Sustainable Collecting

Not sure how many responses this will get as it's a little off-beat, but I was just wondering if anyone else here worries, thinks about, or takes actions to offset the environmental impact of their toy collecting habits?

I mean, obviously at the end of the day we are all addicted to plastic (and metal) which is produced from oil, which isn't exactly limitlessly renewable. We've already seen the impacts of this in terms of increases in price and reductions in size on our toys, but I'm just wondering if anyone thinks about the impact their hobby can have environmentally.

I know there are members on here who do a lot of driving cars around to various different stores, for example. Do any of you take steps such as driving a hybrid or other fuel efficient vehicle, either because of the travelling you do to find TFs or for non-related reasons? Does anyone consider the environmental impact when choosing whether to order online or drive to a store, either as the major or one of many reasons for doing so? What about fans who travel either internationally or domestically for shows and cons?

For my part, I don't drive, so I'm at least partially inured from having to consider that - if I buy locally I have to get the stuff home either by bike or public transport. I'm also very aware that virtually every part of most TF packaging is recyclable, so I try to make sure it all goes in the recycling as much as possible. But I do have to admit none of that has ever been a major consideration for me before I started thinking about it this morning.

What about the rest of the board? Is it something any of you guys consider, and if it is, do you do anything else to offset the impact of your hobby than what I've mentioned above?

I remember a few years ago fans were asking Hasbro if they were going to improve the sustainability of their packaging.

not long after that they went from using twist ties to paper twist ties.

I have noticed over the last few years that bubbles and internal bubbles have become slightly thinner with nubs to hold pieces in place reducing the amount of tape required. And of late, they have gone from using paper twist ties (which I really liked) to plastic ties that are similar in design to the plastic ties that hold labels on clothes.

Personally, I used to keep the plastic/metal twist ties, very useful for a range of things.

I keep smaller bubbles to re-use for packing when sending something as they conveniently fill up space in a parcel and by their initial design intent are very light so reduce postage cost as a result of weight.

I reuse as many shipping boxes as I can but this leads to me having a fairly large stash of boxes taking up space in the garage. (so does keeping packing materials and bubbles)

I tend to keep instructions and boxes with good imagery.
Everything else gets recycled.

But this is just a general approach to not wasting stuff I don't need to and saving from the need to purchase boxes and packing as much as I can when selling on stuff.

I don't usually go to the shops just to check out the toy isle, but I might make a night out on Thursday just generally shopping and a casual toy hunt will be part of it. the consideration of purchasing locally or importing is primarily based on overall cost to me, rather than whether it would have less impact on the environment.

As for large travel, I don't pay extra cash to airlines to reduce the carbon footprint of my flight, that's rubbish. I can't trust them to actually plant a tree and I can't see the point. Reducing our impact on the environment is something that needs to be done from a proactive point rather than a reactive point. dipping a spoon of oil into a bolt of water can't be fixed by removing two spoons of liquid from the bowl, the substances have mixed.
By developing cleaner engines and alternative forms of fuel we will have less impact on our environment. By not littering and taking the effort to recycle we reduce our impact. Planting a tree or two is a good thing but it doesn't fix the damage caused by driving to the airport and flying to another country.

Wow, that got a bit carried away. :o

I'm the sustainability officer for my school and a member of SLIM (Sustainable Living In the Mallee) so I look at sustainability quite a bit.

In regards to packaging, I keep all the backs of the boxes with their bio's on them and the rest of the cardboard goes in the recycle bin or I use to get our fire going in the winter. I also keep the instructions. It's only the plastic that goes into the garbage. Any bubble-wrap from shipping I take to school for the lower functioning students in the sensory program to use.

In regards to fuel due to my remoteness I have bugger all stores to visit for TF hunting so I use almost zero petrol for it, mainly just to get to the post office to pick up my parcels (and since we have a PO Box I have to go there anyway). Getting toys shipped probably creates a bit of a footprint but usually I get them shipped in bulk like my 6 monthly box from BBTS or my bi-monthly box from HLJ so that saves a bit on shipping (financially as well).


As for offsetting my TF carbon footprint, I grow all my own organic veggies and fruit which are fed by my 3 giant compost bays and also got a dozen young nut tree's planted so hopefully in a year or two will be up to my arse in walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and chestnuts. I have ducks for eggs, solar panels for the hot water and spa, use rainwater from our big tank for drinking and dam water for everything else and am getting some goats to keep the grass and weeds in the paddock down rather than using the slasher. I also over the past month just planted 2 dozen native tree's to act as a anti-eroder and eventually a natural noise blocker. So sustainability-wise I reckon I can get away with a bit of TF collecting on the side ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev

also got a dozen young nut tree's planted so hopefully in a year or two will be up to my arse in walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and chestnuts.

---

Watch out for Cockatoos!!
my parents have an almond tree that is about 10 metres high maybe more and of the thousands of almonds it produces every year, they have never had the opportunity to eat them as the cockies get to them long before they are ripe/edible:(

Don't throw out old figures (not that any of us would), sell them on or give them away - like the ingenious pay it forward threads - or customise them!

I do like Trev's planting of trees and plants to off set his foot print!

Most if not all goods have an impact on the environment. From materials to manufacturing, to distribution and purchase.

When I open up a figure that has oily paint I think about how potentially toxic the paint is. As most toys are made in China I sometimes think about about how manufacturers dispose of their waste and chemical by-products, not to mention the amount of energy required to power a factory. It's bad.

Some toys are overpackaged. For example, Lego boxes are normally twice as big as they need to be. I understand the plastic is packed with air to protect against impact but the boxes are still full of air. The current TF4 packaging seems to have reduced in size slightly. Takara Masterpiece TF packaging is slimline and fantastic. Another good example is SH Figuarts.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UltraMarginal

Watch out for Cockatoos!!
my parents have an almond tree that is about 10 metres high maybe more and of the thousands of almonds it produces every year, they have never had the opportunity to eat them as the cockies get to them long before they are ripe/edible:(

---

Probably the air cannons the idiot over our back fenceline has running non-stop in the summer and autum will keep them at bay :rolleyes: One of our almond tree's is only 2 years old and we already getting stuff off it - I didn't realise that they start off as big furry pods!

When we first moved in I was entranced to come out and see all these white cockatoos sitting on the fence above my strawberry patches - it was less facinating when I realised that they were biting all the bright blue drippers out of the pipe and wrecking the hose! :eek:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SMHFConvoy

I do like Trev's planting of trees and plants to off set his foot print!

---

We've found in our little front paddock about 40 tiny Acacia trees that had sprung up from seeds blowing from the block next door. Instead of ripping them up I've put a dose of sheepshit around the base of each one and staked them so I can see where they are - should have a nice little native tree grove there in a few years :) The two doz I planted out the back to be wind/sound guards are varaints of bottlebrush, wattle, gum etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by UltraMarginal

As for large travel, I don't pay extra cash to airlines to reduce the carbon footprint of my flight, that's rubbish. I can't trust them to actually plant a tree and I can't see the point.

---

Totally agree. Carbon offset is complete BS. Usually you'll find that all they have done is bought a grove of trees and that's where your 'money' goes. The trees were there in the first place and would 'offset carbon' regardless. That sort of thing just makes me angry and I feel sorry for people who pay for it as they are being ripped off

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kovert

Takara Masterpiece TF packaging is slimline and fantastic.

---

I disagree here. Takara masterpiece packaging is atrocious. Take Soundblaster Soundwave as an example. Had they packed them in cassette mode they could have made it a lot smaller.

Rodimus was another one, but his trailer was darn huge, so as much as I would have liked to have seen it smaller, I dunno how they'd do it.

The worst I recall was Darth Vader Death Star. Double the size it needed to be as he was packed in robot mode, but they had a scale sized death start mode cutout next to him. WHAAAT?

Back on topic though, I've thought about it and chuck unwanted card backs/bubble in the recycle bins for them to get recycled into whatever, but that's as far as it goes really. I try and reduce my environmental damage in other ways, such as not wasting water/electricity.

there was a show on SBS where they went into houses and assessed it's overall environmental destructive capabilities. I would have loved to been on it.

Quote:

---

Hmm, before we enter this collection room, I need to ask for a realaxation of judgement as it's a wall to wall room of plastic, metal and shiny paint.

It is however INCREDIBLY AWESOME!

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy

I disagree here. Takara masterpiece packaging is atrocious.

---

Agreed - the early MP releases have very big boxes. I have only two MP releases and didn't realise how big the other boxes really were. Still, the boxes for recent Autobot cars such as Lambor, Prowl, Wheeljack have been nice and compact. :)