I attended a lecture on Sustainability yesterday, which was really nice as I've not delved into that world much in the last few years, but a few take home points from it:
-We're going to change the ownership model in time from the end user owning the product and being responsible for the disposal of it, to one where the end user leases it and returns it for disposal (be it repair, reuse, or recycle). This can already be seen in the rise of contracts for Apple and Samsung phones (especially) where they are returned at the end of the contracted period unless you want to buy the phone then - and that's at about the same price as people sell them on for.
-Equipment is time limited - airbags were one of those, they traditionally had a 10 year life span, and certainly when I got my V70 back in 2007, that was something I was aware of. They were to be inspected at 10 years at that time, as there was an understanding that they degraded-
however, this has now changed to not being an issue unless you had a Takata airbag...
-Linked to the equipment is time limited, there is also an argument for replacing things about once a decade to gain benefit from the technological advantages of increased efficiency (less fuel (of whatever variety) used)
-Whole life cycle analysis of things is something that hasn't been mastered - in the UK there is an emphasis placed on manufacturers and retailers to absorb some of the costs of doing business; in that case, they are expected to absorb the cost of disposal of products that have been replaced through
WEEE.
Ultimately is a fine edged sword we are balancing on, both environmentally and economic. There's a difference between a move to environmentally sound options and replacing things that are at the end of their life - these have impacts on the cost of things, and how we use them. Even things like clothes have an impact; I'll spend $70 on a pair of Wrangler jeans, and they'll last 4years before they get too threadbare for proper wearing. I could buy 3 pairs of $20 jeans in that time, but which is better for the economy and which is better for the environment? This becomes the next problem, we've got a society so dependent on growth that a move to durable products is not sustainable as a business model (they never wear out) and the economy relies so much on consumer spending to maintain growth (and businesses are judged on their turnover and increases year on year) that a slow down in consumption is a problem.
Enough rambling from me - I think there's been 5 posts from others in this time...