Carrying the load.Sustainability is a buzzword A term that refers to the latest technology or a term that sounds catchy. If not a flash in the pan, new technologies become mainstream. For example, Java was a hot buzzword in the 1990s, but should remain a major topic for decades. that may or may not last into the coming decades. Environmentalists are convinced that sustainability--defined in part as the ability of products to be part of a closed loop that allows resources to be renewed and conserved--is an inevitable economic trend. Other observers are more skeptical, noting that dire predictions of dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. resources have been made before, only to be proven inaccurate. In the past couple of centuries, the market has addressed resource shortages through pricing mechanisms and research efforts to find replacements. There is no reason to doubt that profit-driven individuals and corporations will continue to find such solutions. At the same time, producers of materials that could someday some·day adv. At an indefinite time in the future. Usage Note: The adverbs someday and sometime express future time indefinitely: We'll succeed someday. Come sometime. be in a shortage situation have been wise to develop the closed loop that can lead to sustainability. In a recent address printed on pages 12-16 of this supplement, Alcan Inc. executive vice president Brian Sturgell makes the case that aluminum producers should trumpet trumpet, brass wind musical instrument of part cylindrical, part conical bore, in the shape of a flattened loop and having three piston valves to regulate the pitch. the sustainability advantages of their material. His contention is that aluminum as a material is ahead of the curve on the sustainability front, with an argument resting in part on its recycling value compared to other packaging materials and other materials collected by municipal programs. The aluminum industry has carved out a critical role for scrap, and the metal has chemical properties that lend to continuous recycling and re-melting. This is nothing new to scrap recyclers, who have long been aware of the awaiting markets for nonferrous non·fer·rous adj. 1. Not composed of or containing iron. 2. Of or relating to metals other than iron. nonferrous Adjective 1. industrial scrap and obsolete items made from aluminum, copper, brass, stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. and other nonferrous metals. We hope those same recyclers will enjoy this year's Nonferrous Scrap Supplement, and will find a few ideas worth retaining. |
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