easily trounce recyclables in terms of utility/resources, no matter how efficient your recycling is.
- FuriouslyAdrift 11y ago
  Like all systems, you have to measure all the inputs and outputs. Assuming a durable good is more efficient and/or safe than a remanufacturable one is exactly that: an assumption. It is frequently wrong. Non-recycled aluminum is horrible but recycled is a nearly perfect resource. Glass is about as good as it gets. That mug in the example might require horrible amounts of highly toxic inputs to be created and not be able to reclaim any of those input debts through recycling. By looking at the totality of the production, you come to realize that durable good is actually a really bad idea (all assumptions here in this specific instance are totally pulled out of my butt... do not take as a claim to accuracy... thanks)