A designer's dilemma:
Use the toxic substance that requires less energy or the nontoxic one that requires much more energy? [...] it is much easier to employ renewable energy in creating a product than it is to detoxify what has been toxified. [1]
Use the toxic substance that requires less energy or the nontoxic one that requires much more energy? [...] it is much easier to employ renewable energy in creating a product than it is to detoxify what has been toxified. [1]
In the first cradle-to-cradle book is stated that energy is not a problem when we use energy from the sun, like nature does. And by using energy from the sun they also mean wind-energy, water-energy and biomass-energy, because all these options are created by the heat of the sun. [2] Only the way we harvest it is still a (design) problem at this moment.
In the second book the writers explain a bit more in detail what they mean with not having an energy problem:
We don’t have an energy problem. We have a materials-in-the-wrong-place problem. This part of the text was following up on a discussion about the use of CO2 and how we perceive it; as a toxin that must be reduced:
Carbon is perfect. It is crucial to human life. We need it on earth. Unfortunately, it is now in our air and water in overabundance, where we cannot utilize its strengths. We need to reconfigure our systems to keep carbon earthbound. Fortunately, there are many ways we can do this. We can use fossil fuels for key goods, such as medicines, while we use renewable energy for power. We can sequester carbon emissions from biodegrading materials and use them to create biogas and soil nutrients. The carbon goes back into the earth where it belongs. Once we reorganise, we will grow - literally. [3]
In the second book the writers explain a bit more in detail what they mean with not having an energy problem:
We don’t have an energy problem. We have a materials-in-the-wrong-place problem. This part of the text was following up on a discussion about the use of CO2 and how we perceive it; as a toxin that must be reduced:
Carbon is perfect. It is crucial to human life. We need it on earth. Unfortunately, it is now in our air and water in overabundance, where we cannot utilize its strengths. We need to reconfigure our systems to keep carbon earthbound. Fortunately, there are many ways we can do this. We can use fossil fuels for key goods, such as medicines, while we use renewable energy for power. We can sequester carbon emissions from biodegrading materials and use them to create biogas and soil nutrients. The carbon goes back into the earth where it belongs. Once we reorganise, we will grow - literally. [3]
Likewise, we don’t have a toxins problem. Nature has a lot of “toxic” materials. But what is toxic? Everything can be toxic. Water is toxic if you drink too much, or drown in it, but we also need it. When Nature uses toxic materials there is no problem because it is managed in a good way, everything coexists together and helps each other. |
Humans have a materials-in-the-wrong-place problem. If we realise that we essentially have a sorting problem we can begin the process of reorganising so we never have to worry about these issues again.[4] Then we are able to reuse valuable materials.
What can a designer do about this?
What can a designer do about this?
- Design for disassembly, which makes the sorting process easier.
- Design with multiple product uses in mind, because then you know which materials cannot be used because they are toxic for that specific use.
- Make an analysis of which functions the product has to fulfill and which properties the materials needs to have and start looking for alternative materials that are non-toxic (for the intended use) and suitable for design for disassembly.
- Use renewable energy in your design
- Consider what system is needed to ensure that the product is disassembled and that materials are brought back for reuse/upcycling [5]
- Consider how the product should be handled throughout its lifecycle in order to manage toxins responsibly [6]
- How do you think that the materials could best be (re)used in a manner that would add value? [7]
*Pictures are from Pixabay
[1] The upcycle: Beyond sustainability - designing for abundance, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013, p75
[2] Cradle to Cradle Remaking The Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2002
[3]The upcycle: Beyond sustainability - designing for abundance, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013, p211
[4]The upcycle: Beyond sustainability - designing for abundance, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013, p211
[5] [6] [7] Addition by Anne-Mette Jorgensen
[1] The upcycle: Beyond sustainability - designing for abundance, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013, p75
[2] Cradle to Cradle Remaking The Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2002
[3]The upcycle: Beyond sustainability - designing for abundance, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013, p211
[4]The upcycle: Beyond sustainability - designing for abundance, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, 2013, p211
[5] [6] [7] Addition by Anne-Mette Jorgensen