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I don't agree that attaching disposal's real costs to products will significantly change things. Disposal really is cheap. Some things are improperly disposed
by greeneggs 10y ago
I don't agree that attaching disposal's real costs to products will significantly change things.
Disposal really is cheap. Some things are improperly disposed of today, sent to developing countries instead of properly landfilled or recycled. But the cost of doing it properly is still very small, and hardly enough to merit restructuring manufacturing to a less-efficient method.
I don't know what you mean when you call this a cause for "a lot of the issues that we experience in society today." But it is definitely not better for the environment to use less efficient manufacturing schemes.
- jimlawruk 10y agoDepends on your definition of proper disposal. Putting anything in a landfill other than biodegradable materials just seems far less than ideal. Won’t the metals, precious elements, batteries, etc. eventually need to be dealt with by future generations? Isn't the true cost simply being postponed?
- brightball 10y agoI know I've heard at least recently that even biodegradeable materials will end up producing lots of methane in a landfill. Not an expert, clearly... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8xwLWb0lLY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8xwLWb0lLY
- wbl 10y agoDo you know what we call an area of land with lots of metal? A mine.
- pjc50 10y agoDepends on the metal. It can also be called a superfund site..
- nickjarboe 10y agoMore like an ore deposit. Could turn it into a mine with some work.
- patrickg_zill 10y agoSteel is bought locally for 4.5 cents per pound or more, depending on quality. Batteries at 18 cents, motherboards from your pc or laptop 2 dollars and up. So there is already an incentive for recycling.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]