| Cradle-to-Cradle Recycling: The Next Frontier |
| Monday, 30 August 2010 | Willow Lune | Article |
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The current means of industrial production, called cradle-to-grave, is another way of saying production-to-landfill, where litter also equals advertising (candy wrappers in gutters, plastic grocery bags on beaches et al.). This linear way of thinking cannot sustain itself indefinitely. Indeed, we have already begun to reap what we sow as US landfills are reaching capacity and closing at the rate of one per day. Closed-Loop vs. Regular Recycling The concept of cradle-to-cradle, or closed-loop recycling, is different in that each part of the product is made with its entire life cycle in mind. Closed-loop recycling reduces the demand for raw materials and the fuel to produce a new product. Cradle-to-cradle materials are either biologically consumable, where they can be returned straight to the Earth, or technically reusable, where the materials can be reused or placed directly back into the production cycle. None of them are meant for the landfill—they are meant for repeated reuse. European Leadership Part of the reason for this difference is legislation passed in the European Union (EU) designed to hold manufacturers responsible for their products’ environmental impacts—through their entire life cycles. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Directive encourages producers, designers and manufacturers to conceptualize ecologically friendly products by phasing out harmful substances and using fully recyclable materials. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive mandates recovery and recycling for all electronic goods. End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) legislation requires reducing vehicle waste to a maximum of 5% by 2015; today, ELV recycling is at about 75%, with 25% waste. Non-European Successes The cradle-to-cradle recycling movement is an indictment of our current trend of disposable products and extravagant packaging. It also calls into question our use of toxic materials that get downcycled or are not able to be recycled at all. Redesigning our production processes to follow the cradle-to-cradle recycling philosophy will inevitably create more eco-friendly and responsible goods, closing the loop and reproducing a system more closely tied to nature. Consumers will then be left with more than the choice between the lesser of two evils, as is often the case today. Instead, they will have the option of actually consuming in a sustainable and responsible manner. What a concept. Additional resources:
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Written by Jason Potts , August 30, 2010
Consumers should be careful to buy cradle-to-cradle products. Unfortunately, there aren't many and they aren't labeled. The government can help by requiring cradle-to-cradle labels on products and taxing non cradle-to-cradle ones. Then the eco-conscious consumer will have a label to result and the non eco-conscious consumer will be more likely to choose cradle-to-cradle products because they will be cheaper in relation to their counterparts thanks to the tax.
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Imagining a closed system within which everything is reusable isn’t too difficult; it’s nature at its finest. What rises from the Earth takes an exact measurement of nutrients from the soil, water and sky, plays its part in the composition, then tumbles down and gives its materials back to the ground. Nothing is wasted, misplaced or abandoned. But transposing this sustainable cycle to modern commerce is another story. 
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