![]() ![]() One of the biggest problems of saving the environment is focusing on the small picture (the oily rag and cleaning it) and forgetting about the down stream effect (Cancer treatment, municipal treatment capability, energy used and carbon emissions to clean the rag and make the cleaning materials and transport them to your location etc). If we pick apart the the environmental impact of you dying early from cancer, the is then benefit of one less person on the planet for a number of years, offset by the environment impact caused by cancer treatment of said person. You cloths could be ruined (what a waste, hope they are recyclable) and many of these chemicals are classed as carcinogens. Washing these rags in another toxic soup of chemicals strong enough to clean them means a couple of problems - one, your washing machine is now contaminated with a toxic soup of chemicals that could end up on your cloths, and two - the toxic soup of chemicals is now running down the drain to where? Are your municipal pipes and treatment sites up to the task, or do these chemicals end up in the environment. The contents of the chain contains not only the chemicals in the original chain lube, but a toxic soup of chemicals picked up from the road surface as you ride, especially if its wet. The most likely ecologically sustainable way to handle rags covered in chain grease is throw them in the trash. In response to a comment, I will be explicit with the answer. How is a reasonably conscientious person supposed to deal with their chain-cleaning rags? And it ignores the question of what happens after that cauldron gets emptied into my kitchen sink or bathtub. Sounds okay, but what kind of soap would I use for this? And what happens to my city's water system if everyone does this (to say nothing of the plumbing in my home)?Ĭasual googling seems to turn up a lot of this: "soak all your rags in an ambiguous cocktail of noxious cleaners, then throw them in the washer and dryer," which sounds to me like a good way to accidentally create mustard gas, ruin my clothing and appliances, and court a house fire. I'm also vaguely aware that municipal waste forbids certain kinds of things, and maybe chain grease is one of those? ![]() I'm not sentimental about these cloths, but I would prefer to not create unnecessary waste. ![]() It seems like there are two obvious choices: I'm starting to wonder what I should do when my latest cloth reaches peak grossness. Each is covered in chain grease and other gunk that was once on my chain. I have a handful of cloths that I've used to clean and grease my bike chain over the years. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |