Cradle to Cradle

I read a book called "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things".

It is about environment issues and the product designs, but not a typical one at all.

The book was very revolutionary. The authors of this book, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, took a whole different route here. Instead of providing the idea of “how to reduce our waste” or “how to recycle more materials”, they proposed the idea of “eliminating waste altogether".

It’s like Western medicine verses Eastern medicine. Western medicine tends to fix the superficial problem, removing the symptoms only, while Eastern medicine tends to fix the cause of the problem.

What we do now (e.g. Recycling) is like Western medicine. We are trying to reduce the problem, but the problem itself is not solved in any way. There will be always waste and we look for places to dump them. Their new idea is focusing on the cause of problem, like Eastern medicine. Their idea of “eliminate the waste” is the core thing. If this is accomplished in some way, we will not bother thinking how we can reduce our waste in the first place, or no worry about a shortage of lands. Actually their ideas go even further. Not just eliminate the waste, but actually doing something good for the environment!

What is wrong with the current system?
In a book, they explain that "recycling" is not really recycling but actually "downcycling". Recycled plastic won't become the same plastic with the same quality. It will be downgraded. So are papers. That means the materials are downcycled. After several cycles of life, those materials also become a waste. What we need in next generation is the design which can be recycled forever (that’s why this book’s title is “Cradle to Cradle”, in contrast to “Cradle to Grave”) or design which is biodegradable.

How can the product do something good for the environment instead of becoming a waste?
“Biodegradable” is one of the answer. Instead of a typical plastic bag, what if there is a bag which is biodegradable so we can just toss the bag to the ground and it will give nutrients to a soil? That is something “good” to the environment.
How about the car which does not emit any CO2 but something better, like H2O? Instead of being a cause of global warming, being something positive that returns good to the environment.

Some designs are already materialized but many are under development stages. In the meantime, we still have to recycle as much as possible. However, we must foresee our future and I believe that this revolutionary idea is the way to go for us.