11 Comments

Does turning used coffee grounds into fertilizer count?

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Sure! It's not ground breaking (more like grounds-breaking, get it?), but that's the sort of example that could be really useful anyway.

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One area where there can be significant waste in lithium production is in the extraction and processing of lithium from mineral sources like lithium brines and ores. These processes can generate waste in the form of tailings, which may contain leftover lithium and other potentially valuable minerals, as well as by-products and emissions that need proper management to minimize environmental impact

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I wonder if/when we can figure out a use for that byproduct.

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Surely waste plastic is a huge contender here?

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100%! I've heard of some really innovative uses for waste plastic.

Plastic itself is a byproduct of hydrocarbons too, so it's a close cousin to gasoline in that regard.

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Plastics.

Preferences that have unintended consequences we don't like, e.g. single-family detached housing, are a different type of issue. Your post is about literal leftovers and in that category, plastic containers and covers and whatnot seem like the clear best answer to your closing question.

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My mom taught me to cook with always having leftovers in mind. It does make things easier when I'm all WTF to cook for dinner, oh, look, I've got leftovers.

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I like to repurpose leftover sometimes, into stuff like burritos or *trick myself* into thinking it's a whole new meal when I can. Other times, I just eat the thing I had yesterday.

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One area with a lot of waste, in America, at least, is our preference for single family housing. Vast sprawls of sparse living space, most of it utilized for small fractions of the day, requiring expensive, space-and-resource-intensive transport infrastructure to get its inhabitants to the places where they earn their living (work or school). We devote large portions of our time and money to the acquisition and maintenance of this form of shelter, a high overhead cost to our personal lives!

Not that I've got an alternative vision to propose...

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I myself live in a single family home. At least it's modest (around 1000 square feet) and suits our needs. I also walk across the street to my business when I need to.

But yes, this drive toward bigger houses on bigger chunks of land is incredibly wasteful.

Now, is there an opportunity? That's the trick!

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