Comment Replicator benefit everyone forgets about: waste (Score 1) 633
Think about the implications for a moment. What ever left over food you have can be "dematerialized". The resources used to create an object can be recaptured and conserved when you dematerialize it. Its like the ultimate way to recycle! No more landfills! No more pollution from producing a widget or burning fossil fuel to deliver it.
I didn't think about it until I watched a Voyager episode. The one where Chakotay gives Janeway an old time piece and she gives it back to conserve "resources". The scene kind of clues you in to the fact that its not an unlimited resource, but definitely a world changer.