Product Waste Production Triangle

Basics

• Similar to the Product Development Triangle ( Iron Triangle ), the amount of waste a consumable product produces and other factors are locked in a similar manner
• Factors:
  • Waste (Think a Slider from the most ardent follower of the Zero Waste Philosophy to someone who throws their old car batteries at sea turtle nests and dumps their WMO into the local well etc)
  • Cost
  • Convenience ( Slow Food Movement vs (Automated) Fast Food )
  • Mobility ( SWAP )

Examples

Food

• On one side you have fully locally produced “Slow Food” from a Food Forest done with best practices by loving happy healthy commune members or something
  • This is Low/No-Waste (No Packaging, No Transportation Waste/Losses, Good Waste Recycling, etc)
• On the other side you have Astronaut Food and MREs / Freeze Dried Meals for Backpacking
  • Energy Intensive
  • Typically stored in Multilayer Bags
• You can put the astronaut food in inherited porcelain/stainless steel containers, but then you get rid of the Mobility advantages
• You could do a Slow Food Replication of a Fast Food Combo Meal, but then the cost would go up and speed/connivence down

What to Take Away From This

• Know your market/target so as to not get stuck trying to do both 100%
• Do Harm Reduction wherever possible:
  • Buy high quality storage containers
  • Reduce Food Waste as much as you REASONABLLY can
  • Any “wasted” food can be diverted to non-landfill routes ( Compost , to Anaerobic Digestion and other Wastewater Treatment Processes via a In-Sink Food Waste Grinder )
  • Biodegradable Tableware