The Christian Science Monitor posted a story on its Web site yesterday that touches on some issues that plastics molders, material suppliers and designers can all appreciate. It's the story of John Huling, owner of a vacuum cleaner repair shop in Natick, Mass., who shut down his business this week.
The reason? Today's vacuum cleaners are difficult and costly to repair. When they break, most people throw them away and buy new models.
Huling blames the predominance of plastic parts.
He sighs as a woman comes in with a new machine. Politely referring her elsewhere, he confides, "It's a piece of junk, speaking technically ... that [machine] was made by the company that made the best vacuum cleaner that was ever made and then they switched to plastic."The way he utters the word leads me to ask about the evils of plastic. His excited cadences take me back to childhood visits when – dislodging socks or Barbie clothes from a clogged hose – he'd counsel my mother on the need for careful attention. "You can't fix half the new vacs," he says. "Everything's plastic now, even the lever that releases the handle that you have to step on every day.... They snap off. By the time I order the parts and charge labor to repair it, you don't want to do it. I'm just waiting for them to tell me they can't fix my car someday!"
I think the "evils of plastic" is a bit overboard -- it's not the plastic that's the problem.
Obviously you can design and manufacture a very durable vacuum cleaner using plastic parts. But too many vacuums on the market today aren't durable. Consumers buy them anyway, rather than spend hundreds more on more dependable, more durable models -- the kind worth repairing, which keep people like Huling in business.
So American consumers have voted with their pocketbooks: they're satisfied with semi-durable products that fall apart after a few years and end up in the trash. Just make 'em cheap, we'll buy more.
Over the long term, is that a sustainable business model? I don't think so. But I can't predict whether that will change next year, 5 years from now, or 100 years after we're gone.
Thanks to EDN.com's Anablog, compiled by technical editor Paul Rako, for tipping me off to this story.
Comments (3)
Yes, it's not the "evil plastics," but the ability of plastic to be used for great good or great evil. Reminds me of something the great and half-forgotten author H. G. Wells once wrote, that money is not the root of all evil, but depends on how it's used, and on the evil or good nature of those who use it.
So it behooves us to manage our society where more money flows to the responsible and decent citizens, and less to the "evil" ones.
We consumers are at fault, too -- we can't pass all the buck to the media, corporations, the government, OPEC, or anyone else. I wonder how many of us have vacuum cleaners on each floor of our homes, so we don't have to drag them up and down steps (which in fact is easier because of lightweight plastics). Comfort and convenience are our nemeses, both biologically (obesity epidemic), financially (tipping balance of trade) and environmentally (buying things we can easily do without).
ALG
Posted by Allan Griff | March 5, 2008 1:35 PM
Posted on March 5, 2008 13:35
A tune up used to be plugs, points and a condenser and if you were really into it change the oil and filter. Now the tune up starts with hooking into the computer port and downloading the test results and then going from there. I can still figure out the oil part without a computer and the special connector for the device.
There are plenty of capable engineers who can design a part with polymers that will withstand the designed abuse load after identifying the issue. If the consumer is willing to pay for it and the manufacturer is willing to market the advantage the plastic device may in fact outlive us all while still performing.
Posted by george s. upton | March 11, 2008 8:54 AM
Posted on March 11, 2008 08:54
It is not plastics that are the problem (if indeed it is a problem), but rather the fact that simplified manufacturing techniques often preclude easy disassembly. This trend started in the middle of the last century when rivets and bent metal tabs started to replace screws, nuts and bolts in such items as toasters and speedometers. What was traditionally made from multiple components can now be molded as a single piece, thus reducing weight, complexity, assembly time and ultimately consumer cost.
Posted by Andrew Peacock | March 12, 2008 1:22 PM
Posted on March 12, 2008 13:22