The issue of hazardous waste receives less attention than other environmental threats, with over 80,000 chemicals now in existence - not counting the additional 1,500 new chemicals developed on a yearly basis, with many being introduced into the industry fields. There seems to be insufficient data demonstrating the effects of every chemical out there, but what data is available shows that human health and the environment is in trouble.
The good news is, of all the environmental threats, the hazardous waste issue has the most successful solutions available to it. Scientists state that hazardous waste could be reduced about 1/3 by using the available technology and methods already present, such as using the more recently developed digital cameras.
This is because as more and more people moved away from conventional cameras for easier photography with higher quality results, they were unwittingly reducing the use of chemicals that were earlier being used to process the film. These chemicals, especially the developer and fixer solutions, had become serious environment hazards.
The United States laws have required that the "spent chemicals" should be made inert before they were disposed off in landfills. But more often than not, most film processing centers released the chemicals into the drain because of high expenditure involved in treating them before discharge. This was especially true of the smaller and locally owned companies, along with individual photographers, not only in the US but across the world.
But they were not the only ones who broke the laws, as the cruise ships in the international waters did even more damage. Routinely, developed pictures that were shot by the ship's passengers had their the film-processing chemicals dumped 'en route into the open ocean, since no restrictive laws applied to international waters. This plays a major part why our oceans and green reefs are dying at a rate faster than the rain forests.
Due to the development of the digital camera, incidents such as the environmental issues on cruise ships are not occurring as often. The same can be said of ponds and rivers that used to be polluted with chemicals flowing out of film processing labs, incidentally which still flow out of such labs in the third world.
Very few people take prints of the photographs today with the digital camera and have them processed in a lab, as most transfer the images into computers electronically and then print them out or send them via email. Also, used cartridges are usually recycled or dumped into landfills, very rarely finding they're way into major water bodies.
Similarly, the scale of impact is very low when it comes to rechargeable batteries yet still there in regard to alkaline batteries. This is because most of the batteries are rechargeable and no consumer disposes them till they are full exhausted. This means that an alkaline battery may continue to be used for weeks depending on the amount of camera usage.
Also, being a solid waste it is more likely to end up in landfills than in water bodies, causing more damage to the grassland or dirt in the area. An alternative to alkaline batteries for environmental safety is the NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) battery or the Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) batteries as they are environmentally friendly. So, if you are a nature lover dump your conventional camera and get a digital camera, with safer batteries.
Think about pdfs or html e-mails instead of Junkmail The next time somebody suggests carpet bombing a town with a deluge of trifold a4 brochures, think about the money you would save getting a web designer or family friend with some design skill to put together a targeted html e-mail campaign or a visual pdf that can be sent out to people by e-mail. At the end of the day its all destined for the wastebin so you might as well try and save a tree along the way
Repair, Reuse, Recycle those designs In the esteemed words of Bob the Builder, why chuck away something when it can be reused or recycled? The same dictum applies to graphic design. Instead of carelessly discarding a logo design you submitted for a client a couple of years ago, simply add a little blend in adobe photoshop or illustrator and re submit it for another customer.
How big are your design carbon footprints? Within a short few years, the government will be insisting all companies and businesses track their individual carbon footprints in a token effort to reach out to green voters. What this means is essentially every time you flush the toilet, chuck away a scrap of paper or set fire to a mattress in your back garden, you are going to have to be accountable for your actions and plant a tree for your sins. Why not get ahead of the game now and buy up a large swath of prime rain forest in brazil and sell carbon credits to less responsible businesses?
Sustainable print materials These days there is no reason to use pulped rain forest paper to produce your brochure designs and elegant business folders. Most printers will be able to source FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved paper for printing. Also vegetable based inks are now common place and not as bad as that might sound providing you are only looking for brown and green based design. Although yellow peppers and tomatoes could be used for more warmer colours
So there you have it, you could carry on throwing litter on the floor, burning your used car tyres and pouring poisonous printing chemicals into local ponds but think of the children, won't somebody think of the children. Wouldn't the world be that litter bit better if you didn't?
Both Mike Singh & Horatio Farquaar are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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