Material Value: More Sustainable, Less Wasteful Manufacturing of Everything from Cell Phones to Cleaning Products

by Julia L F Goldstein

Overview

Creative Solutions from Smart Businesses

Are you concerned about plastic waste and its effect on public health and the environment? You're not alone.

Read Material Value to learn about the challenges facing the manufacturing world and how to make choices that are less wasteful and less harmful to people and the environment.

Discover:

• How metals and plastics are made and what happens when they are recycled
• The challenges that manufacturers face when trying to make their facilities and products less toxic and less wasteful
• How manufacturers can extract the value of materials while doing less damage to human health and the environment
• How smart companies are embracing the triple bottom line--profit, people, planet--to make manufacturing safer and more efficient
• Why some big corporations painted as evildoers deserve a second look

Get the inside scoop from:

• A business owner recycling scrap from airplane manufacturing
• A former geologist running a chain of donut shops
• Two entrepreneurs committed to improving e-waste processing
• An executive promoting social and environmental responsibility at a major electronics company
• A chemist developing safer cleaning products

"Meticulous editing and a succinct style... Exemplary for its balanced and reasonable viewpoint, the text deserves to be classified as a reference tool for countless professionals." --Publishers Weekly, BookLife Prize

"This book is an antidote to a world too dominated by extreme opinions: it is a detailed, balanced and fascinating account of how we can make the modern material world more sustainable." --Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters and Liquid

"If you want to take informed actions to support a better world, read this book."--Anne Janzer, author of Subscription Marketing and Writing to Be Understood

The challenges are huge, and the answers are not always obvious, but Material Value shares a message of cautious optimism. Smart and creative entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives from companies large and small are working on solutions and individuals can help them succeed.

If you care about making the material world more sustainable and want to learn more, read Material Value to discover the true value of materials and how we as a society can use them more wisely.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780999595619
Publisher:	Bebo Press
Publication date:	04/22/2019
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Julia L F Goldstein holds a PhD in materials science and started her career as an engineer before migrating to writing professionally in 2001. She is an award-winning journalist and has published articles in multiple trade and business journals. Julia is the owner of JLFG Communications, specializing in ghostwriting white papers and other technical marketing content for corporate clients manufacturing a wide variety of products. She brings her passion for materials and sustainability to life in Material Value, her first book. Julia is active in her local writing community and leads the Seattle chapter of the Nonfiction Authors Association.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Why this book, why now

How this book is organized

Part I: Setting the Stage

Chapter 1: Chemicals—The Helpful and the Harmful

Chapter 2: The Message You Send

Chapter 3: Reining in Excess Waste

Part II: The Materials We Use

Chapter 4: Plastics—Wonder Materials or Global Disaster?

Chapter 5: Light and Heavy Metals

Part III: Rethinking Manufacturing

Chapter 6: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Chapter 7: Tackling the E-waste Monster

Chapter 8: Manufacturing and Processing Methods

Part IV: Next Steps

Chapter 9: Regulations and Certifications

Chapter 10: Taking Action

Editorial Reviews

"Readers will be left with the sense that although sustainability is not an easy feature to add to the manufacturing process, it is indeed possible to do so with both ecological and financial benefits. An engrossing, comprehensive overview of sustainable manufacturing and recycling and the challenges to expanding their adoption."--Kirkus Reviews

"This book is an antidote to a world too dominated by extreme opinions: it is a detailed, balanced and fascinating account of how we can make the modern material world more sustainable. I particularly like the use of case studies that unravel the complexities and trade-offs needed to understand even seemingly obvious materials choices." --Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters and Liquid

"Julia Goldstein has written a comprehensive, comprehensible guide to the impact of everyday materials like plastics and metals. If you want to take informed actions to support a better world, read this book."--Anne Janzer, author of Subscription Marketing and Writing To Be Understood

"The clear explanations of the benefits and costs of so many types of modern materials, along with their current disposal methods, are valuable to anyone interested in moving our society toward a zero-waste future."--Jill Lightner, author of Scraps, Peels, and Stems: Recipes and Tips for Rethinking Food Waste at Home

"The writing style is easy to read, even for a non-technical, non-science, liberal arts major like me! It flows well, and the interviews help to support the key content points. I really enjoyed the book and learned quite a lot."--Steven Howard, author of Leadership Lessons from the Volkswagen Saga

"How much have you thought about the materials that go into the products you use every day? In this compelling and informative book, you will learn about everything from chemicals and plastics to manufacturing and recycling, as well as what you can do as both a consumer and citizen to make for a more sustainable material world, all explained in a simple, clear, engaging style."--David Biello, author of The Unnatural World

From the Publisher

2019-04-03
An engineer explains how to make products less toxic and more sustainable.

In this debut science book, Goldstein takes readers into the realms of manufacturing and recycling to explore how things—particularly consumer goods—are made, how the process can be improved, and what happens when they move into the recycling system. Capsule portraits of entrepreneurs involved in different aspects of sustainable manufacturing (a project manager who maintains a database of construction materials and their ingredients, a distributor of compostable flatware and packaging) appear throughout. These are woven into a narrative that includes a concise history of plastics from Bakelite to the present; Nike's shift toward corporate social responsibility; and a visit to a steel plant. The book does a particularly good job explaining the complicated world of recycling, where both economics and feasibility limit the materials that can be productively broken down and reused. That section concludes with examples of cutting-edge techniques that offer new recycling possibilities. Goldstein frequently refers to earlier works on the subject, showing how sustainable manufacturing has evolved over the past decade. And she makes a compelling case for its eventual mainstream viability, drawing connections between lean manufacturing strategies and a more efficient use of raw materials, for instance. The book is well-written, with enough detailed information to engage knowledgeable readers but without technical jargon or minutiae that might overwhelm a novice. The tone is casual and intimate ("It's great to have flatware that composts, but not if it falls apart when we're using it"), and the author often uses her own experiences as a source of examples and anecdotes. While the volume maintains an upbeat perspective, Goldstein acknowledges the challenges of bringing sustainability to the manufacturing process and offers a candid evaluation of the effectiveness of each technology discussed. Readers will be left with the sense that although sustainability is not an easy feature to add to the manufacturing process, it is indeed possible to do so with both ecological and financial benefits.

An engrossing, comprehensive overview of sustainable manufacturing and recycling and the challenges to expanding their adoption.

Kirkus Reviews