Dan Fancher presents Tim Cooper’s
SLOWER
CONSUMPTION
REFLECTIONS ON PRODUCT LIFE SPANS
AND THE “THROWAWAY SOCIETY”
TIM COOPER
WEEE, WEEE, WEEE,
WEEE, all the way home?
An evaluation of
proposed electrical and
electronic waste
legislation
The durability of
consumer durables
Challenging the ‘refuse
revolution’: war, waste
and the rediscovery of
recycling, 1900–50
Recycling Modernity:
Waste and Environmental
History
Professor in the College of Art & Design
and Built Environment, School of
Architecture Design and the Built
Environment: Sustainable Design and
Consumption
Economist with a Ph. D from Sheffield
Hallam University
Advisor to: the Research Council of
Norway, the Irish Environmental Protection
Agency, the Belgium Federal Science
Policy Office, the House of Commons
Environment Committee
THE ISSUE
Municipal waste in industrialized countries has been increasing at around
the same rate as economic growth, around 40% over the past 30 years.
The “Throwaway Society”
E-SCOPE SURVEY
Do Products last long enough?
45% said no
50% said yes
5% expressed no opinion
10% believe that refrigerators and freezers, hi-fis and
stereos, telephones, and home and garden tools
should last at least 20 years.
1/3 products disposed of are actually broken and 1/3
of those could have been repaired.
The study concluded that most people do not adopt a
consistent approach toward product life spans
WHAT IS NEEDED
“The assumption of nonsaturation which is at the core of
economic theory must be challenged”
This requires a shift from a linear economy to a circular
economy so that inputs of virgin raw material and energy
and outputs in the form of waste requiring disposal decline
REDEFINING PRODUCTS
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
PRODUCT LIFESPANS AND
SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
SLOWING THINGS DOWN
CITATIONS
Pictures
http://www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/files/images/newsimg_tim_cooper_0253.jpg?w=300&h=250
http://assets.motherboard.tv/post_images/assets/000/009/869/clock_large.jpg?1308691076
http://eweb.furman.edu/~ballen/slow/logo1.jpg
http://www.anadolujet.com/images/skylife/4-2012/3143/129_3143yavas_sehir_18.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BIP0gnIZB3s/SiYu3KzUmyI/AAAAAAAAAFI/o-S0vDkYLFw/s400/Birt_mouthful.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/HP-Deskjet-Printer-CH340A-B1H/dp/B003YGZIY0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1350862200&sr=83&keywords=hp+printer
http://www.amazon.com/HP-CH562WN-140-Tri-Color-Cartridge/dp/B003H2AZJE/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_y
http://www.amazon.com/HP-CH561WN-140-Ink-Cartridge-Black/dp/B003H2GBM4/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_y
http://www.xomoxnyc.com/wp-content/uploads/FEAT-IMGsm-Apple-Planned-Obsolescence.jpg
http://www.solidworks.com/sustainability/docs/LCA_graphic_for_web.jpg
http://www.brad.ac.uk/ten-plus-one/media/TENPLUSONE/Images/linear-circular-economy.jpg
http://vermonttimberworks.com/Web-Photos/Home-Page-Photos/hand-crafted-timber-frame-hi.jpg
Text
Cooper, T. (2005). Slower Consumption Reflections on Product Life Spans and the “Throwaway Society.”
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 9(1-2), 51–67. doi:10.1162/1088198054084671
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