Sunday, November 21, 2010

Waste Equals Food

The premise of the book Cradle to Cradle, as Carolyn and Yumi have already mentioned can be manufactured in ways that are more environmentally friendly. This calls on shifting from an idea of building products which will eventually become obsolete and are harmful to the environment, to ones that will “give back”. In the book the authors mention the idea of products as biological or technical nutrients. Through these methods the materials that products are made of will safely reenter the water or soil without harming the environment by depositing synthetic materials and toxins, or can be continually used by downcycling—into low-grade materials and uses rather than being “recycled”.  This idea surprised me as I never really considered that even though we recycle it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are helping the environment because we still have to think about the materials that make up products, which are toxic and unsafe for the environment. If we were to adjust the production of goods in such a way that takes into consideration “nutrient cycle” then we would definitely be in a better situation. Instead of the “cradle to grave” industrial model we should think about the “cradle to cradle” notion.

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