About Reuse

 

 

The concept of Reuse is at the heart of our mission at Appliance Depot.

In recent years, we have begun building an infrastructure in the U.S. to support recycling (a good thing) but in reality most waste happens before the consumer gets the product, in material extraction and manufacturing.  And the energy used in the manufacturing of a product is stored in that product, called embodied energy.  So, consider the energy it takes to extract virgin materials to make a new washer, the energy it takes to manufacture a new washer and the energy it takes to transport that new washer to our community.  Then add the energy it takes to transport your old washer to a recycling center and the energy it takes to melt it down.  The energy saved by using a new energy-efficient machine is dwarfed by the savings realized when we avoid this whole process by reusing an existing machine.    So, use it till you can't fix it - then give it to Appliance Depot.  If we can't get it working, we'll strip it for part and then, as a last resort, recycle it.

Here is some food for thought…

 

1. Garbage & Waste

Whatcom County, Washington exports 200,000 tons of garbage per year to Eastern Washington & Oregon at a cost of $1.6 million.

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2. Recycling

Since we started recycling cans, bottles and newspapers in the 1970’s, the volume of waste has grown.  We still recycle cans, bottle, and newspapers, but it has not slowed the dramatic increase of garbage.

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3. Reuse

Everyone knows the slogan, “Reduce, Reuse & Recycle," but only recycling has community infrastructure.

Waste is abhorrent to the average American.  That’s why we have garages, basements, attics, and now even rented storage units to keep stuff we don’t want to throw away.

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4. Appliances

The life span of a major home appliance is about 15 years.  If we added 5 years to the life span of these machines, we could manufacture 25% fewer machines.

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5. Economics of Reuse

Waste is a resource out of place.  A big enough pile of anything is worth something!

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6. Sustainability

Definition:  Sustainability is an economy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.