Remember the days when a washing machine lasted for decades? If it broke down it could be fixed. But now it seems it is cheaper to discard our broken products and buy new ones. The side effects of our throwaway society are ever-larger waste mountains festering with toxic chemicals and the depletion of natural resources such as rare metals.



Europe produced 8.3 to 9.1 millions tons of waste from electrical projects in 2005.



Product makers are responding by designing goods that have a reduced carbon footprint at their point of manufacture, but leading thinkers in the field of sustainable design believe that a radical re-think in the way we consume products is required if we want to halt the growing mountain of toxic waste piling up on the world's rubbish dumps.



Figures recently announced by the U.N. University suggest the production of electronic and electrical products is running neck-and-neck with their disposal: An estimated 10.3 million tons of electronic products were put on the market in the European Union in 2005, while 8.3 to 9.1 million tons of waste from electrical products found their way into Europe's rubbish bins. Electronic and electrical products account for four percent of Europe's waste and the rate is growing at three times the speed of any other form of waste.



What is sustainable design?



Sustainable design is a reaction to the global environmental crisis. It aims to produce products, buildings and services, which have a low impact on climate change and the depletion of the world's resources.



In industrial design this includes the use of recycled and recyclable materials; reducing pollution through cutting down the need for transportation, such as by using locally-sourced materials; making products which can be taken apart once they are discarded so that their parts that can be used again; and designing goods which use as little energy as possible while they are being made.



While many companies are beginning to think of ways in which they can reduce their environmental impact during the manufacture of their products, many sustainable design experts believe that these measures are not enough to reduce the damage the constant manufacture of products is doing to the world's eco-system.



A change in culture



"Daily life is becoming increasingly mediated by electronic artifacts," says Jonathan Chapman, editor of Designers, Visionaries and Other Stories, a book which seeks to bring together new thinking on sustainable design. "These products are great but it seems that as their popularity grows, their impermanence grows with it."



Chapman believes that true sustainability can only be achieved if we moderate our inclination to strive for the newest product, and he argues that the onus is on designers to initiate a shift away from a disposable culture.



He proposes a model for consumer behavior based on a service economy -- that products are designed to last longer and to be fixed when they break; brands can make their profits by providing the services to ensure that this can be done.



"It's quite conceivable to make objects that don't necessarily make a profit at the point-of-sale but that, because their life-spans are extended and are punctuated with service and upgrade options, can generate turnover over long periods of time that is greater than making a small profit and having to remanufacture," he explains.



He believes that consumers would be prepared to pay more for their electronic goods if they knew they would last longer. It is an economic model that would make most manufacturers choke, but it is an unfounded fear, says economist Andrew Charlton, author of Ozonomics: Inside the Myth of Australia's Economic Superheroes.



"The key thing to remember is that human desires know no bounds -- we are never satiated," he says. "If we replace an expensive disposable product with a permanent one, that just frees up income to spend on other things.



"Ballpoint pens last longer than quills, tarred roads last longer than cobblestones -- and the economy moves on. Every time we satisfy one demand, another one comes along to take its place."



"A quarter-inch hole"



But it's not enough to expect consumers to sign up to a longer
What product is Europe's fastest growing form of waste What do Europeans find cheaper? What do durable products do? what is Europe's fastest growing form of waste What is the fastest growing form of waste? what is the use of durable products Who finds it cheaper to throw away rather than fix electrical products
Electronic and electrical to discard our broken products and buy new ones. are designed to last longer and to be fixed when they break; Electronic and electrical products Electronic and electrical products they would last longer. our throwaway society
question: What product is Europe's fastest growing form of waste, answer: Electronic and electrical | question: What do Europeans find cheaper?, answer: to discard our broken products and buy new ones. | question: What do durable products do?, answer: are designed to last longer and to be fixed when they break; | question: what is Europe's fastest growing form of waste, answer: Electronic and electrical products | question: What is the fastest growing form of waste?, answer: Electronic and electrical products | question: what is the use of durable products, answer: they would last longer. | question: Who finds it cheaper to throw away rather than fix electrical products, answer: our throwaway society