The environmental damage/sustainability of my lighting hobby has got me thinking recently, I realised I have absolutely no idea of the environmental cost of a flashlight. This is somewhat ironic, as, like many others here, I enjoy using my lights in generally unspoilt natural landscapes!
I couldn’t find much when I searched (“sustainable” returns hits for “highest sustained lumens).
A web search for “sustainable flashlight” usually returns plastic tat which is solar or crank dyno powered… I don’t want this, these pieces of crap are probably worse for the environment due to their short-lived nature…
I would imagine the cell manufacturers have reports/procedures for responsible sourcing of cobalt (and maybe lithium ….?). An independent report which compared eg. Samsung to Sony 18650 plants, would sway my purchasing habits towards the least damaging company.
I don’t have much faith that the metals in driver boards (copper, zinc, tin) have any ethical tracibility, nor that the PCB etching process is environmentally accountable.
I don’t know enough about anodising to determine whether there is a “better way” of doing it, I would imagine the process generates quite a lot of contaminated water.
Are there any lights out there that claim to have any (real) environmental/sustainability credentials?
Has anyone else wondered this? What did you find out?
Yup, but I didn’t go further down the rabbit hole to try to fin answers. Still, it annoys me the amount of things that are litterally disposable when I get a flashlight :person_facepalming:
And I’m not even thinking of the materials to make the batteries and the flashlight hosts themselves :person_facepalming:
The lights we are interested in tend to be very low volume compared to other consumer goods. I would venture a guess that compared to almost any other industry, the impact of flashlights accounts for little more than a rounding error. It’s also worth considering that the electronics in flashlights are assembled from off the shelf “jellybean” components, likely produced in the 10’s, 100’s or 1000’s of millions of units. Anodization may produce waste water, but is done in the highest volume batches possible for economic reasons. Aluminum is also easily recycled, and if the machining scraps have any economic value, you can be pretty confident that they would be sold (why throw away even small amounts of money). Shipping probably contributes a large percentage of their footprint, but these are durable goods that have a relatively long service life.
Sadly there is little to no transparency and traceability in sustainability in Flashlights compared to some other industries. I personally make an effort to keep my collection as lean as possible and avoid buying multiples of cheaper lights. As others have implied, the big picture is important, and the sum of all parts is important to consider. If you own only 1 flashlight to be sustainable but drive a massive gas guzzling SUV to get your groceries, the flashlight isn’t going to make much difference. I think it is important to apply this thinking in everything we do, consume and buy and make an effort to lessen our negative impact on the planet we are destroying.
I never ever hold my LEP perfectly still while pointing it straight up to avoid poking any holes in the ozone layer. As the bringer pointed out, modern flashlights are better than burning whale oil. Edit, I don’t think you can even buy whale oil anymore, outside of Japan. For “research” purposes.
Bear in mind i am not a certified expert but i do have some knowledge, so here we go:
All aluminum has a high energy cost to refine, but it can be recycled. Recycling uses a fraction (under 10%) of the energy of virgin aluminum
The anodization can make recycling a bit tricky but its not unusual in the aluminum world, much aluminum is anodized or painted or alloyed.
The electronics, circuit board, components and LEDs are e-waste. Not easily recycled but they can be recycled. However most countries are not recycling it responsibly because the cost is higher than the value of the materials recovered.
Batteries are in the same boat, they can be recycled but its not as common as aluminum or plastic or paper recycling.
However as EVs and more batteries (cell phones and other uses) are accumulating its inspiring more people to figure out how to profitably recycle the batteries.
In fact Tesla expects to get most of its future battery material from recycled batteries, decades from now. Use the battery in the car for decades, when it wears out it will be recycled into new batteries.
My name is Henk4U2 (not really) and I am a flashaholic for a bit over 10yr.
Yes, I was already hooked before I joined BLF, and that did not make it any better
Lights I buy, or receive, can be devided in keepers and in presents.
Reason for this divide is mostly always: can it be modded?
Sofar I’ve scrapped only one light, that I received for apparently no reason.
It was a press-fit lightweight nigtmare, only useable part was the tailcap cover.
Killed of parts go to a recycle facility. Switches, ledboards, a few drivers.
What I keep, I try to keep in purrrfect shape as good as I can.
Few years ago, I unpacked my stuff when we arrived at a camping: lights forgotten!!
So I rushed to the camping store, and got me a fine piece of @#$%^& in a blister.
Needless to say, that light broke down before my vacation was over. I tossed it.
I consider that my only crime against the environment involving flashlights.
I agree, between the LED lasting 50,000 hrs and the battery lasting 5-10 years, I would think you are helping the environment by owning the lights that we all on BLF have.
Wellp, that’s partially true, but OBEY we do need to support the economy, especially in these Dark Days. All that extra CONSUME cash in the system helps stimulate the economy, NO IMAGINATION puts people back to work, and has a net positive CONFORM effect overall. I’m okay with doing my part, and I hope others might at least MARRY AND REPRODUCE consider that alternative. It’s not healthy to hoard cash and not spend it, either, MONEY IS YOUR GOD especially with inflation devaluing what you’re not spending.
