What do we do with our garbage?
My last post on plastic, really got me thinking about the environmental implications of “recyclable” materials, that don’t end up ever being recycled because it is too hard. In researching plastics I found an interesting similar issue relating to the use of N2O canisters at parties to get high. N2O canisters are something I have only ever seen in their real functional uses like in air rifles and in cooking devices. What struck me about these N2O cartridges, was that they are made of valuable and recyclable materials but are not disposed of by any company because of the risk of explosion from an unopened canister.
The idea that these valuable and recyclable materials are being thrown into landfills because of this issue with safety really shocked me. Specifically, it got me thinking why wouldn’t the manufactures take advantage and try to refill the canister in a way that was safe. Further, if manufacturers didn’t want to refill the canisters why not create a Cradle-To-Cradle system where the manufacturer designs them to be deemed safe at the end of their use. Finally, I was reminded of our course concepts, particularly, related to consumer cost. Making me think, why wouldn’t governments regulate the industry to either refill canisters, make them more easily deemed safe, or simply raise the price to allow companies to afford to recycle them safely. This might help exploitation for using the product negatively and create new opportunities to be more sustainable and efficient.
Currently, this is not the biggest issue we face as a society, but it really struck me with what motivates corporate action. These N2O canisters are like so many other products that companies and society collectively can’t be bothered with finding recyclable solutions. We need to identify drivers of action and make changes towards pushing society in the right direction before these many products become another piece in landfill waste.
Do you think changing customer cost would affect the viability of continuing to throw these products into landfills? What do you think society should do to push manufacturers into truly starting to think about the end of life use of their products?
References:
Smith, A. (2018, July 10). Recycling used laughing gas canisters for cash could help create a cleaner Britain. Retrieved March 9, 2019, from https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/10/recycling-used-laughing-gas-canisters-for-cash-could-help-create-a-cleaner-britain-7694925/
Smith, N. (2019, January 23). How Should I Dispose of N20 Chargers? Retrieved March 9, 2019, from https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-should-i-dispose-of-n20-chargers/
Nichols, S. (2017, October 25). Your NOS Habit Is Trashing the Earth. Retrieved March 9, 2019, from https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/xwaxyz/your-nos-habit-is-trashing-the-earth
RachelTseng
March 12, 2019 — 1:14 am
Literally questions I’ve been asking myself quite often recently (weird). But I honestly think it’s because manufacturers currently don’t care enough; and they’re not educated about it, and they don’t even think twice about it. Not caring enough goes deep into the issues of what the values of the manufacturing companies are. We make decisions based on our values, so what are the values of the manufacturers? Maybe they need to change. Also, the concept of business went through puberty looking at life in a linear perspective, as we discuss a lot about in class, so thinking about the end of life use is an idea as quickly disposed as their products. And yes, it does bug me to see how lazy we are to not be bothered in finding a recyclable solution. But it’s also interesting to remind ourselves that our culture actually has a huge role in the ongoing business of disposable solutions. We created a culture of disposing products and it’s so engrained in the way we live: we don’t keep dirty stuff, we throw them out! It’s crazy. We need to change this mindset and reevaluate our values.