Um, isn't it "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" -- in that specific order? Recycling is supposed to be the last resort, and does no good at all if people don't first reduce their consumption and then reuse what they can.
Dominic
· 4 years ago
Absolutely Chris.
Actually, without thinking I was channeling a PSA television commercial from my childhood. Something like "Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, and close the loop..." set to groovy 80's music. Weird.
But you're right. The real problem isn't that things don't get recycled, it's that we just use too many things in the first place. Reducing and Reusing should be the root of any treehugger's ... tree. And the BYO is a great way to start that.
Ben Schiendelman
· 4 years ago
No way. If you don't already have a bag you can take lunch to work with, you've got other issues.
sorry
· 4 years ago
This website needs a lesson about embodied energy. who on EARTH would suggest a neoprene bad is a responsible lunch-bag?
utter nonsense. my suggestion for a lunchbag: a free plastic bag.
Dominic
· 4 years ago
Wow. Sorry's a little testy :)
Alright, your point about embodied energy is well taken: But are you sure about the "free" plastic bag route? How many times can you really re-use one flimsy LDPE bag? And if you're gripe is really about embodied energy, won't the 50 bags per year (one per week, which seems pretty generous) for the two years(probably more) that my neoprene bag lasts for end up costing more energy?
Embodied energy matters in all cases, but it matters most when you assume the product will be thrown away. Embodied-energy-per-use is what you should really be looking at; Cast iron has a ridiculous embodied energy, but if you pass it on to your grand-kids, the energy per use goes to almost nothing.
Having said all that, you may have a point after all; it's worth looking into. Neither one of us will really know for sure which is better until we actually run some numbers for embodied-energy-per-use on these bags -- a calculation & research that takes a little more work than I had time for before writing this post up :)
All Comments
Um, isn't it "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" -- in that specific order? Recycling is supposed to be the last resort, and does no good at all if people don't first reduce their consumption and then reuse what they can.
Absolutely Chris.
Actually, without thinking I was channeling a PSA television commercial from my childhood. Something like "Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, and close the loop..." set to groovy 80's music. Weird.
But you're right. The real problem isn't that things don't get recycled, it's that we just use too many things in the first place. Reducing and Reusing should be the root of any treehugger's ... tree. And the BYO is a great way to start that.
No way. If you don't already have a bag you can take lunch to work with, you've got other issues.
This website needs a lesson about embodied energy. who on EARTH would suggest a neoprene bad is a responsible lunch-bag?
utter nonsense. my suggestion for a lunchbag: a free plastic bag.
Wow. Sorry's a little testy :)
Alright, your point about embodied energy is well taken: But are you sure about the "free" plastic bag route? How many times can you really re-use one flimsy LDPE bag? And if you're gripe is really about embodied energy, won't the 50 bags per year (one per week, which seems pretty generous) for the two years(probably more) that my neoprene bag lasts for end up costing more energy?
Embodied energy matters in all cases, but it matters most when you assume the product will be thrown away. Embodied-energy-per-use is what you should really be looking at; Cast iron has a ridiculous embodied energy, but if you pass it on to your grand-kids, the energy per use goes to almost nothing.
Having said all that, you may have a point after all; it's worth looking into. Neither one of us will really know for sure which is better until we actually run some numbers for embodied-energy-per-use on these bags -- a calculation & research that takes a little more work than I had time for before writing this post up :)