Thread: Waste

Hi John

I can quite understand where you're coming from, and yes, its sad to see the attitude spreading, but unfortunately, a lot of people havent ever had to worry about the ability to replace something, be it for financial or availability reasons..... they just go out and buy a new one.

I'm 27, my father is 64 this year and grew up with post war rationing in England, and I grew up with the legacy of that..... Both he and I allways have food in the cupboard, and neither of us like replacing something that can be repaired.

Repairing things has been a profitable exercise for me at times, $40 caterpillar tyre pressure gauge that needed a schrader valve insert, Bridgestone truck tyre pressure gauge that simply needed 2 new O rings, macnaught drum pump retrieved from a scrap metal skip in filthy but otherwise new condition.... washed it, flushed it out and its fine! GME Electrophone TX3400 UHF radio that was being thrown out and replaced with a new one (RRP $495), i rescued it, sent it off to a technician for repair, $44.50 later and it's working as good as new!

I've also got a big evakool esky under the desk in front of me that had been dumped (gotta love mining towns, big income = high waste factor) and is half full of automotive cable offcuts.... Anything longer than a metre gets kept, rolled up and labelled and invariably ends up getting used somewhere!

and thats just the stuff i can remember!

I'm only 48 and have been brought up with "enough", like there was no shortage that I remember but we always use, repair when possible, repair yourself if feasable, build it yourself etc. I have welding rods that are possible 30 + years old from mild steel through to cast and stainless. My grinding disc start off as 9" and finish life on the 4" grinder using an o'ring to centralise them. If I buy a electronic something for the car I keep all the wire cut offs, shelves off old bolts from dismantled cars (mates all come here when they want bolts). I am not a horder as such and once a year I go through the shed and have a clean out. Do like to get value for the dollar.
cheers
blaze

JD - I agree completely.

However unfortunately it is not just at the consumer level. Australia recycles a small fraction of our waste compared to somewhere like Germany.

Many loads of recyclable household waste have to be diverted to landfill instead because the load has been contaminated with normal refuse.

At the present time, many recyclable materials are sent to landfill because the price of virgin material has dropped below the price of recycled material...

I could go on...

Originally Posted by isuzurover

JD - I agree completely.

However unfortunately it is not just at the consumer level. ...........

Exactly. And it is not even primarily one of recycling. The preferable thing is to reuse before recycling. (Example - the change from refilling bottles to recycling them as glass, at vast energy expense, and the (not always obeyed) mandating of new rather than reused jars by "craft" type jam makers).

It occurs at all levels of society, and a lot of it is mandated by governments at all levels. (see NM's post). Part, but only part, or the reason is that the high cost of labour (including on-costs) means that in many cases it is cheaper to replace something than repair it, but also in many cases it is not possible to repair it because either parts or information are not available - or are restricted to "authorised" repairers who treat the situation like any captive market gets treated, and charge more than the repaired item is worth.

And even if parts and information are available, they are charged at ridiculous prices - for example, I recently repaired my chest freezer - new thermostat cost almost 30% of the cost of a new freezer, and took four weeks delivery. These costs are added to, sometimes at least, deliberately, by manufacturers who keep changing the design without good reason. Or the situation with my son, who is facing the prospect of a new fridge - door seal is not replaceable without replacing the door!

John

Cars are becoming a bit like that. I had a 94 magna - It was a nice enough car for the city. Cost me about 17 grand in 1996. When it blew a head gasket in 2006 it wasn't worth fixing. I sold it for $500 - the value of the rego.

Likewise my 26" tube TV is starting to deteriorate - My kids will divorce me if I fix it.


That's why I like old Land Rovers - repair, renew, reuse - the ultimate in conservation.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Exactly. And it is not even primarily one of recycling. The preferable thing is to reuse before recycling. (Example - the change from refilling bottles to recycling them as glass, at vast energy expense, and the (not always obeyed) mandating of new rather than reused jars by "craft" type jam makers).

Exactly: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Recycling is a last resort, and ideally, waste products should be recycled back into the same product, rather than a lower grade product.

In Germany, beer bottles have e0.10 (or more) deposit per bottle. They are washed and reused many times, then eventually recycled.

Funny you should mention white goods. I bought a new fridge (of a reputable brand) a couple of years ago. It died within 3 weeks. The technician came out, told me within 5 minutes what was wrong (the condensor tube IRC), then said, "we don't repair these korean-made models, just replace them" A whole fridge thrown away for the sake of a small part...

This thread was prompted by a post in a discussion in Technical Chatter about whether grinding discs have a use by date. The post suggested something along the lines "new ones are cheap compared to a trip to the doctor, just ditch them".

first, lets NOT read into the post what was NOT there john. i said

just buy a few new ones.. if they have been wet or damp, over the last 20years, they might have you just dont know, new ones arnt expensive but a trip to the doctors might be

my point was safety before anything else, a 3 dollar disc isnt worth a doctors bill in my eyes.

oh and i work in the waste industry so you dont have to tell me about waste, just ask any of my freinds about the amount goodies i come home with DAILY.

cheers phil

Thanks for this post, mate! And I absolutely agree to your point of view, having experienced a similar upbringing (my parents had to live through the war and post-war years and that experience had stuck with them). I still follow the rule that most time fixing is better than replacing, not producing any rubbish is better than recycling still. And, incidentally, this is my way of being "environmentalist", despite driving a 4x4 (and thus are responsible for many of today's sins, in the eyes of some extremists).

Yes, in Germany they ar really on the right track, and have been for years on the forefront of the "greener way". But I feel it is still not enough. Furthermore, the former Eastern Germany had an exceptionally well organised recycling system, which was scrapped after the reunification, stupidly enough. And, as stated above, it would be better not to produce any waste in first place.

Just my 5c..
Cheers