I am seeing hopefully more prominent use of life cycle thinking as a way to quantify ecological influences of certain type of materials of use.
This underlying value is the sense of consciousness as a consumer to wisely switch to a more sustainable way of living. This can be achieved by diving into knowledges about differences in the time required for metal versus plastic to be degraded for instance. After having acquired this environmental awareness in head, wise choice can be make, in this case switching to use metallic reusable lunchboxes instead of plastic lunchboxes.
Interventions could draw focus onto education about the general public on this particular issue.
Hi Jn,
I think you nailed it by mentioning the idea of this 'life cycle' of platics in our ecosystems. Small desicions such as what you carry your lunch in everyday are small steps that add up. How would you recommend to others to start consicously embracing these choices in daily practice?
Hi Jn, education would certainly be a powerful tool that could be used to allow the general public to gain a greater understanding of sustainable material choices. For the example of metal versus plastic, perhaps education could provide a much more comprehensive comparison between metal and plastic along with other materials such as glass and wood.
Hi Jn! I completely agree with you on life cycle awareness. My question for you is if you made that switch to metal lunchboxes, have you seen any practical benefits or drawbacks? And how do you think we can cause this change on a bigger scale?
Yeah, I like those Indian and Chinese stackable lunch containers, IF i must eat food at ambient weather temperatures.
Here, I am hazarding an educated guess, based on my previous knowledge retained from Chemistry 12:
Metal is a natural element, so it may rust, it may dent, but it will go back to the earth or can even be smelted down and recycled in some cases. There's the problem of rust that leads naturally to soil acidification. Corrosion is a natural phenomenon due to exposure to earth's natural elements. It definitely is more naturally biodegradable than plastic, but may potentially acidify the soil when it rusts and becomes iron oxide. The soil acidity can be remedied with human intervention of neutralizing the acids by adding some basic or caustic powders, but then, there's the problem of salts that occur when bases mix with acids. I also guess this could require personal protective equipment to prevent chemical burns - and PPE can be a waste problem, too. If anyone knows better, please, step in and set the record straight!
The upside is that it will last for centuries and can be passed down as an heirloom if well designed, well cared for and well protected from corrosive elements.