Posts Tagged ‘raw materials’

I was talking to someone who said that it takes more energy and money to recyle paper than it is to make it from raw materials.

Things to consider (all following situations is under the assumed condition that there are enough recyling facilities around so transportation won’t be a major factor.)

-What’s being recycled (paper, plastic and metal)
-Enviromental impact
-Energy cost
-Money

Please back your answer with sources or be someone that’s capable of answer this question with expert opinion.

Assuming that we are not realistically going to give up our high-tech, consumer societies any time soon, would it be better to have some of the most heavily-polluting processes out in space? This would seem to be a major savings to the earth’s environment. Mining and manufacturing, along with the heavy energy usage that goes with them, are a major cause of environmental destruction on earth. Raw materials could be mined and processed in space, then the processed materials sent back to earth (gliding to the earth’s surface like space shuttles do). The sun could provide the energy, and the moon and asteroids would be the major sources of materials. Except for oil (for plastics) virtually every other raw material can be found throughout the solar system. What would be some other arguments for and against doing this?