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Environmental impact of resin or polyresin?

post #1 of 7
12/29/09 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 

Howdy, eco-experts! 

My newest project is to put together an online store that sells (what will probably be a limited array of) eco-friendly household stuff at wholesale prices for a monthly membership fee. Like CostCo, only eco-ier.

So, while researching everything I could sell, I found these solar-powered fountains. "Yay, solar-powered fountains!" I thought. "They must be eco-friendly, because they say solar! Also, Dana1981 bought one for our mom once! That makes them eco-safe!"

But they say they're made from "polyresin, stonepowder, and sand". My question: WTF is polyresin? More importantly: does anyone know if it's Bad? Like: is it going to leech (leach?) toxins into the earth, is it impossible to recycle, do they set endangered owls on fire to make it....

I tried Google, and Google just wanted to teach me chemistry. I don't want to learn chemistry right now. Teach me, eco-wizards?

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post #2 of 7
12/29/09 at 3:20pm
What is polyresin?

I've never heard of any negative environmental impacts associated with polyresin.  In fact, I've seen it listed in a couple of places as an "environmentally friendly material", for whatever that's worth.  It looks like there might be a little concern for the health of workers inhaling styrene during manufacturing processes using some polyester resins, but that's about it.  I wouldn't worry about it.  Unless you really wanted to set some burrowing owls on fire, in which case I'm sorry to disappoint.
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post #3 of 7
12/29/09 at 3:54pm
There was a recent story on the toxicity of polyresin - although it's the holidays so I didn't research much more after reading this (busy) BUT it's something I'm going to be looking into more when I get a minute. My main concern with polyresin is that it's a mixed material which I'm guessing is going to make it very hard to recycle or reuse. I think, and I may be wrong, but I think it's a #7, which means many recycling centers won't be able to take it.

I think people like it because it's an affordable and easy to find alternative to other durable materials but I get a sketchy feeling in my gut about the eco-friendly aspects when a mixed material is so cheap and highly available. I don't think green needs to be costly, but the fact that I've never seen solid across the board recycling info about it along with the fact that so many extremely cheap Polyresin products are made in China makes me leery.
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post #4 of 7
12/29/09 at 4:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JenniferChait View Post

There was a recent story on the toxicity of polyresin
 

Interesting story.  However, the issue in question was with indoor air vapors.  With a fountain, even if it does contain polyresins which happen to contain VOCs, it's going to be outdoors (otherwise the solar feature won't work!).  Air vapors are only an environmental/health concern when they can accumulate indoors.

With the recycling issue, well, realistically how many people are going to try to recycle a garden fountain anyway?
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post #5 of 7
1/7/10 at 8:51pm
Thread Starter 
That's true. My problem is that I start out researching eco-friendly products -  and the more thought I give to it, the less eco-friendly everything seems - and I start thinking stuff like, "But how are you going to DISPOSE of the organic-cotton fair-trade sustainably-harvested-bamboo sofa??? It's going to fill up the landfill!! And what are those fabric dyes made of? That doesn't look like a vegetable dye to me!! Guess it's back to the drawing board!!" 

"That fountain won't last forever! And THEN what are we going to do?!!!!" And then it's excessive punctuation time.

I DID find a fair-trade, recyclable, 100%-post-consumer-recycled-waste, sustainably produced, organic burrowing owl toaster. But I don't think there's much of a market for that.
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post #6 of 7
1/8/10 at 2:51pm
Burrowing owls are cool.  And endangered.

You're overthinking it.  If somebody is going to buy a garden fountain, it's better if they buy a solar powered one.  If they're going to buy a sofa, it's better if they buy an oranic cotton fair trade etc. etc. sofa.  You're never going to have zero impact products, but if you're making them more eco and worker friendly, it's an improvement.
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post #7 of 7
1/8/10 at 10:29pm
Throw long lasting in there as well. The carbon footprint over the lifetime of the product is important.

Homes here in Turkey are typically concrete frames with block fill. The things are good for a very long time (if there isn't a big earthquake anyway) so the initial carbon cost is high but the long term cost is not. 

Funny point, anything with the label 'American' on it means cheap built here - panel doors for example.

Zero impact stuff is back to the 'hunter-gatherer' stage really - İ don't think too many people are interested in that - at least not interested when they don't have a city nearby they can escape to whenever they want as is presently done by some. 
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