I finally read the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. The book is a must-read on many levels, but I was particularly inspired and encouraged by the fact that unlike the previous generation of sustainability manifestos that pit the economy against equity & ecology, Cradle to Cradle “sees commerce as the engine of change” and allows one to embrace their inner capitalist by proposing a sustainable world of guilt-free growth, prosperity and abundance. Instead of viewing consumer waste through the austere lens of the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle a.k.a. downcycle), McDonough and Braungart, inspired by the abundance of nature, propose the visionary idea of designing consumer products as either biological nutrients or technical nutrients.

Biological nutrients are materials or products designed to be a part of a biological cycle, or in other words, designed to be consumed by animals and/or microorganisms and eventually return to the earth (think composting).

An example of a product designed to be a biological nutrient is a biodegradable upholstery fabric, containing no harmful chemicals, that can be torn off of a chair when no longer desired and thrown on the ground to biodegrade and provide nutrients for the soil.

Technical nutrients are materials or products designed to be a part of a technical cycle, or in other words, designed for a return to industrial use as a raw material that has not lost any value since its original form (think upcycling).

Currently, recycling forces the reuse of materials and products that were not originally designed for recycling. This often results in downcycling and toxicity problems. Downcycling, means the recycled material is not as valuable as the virgin material. For example, when cars are recycled, all the metals (high ductile steel, stainless steel, copper wiring, etc) in the car are melted down together, resulting in a metal of lesser quality that can never be used to make new cars. Secondly, toxicity problems occur when the harmful chemicals that are used to create the original product are disturbed through recycling and are released into the air through off-gassing and/ or abrasion of the new recycled product.

An example of a product designed to be a technical nutrient is a television designed for easy disassembly, so that its various components (copper, plastic, and even chemicals, etc) can be easily upcycled or reused to make new televisions. This strategy may even incorporate the concept of the product of service, whereby customers purchase the service of a television for a defined period of time after which they return it to the manufacturer for a new one, as opposed to the consumer buying the television itself and then being responsible for its disposal later.

I am curious to see what products out there are already implementing this visionary idea of designing for a positive impact on the environment (as opposed to designing to minimize the negative impact). If you know of any products that are designed as biological or technical nutrients I would love to know. I am going to do a little research myself and create a list of products to post.

The Capstone Turbine Corporation ® is the world’s leading producer of low-emission micro-turbine systems. The entire system, including the two micro-turbines, hot water chiller, large pipes and digital control panels, is located in the storage cellar of Astor Wines & Spirits and takes up about 600-800 SF of floor area.

The benefits of using micro-turbine technology

Electricity, often generated using coal, is the prime cause of CO2 emissions that ultimately lead to global warming, acid rain and urban smog. A micro-turbine system is a clean, reliable and energy efficient alternative for generating electricity.

Similar to a miniature jet engine, micro-turbines are designed to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gases as well as reduce energy costs. Unlike traditional technologies, no coolant or oil is required to lubricate the micro-turbine system, resulting in a cleaner combustion burning process and lower emissions. Furthermore, the higher on-site energy efficiency of micro-turbine technology, such as the ability to capture heat from the exhaust stream, results in a reduction of natural resource use and lower energy costs. Finally, since micro-turbines are designed to operate on a variety of gaseous and liquid fuels, renewable fuels such as methane, a gas emitted from landfills, or clean burning fuels such as natural gas, can be used to power the system.

Capstone Micro-Turbines can help green buildings earn more than a dozen LEED points including up to ten points for Energy & Atmosphere Credit 1, one point for exhaust-driven absorber and up to 4 points if fueled with biogas.