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.

Follow up:

Recycling is energy and capital intensive compared to Reuse.  It takes energy to melt materials and reconstitute them.  It takes energy to transport recyclables to urban centers where they can be recycled.  It takes energy to make the new products, even when using recycled source materials.

Every year in Whatcom County 27,000 appliances are discarded for recycling without consideration for Reuse potential.

In five years, Reuse Works/Appliance Depot has saved 800 appliances for Reuse.  We’ve created 7 living wage “green”  jobs; and trained more than 160 low income workers.

3,000 appliances have been donated to Reuse Works Appliance Depot.  270 tons were recycled. Still more to do, but we’re making headway!