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> One, Thompson says, is who should bear primary responsibility for making recycling happen. "Is it my responsibility because I bought [an EV] or is it the manu
by throwaway787544 4y ago
> One, Thompson says, is who should bear primary responsibility for making recycling happen. "Is it my responsibility because I bought [an EV] or is it the manufacturer's responsibility because they made it and they're selling it?"
Doesn't matter. If it's your responsibility, you pay. If it's the automaker's responsibility, the automaker pays, and then carries that cost forward into the price of the cars, so you pay.
Whose primary responsibility for making it happen? I mean, only the manufacturers can make it happen [redesigning batteries to be easily recyclable], but they won't, so someone has to make them, but customers won't, so the government will have to. This is one of those things the government is for, like banning trans fats and ozone-depleting refrigerant. Making all batteries more recyclable should be top of the list for this decade.
- SV_BubbleTime 4y agoDon’t skip the most likely option. It’s cheaper to make new batteries than to create a return program and recycle the lithium. So, no one pays (money) and the batteries go to the landfill. It’s not necessarily about battery design. It’s that the cells need to be opened, the foil and layers removed and scrapped for lithium. It’s just always going to be a pain to rework than create new.
- fosk 4y agoApple has a program that allows you to buy a new iPhone model and get some money back if you actually give them the old phone that you are replacing. I was always under the assumption that apple actually recycles them because they want them in good condition, but maybe not? I also wonder if this is a program whose cost is factored in the final price of every iPhone (and therefore a cost that is distributed across the entire customer base), regardless if they are returning their old phones or not.
- SV_BubbleTime 4y agoWhen you send that phone back, it’s going to get cleaned up and sold in Asia or Latin America. I was at an open air mall in Borneo (Kutching) and saw all manner of new/used iPhones in official-ish Apple packaging.
- chrischen 4y agoAlso it’s not even Apple that takes it back. A third party does the trade in.
- nradov 4y agoButter contains trans fats. Are you proposing that the government should ban butter?
- ben-schaaf 4y agoEU regulates trans fats to 2% of the total fat. US has completely banned artificial trans fats. While not outright banned it's a good example of a health risk that has been addressed by regulation.