>Repairing costs time and effort, throwing away and buying new is fast and often cheap That analysis can depend on how well total costs are captured. Often wha

>Repairing costs time and effort, throwing away and buying new is fast and often cheap That analysis can depend on how well total costs are captured. Often what seems cheap is only cheap because you externalize the actual costs elsewhere and don't factor them in. I often host small get-togethers at home and very often use disposable plates (sometimes plastic) as well as utensils, cups, etc. It's quite cheap in terms of my time when it comes to cleanup, broken item replacement, no water for cleanup usage, etc. but I suspect using durable reusable utensils and dining ware are actually cheaper holistically because they can often be used for many years and require very little to clean up beyond time and access to some clean water which is already a requirement and soaps. Factor in costs of recycling, how recyclable those goods are, transport costs to get those goods to my home, waste disposal and long term effects of non-recyclables on the environment... at some point its not so cheap, I'm externalizing my time costs in other forms on the rest of society.