Is it part of a repeating cycle, or does it end in a dump? Are there high costs in waste/by-products, and is there anything being done today to address that problem? Should we keep using it, or move on?

Then investigate the raw components, how they are procured and transported.

How are they formed into objects, in the past and now? What labor and fuels are necessary? What can be made from the material? When the finished object is used, how might it become broken or no longer wanted in that form? How has it been disposed of in the past and now, or could it be melted down or otherwise reused? The goal is to look at an object/commodity and see its entire life cycle.

Is it part of a repeating cycle, or does it end in a dump? Are there high costs in waste/by-products, and is there anything being done today to address that problem? Should we keep using it, or move on?