the enviroment?

[Ebon]

A little. But since I'm carbon-neutral in the rest of my life (I'm disabled, housebound, don't drive and get my gas/electricity from a company which uses sustainables), I doubt I'm making much of an impact on the planet.

[LawrencePhillips]

The polystyrene is recyclable, you can even give the spruces back to your store and they'll recycle them for you if your local authority won't. Obviously the card can be recycled, the cellophane isn't easy to recycles and lots of places don't.

If anything I think the paints are the most environmentally damaging. But god knows what in them.

[Disposable Hero]

You know, I drive a Prius (tax benefits and chicks dig them), switch off lights, do all the things the eco-folk tell me.

Just got back from a business-trip to Argentina. These guys are incredible, tons of junk in the streets, the busses in Buenos Aires burn coal to move, all in all...eco-nightmare unfolding.

I really do not think my gaming has very much impact on the planet, compared to these guys.

[MajorWesJanson]

Plastic sprues can be recycled in the regular plastic waste bin and taken to your nearest recycling center.

I do this. As for waste petroleum, I'd look at things like bottled water (guilty myself) and NASCAR first.

Compared to the amount of time involved in the hobby by a typical player, the total amount of waste is relatively small.

[agurus1]

Wait... Who throws away those plastic sprues? Those things have so many practical uses! Seriously us hobbyists use so many things that other people consider junk!

[ted1138]

The polystyrene is recyclable, you can even give the spruces back to your store and they'll recycle them for you if your local authority won't. Obviously the card can be recycled, the cellophane isn't easy to recycles and lots of places don't.

If anything I think the paints are the most environmentally damaging. But god knows what in them.

Well, since they're non toxic, and possibly safe to eat, I'd say they're as un-environmentally damaging as you can get...


Also, what's the deal with being "carbon-neutral"? There are factories in China dumping real pollutants into the environment, killing off villages and wildlife for miles around them, but are still raking it in on carbon credits because they fitted some filters to cut down on Co2 emissions...

[quantumcollider]

But you can't eat warhammer

True, but on the other hand, you cannot defecate it either...

[Sir_Turalyon]

Not at all. First, the impact is marginal compared to other industires, second, at the rate oil supplies run out all the plastic waste will be dug up and being recycled in three-four generations, so impact is much less permanent that media would have us believe. Third, overpopulation and food issues will hit us first and much harder, so why bother with cosmethic impact of miniature industry (or, in fact, all industries?).

[D503]

Take a look around, every hobby/passtime generates waste. All those clever people going "look, no dead tree edition!" when they use a e-reader army/rulebook are reading them on a tablet/phone that will be thrown out and replaced in a few years and so on.

This. Seriously, you should see the rivers around the tech factories in Guangzhou. Holy crap, it's like eastern Europe all over again. I hate people who do the 'no dead tree' spiel about thier e-reader. The pollution created by the tech industry, especially from the mining of rare earth compounds (magnetised heavy weapons anyone?) is jaw dropping.

Its like the people that ride carbon fiber bicycles who claim they save the environment by not driving a car, without knowing a single thing about the amount of water used and then flushed in the creation of thier bike.

[Lord Squidar]

I have to jump in here since I have studied this nonsense for the last 5 or 6 years.

Firstly, no one kills "trees" to make paper, they cut down plantations, which are specifically designed for this purpose. No where in nature would you find "forests" of neatly planted trees with field boundaries and various levels of growth. The paper industry is no different that poultry or beef, its all artificially created environments that are harvested. The impact does not come from cutting these trees, but from the fall out around them, specifically uncontrolled alien growth into the natural environment. For example, eucalyptus is a brilliant crop, but each plant takes 200 litres of water per day. Letting these get loose into a water scarce environment is murder for the soil and other plants. Keep in mind that the foresting industry in South America does have a nasty reputation of deforesting natural areas for plantations. The trees are still there, just the wrong ones =)

Secondly, environmental impact is a term thrown around too lightly these days. The environment is an ever changing thing. Preservation, i.e. keeping it intact exactly the way it is forever, is a concept from the 19th century that doesn't work. Sustainable use of the environment is something that is good, but no human being will ever destroy the environment. Earth is here to stay unless the sun says otherwise, if we want it to be a blackened ash wasteland, its still an environment nonetheless. If there had been "environmentalists" around when the dinosaurs went extinct, they'd throw the same rhetoric around, but they went extinct all the same. Same with tigers, rhinos and others species now, its really sad if they go, but the world will no collapse in on itself.

Thirdly, on GW itself. The only way to know its carbon footprint or environmental impact would be to do a full life cycle assesment (LCA) of the materials and processes used in its production. This activity is highly specialised and costs a fortune, and only really applies to big corporations. Sadly, most of the international statues surrounding this are not compulsary, so the only time someone actually does this is if they want to impress investors by showing they are clean. At best I would say you could get a gander as the hazardous material data sheets for the materials used in plastic and finecast, and if GW is sourcing their stuff from a big supplier, maybe a LCA. Otherwise its impossible to say anything. In reality, it probably is a drop in the ocean compared to other persuits such as driving a hummer (the bar stewards). Luckily, plastic and metal are easy to recycle, but costly too. No idea on finecast however.

Just to let you know, I do not in any way condone any sort of poaching or pollution, I just think its important to get a good understanding of the terminology involved, and also not to get too carried away in the whole "environmental ethic". Sometimes I feel that big environmental organisations have tainted their good work by giving the field a stigma of "hippies, tree huggers and such". The best kind of environmentalist for me is the one who can represent both parties (industry and nature) fairly. Don't even get me started on anti nuclear power people =P

My 2 cents =)

[cuda1179]

I wouldn't worry about the hobby. The amount of plastic the average collection holds is just a fraction of the waste we accumulate. What is the alternative, staring at the wall?

Also, I NEVER recycle the sprues, EVER. Even the stuff I can't use for terrain I throw away. It's actually more damaging to the environment to recycle it than throw it away. It's also more expensive to recycle and you get a sub-par product. The same goes for paper. Feel free to recycle metal and glass though, those are actually good to recycle.

[Sir_Turalyon]

Chapeau bas! Lord Squidar is my new hero. Not that *I* want to condone poaching and pollution, but I do feel people trying to tell me I need to protect a things they themselves don't bother defining better than "you know what I mean", for reasons they themselves don't seem to try understanding, while reducing the problem to trendy buzzwords, are not doing the good work.

[Athlan na Dyr]

You know, I drive a Prius (tax benefits and chicks dig them), switch off lights, do all the things the eco-folk tell me.

Just got back from a business-trip to Argentina. These guys are incredible, tons of junk in the streets, the busses in Buenos Aires burn coal to move, all in all...eco-nightmare unfolding.

I really do not think my gaming has very much impact on the planet, compared to these guys.

Interestingly enough, the production of a Prius releases roughly ten times the amount of Sulfur into the atmosphere as a normal car, as well as more Carbon Dioxide (though the later does become lower in the long run). Whilst better than a purely electric car, Hydrogen would be a far better alternative.

On the subject on the environmental impact of the hobby, I believe it to be in character to respond as the imperium would:
Zero f's are given, heretic

[Inquisitor Kallus]

All those clever people going "look, no dead tree edition!" when they use a e-reader army/rulebook are reading them on a tablet/phone that will be thrown out and replaced in a few years and so on.

And that use electrical energy every time you 'use' them. I think a great thing about the hobby is that it doesn't necessitate its own consumption of energy to participate in it. For example, I could sit in my house in the evening and when its dark out the light on. This would be the same if I were to play/paint warhammer or not. In contrast we have computer gaming where a constant source of power is needed to 'use' it.

Something else i've noticed over the years is that the packaging has become smaller and also less material is used for the packaging. The large 4th edition WFB box with double thickness sides compared to the new core box game boxes which have relatively thin cardboard (similar to cereal packaging) with a different design of construction meaning less material is used overall.

[Disposable Hero]

Interestingly enough, the production of a Prius releases roughly ten times the amount of Sulfur into the atmosphere as a normal car, as well as more Carbon Dioxide (though the later does become lower in the long run). Whilst better than a purely electric car, Hydrogen would be a far better alternative.c

But you know, as a company car, the normal tax you pay is either 20 or 25% of the car's value and then a % thereof is added to to your incometax. For the Prius I pay 14%.
So I drive a 32K car, unlimited mileage,no maintenance and'free' gas for roughly 130 euro a month.

And like I said, while it is no excuse to stop being sensible with power, in other places of thr world hey are wracking the environment in such a way that even the Dark Eldar would cringe.
Also, in my line of work I once had a parcel of crude palmoil coming into Holland from Malaysia. From the vessel into a barge to a powerfactory where it was burnt to generate power. 'Green' power even, as they called it bio-mass.

[Oppressor]

I'd be more concerned with technology junkies (I have friends at work that always have the newest phone or whatever the second it comes out, even though their old phone is only like a month old) that get the newest latest and greatest techno gadget and what happens to their old equipment than hobby-ers that reuse or at least hang onto the majority of their stuff tbh. Plus, even when we do get rid of our stuff, it also usually gets sold, traded or even donated.

[Athlan na Dyr]

But you know, as a company car, the normal tax you pay is either 20 or 25% of the car's value and then a % thereof is added to to your incometax. For the Prius I pay 14%.
So I drive a 32K car, unlimited mileage,no maintenance and'free' gas for roughly 130 euro a month.

Sounds like a pretty good deal! Wasn't having a go at you, just expressing that I think there are better alternatives to the Hybrid Car.

[El_Machinae]

In general, it takes a litre of gasoline to produce enough food to feed a man for a day. I think that 'gasoline use' is a fair proxy for 'damage to the environment'. So, if you're wasting your days, then that's a more serious threat to the environment than a hobby would be. We ALL need luxury time, and sitting at home and painting is going to use a lot less gasoline than driving to the threatre or driving to the pub. But, each day, we're still consuming that litre of gasoline in the form of food.

The trick is to balance out the harm you do. Put some of your time and money into worthwhile projects, to help move society forwards. THEN you can justify the waste that your hobbies produce.

[Disposable Hero]

Sounds like a pretty good deal! Wasn't having a go at you, just expressing that I think there are better alternatives to the Hybrid Car.

No problem, chief. If it wasn't for the tax benefit I wouldn't drive one. I certainly would not buy one myself, because the thing has more electronics in it then a F18 fighter jet.

I am actually quite concerned about the levels of radiation all these electrics provide. Luckily I already have a kid.