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07.12.2022 | Perspective

Short-life products are a big problem

Short-life products end up in the landfill, just like plastic. Let's start treating them like plastics. And work to eliminate short-life products in favour of products built to last.

Single use plastics and short-life products are a problem. Long-lasting products are the way to reduce landfill waste.

Words:

Kate Swanson

 

Photography:

Nick Fancher

The UN is contemplating a new treaty* to prohibit the use of single-use plastics, with the goal of reducing the waste we send to the landfill.

 

We support these efforts completely, but implore you (and the UN) to think bigger than just plastics.

 

 

Short-life products, those that are cheap and cheerful, those from inception designed with the intention to wear out, also end up clogging our landfills.

 

As makers of cookware, our minds immediately go to the millions of coated pots and pans sold every year.

 

And the millions of coated pots and pans that inevitably wear out, often in less than one year, that are rendered unusable. These products also end up in the landfill. 

 

But this is a problem that extends across a multitude of product categories, and is not limited by price or initial performance.

 

 

 

 

 

Single use plastics and short-life products are a problem. Long-lasting products are the way to reduce landfill waste.
Single use plastics and short-life products are a problem. Long-lasting products are the way to reduce landfill waste.

What can we do to tackle this type of waste?

 

How can we prevent short-life products from clogging our landfills?

 

We must stop buying short-life products.

 

We must make considered purchases, and focus on buying things that are built to last.

 

And when that is not possible, we must purchase products we can know can be responsibly recycled or composted.

 

This is what is required if we are going to make meaningful changes to the amount of waste sent to landfills.

 

 

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*This is the first step to formally codify an internationally binding treaty to deal with the global plastics problem. And this is a huge step forward! If successful, it would be one of the most consequential environmental treaties in years. Our goal here is not to diminish this progress or take away from the importance of such efforts. 

 

However, ENSEMBL firmly believes that this is not enough. Plastics are a problem, but they are not the only problem, and we simply do not have time to waste. We need think bigger, and start tackling the problem of waste generated by short-life products now. 

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