the story of: electronics and bottled water

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_7i6T_H78

The story of electronics takes a position I completely side with and it's refreshing to be taught (just today) about not only 'green' design but the ethics of design. I know Europe now have laws dictating that a certain percentage of a product be recyclable but if it is recycled in a poorly thought out way it seems it can be costly and detrimental to all.

At the risk of sounding like a hippy (or worse my dad) it sucks that there are so many products that need only small repairs to be fixed but it is cheaper to get a new one???? go figure. At my current house we regularly pick up things dumped on the side of the road that still work or can be used to make say furniture. It seems to me to be a smart idea as this 'garbage' is basically free materials that only need some intelligent design to be reborn as new products. The downfall of this is generally popular aesthetics, heaven forbid someone should come to your house and see a bookshelf made of say old computer casings.

Also the power of marketing needs to be excepted and used positively to change things.

If recycling is truly to be embraced it should be much more accessible to the real(read lazy) world and like the video says certain materials should only be used when neccesary if at all. I am looking forward to what seems to be a change from consumables to a time of well crafted products either made to last and be fixed or to be excepted as throwaway and use according safe degradable materials.

Of course it's easy to see why it doesn't happen when the end user feels so far removed from responsibility, so designers have to take up the challenge and design products that are better for the world but also are far more appealing (which also definitely has to mean affordable)to consumers.