Wasteful consumption
It would break my heart to be a garbage man.
It’s not the work I would mind. It’s seeing the wastefulness of our society on a daily basis. In a way, I guess I already do…
You see, I live in nice neighborhood. When I’m home—which isn’t often, according to my wife—I see what everyone throws away on trash night because I stop to look. I guess it’s because I am a photographer, always looking for that perfect picture.
You would be amazed what people send to the landfill. It’s shocking, really.
Televisions, microwaves, computers, floor lamps, doors, windows, children’s toys, all in perfect working order. In the fall, I see garden hoses, rakes, even lawnmowers out on the curb. In the spring, I see snow blowers and Christmas decorations. I am always astounded by what I see. Why would anyone throw away things that work? I shake my head with wonder every time.
It’s not just in my neighborhood, though. Every week, in every part of Lincoln, there are big piles of stuff all set out by the curb to be crushed by our fleet of energetic garbage trucks. Even historic architectural antiques, things a century old, end up being destroyed in the backend jaws of these monster trucks. I saw a crystal chandelier a few weeks ago on the curb of a historic house. It was sticking out of a big ceiling fan box, surrounded by a bunch of new light bulbs. I guess they were thinking they wouldn’t ever need light bulbs again since they now have a new ceiling fan, right?
I’ve got a theory why we throw so much stuff away: Americans just don’t think about what they’re doing. We live in a wealthy society. I’ve been to Mexico and have seen entire families eating what little food they can find in their town dumps. In Brazil, I’ve seen people living in shacks made of cardboard and pallet wood with no running water. Believe me, we’ve got it all here.
But most of our citizens never see things like that. Instead, what’s normal to us is our life of conspicuous consumption.
We’re very nice people, but advertising and peer pressure tell us that we must buy things, lots of things, in order to be accepted. Holidays and even happiness are based on consumption.
Nearly everyone around the world wants to live as well as Americans. Many developing nations are working hard to “come up” to our lifestyle.
They’re on their way, but it is a dead-end road. At current levels of consumption, we would need 2.5 more planets just to supply the resources necessary for all of the world’s people to live like we do. It just can’t happen, but everyone is trying, much to the detriment of the earth’s last great forests, grasslands, oceans and precious few wild spaces. In short, as resources dwindle, really big compromises in the way we live will be necessary. In the meantime, those of us who “lean toward green” think about the Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Reducing what we buy is a great way to not only help save the Earth but to save money.
Next, we need to make every attempt to reuse the things we purchase. If a sofa isn’t matching our décor anymore, we should re-cover it or give it to someone who needs it. We don’t have to throw it away.
Finally, we must recycle. This is a last resort, because it takes energy to transport and then convert that item into something new. But it’s much better than throwing it away. Anything is better than throwing something away.
I believe that if folks just stop and think about what they’re doing, they would make the right choices.
My neighbors are some of the best people I know. But most of us here in Lincoln, myself included, live in a land of plenty. We just don’t stop and think about what we’re doing.
So here is my request: Instead of throwing everything away, do some good with it.
You’ll feel better, I promise.
Your garbage man will feel better, too.
The following groups will take many household items: Catholic Social Services, Disabled American Veterans, Goodwill, Salvation Army. In many cases, you can get a tax deduction for donating items to these organizations.
A few garbage facts
The average American creates more than 4.5 pounds of trash each day. That’s one ton per person every year, more than twice the amount discarded by western Europeans.
One-third of America’s garbage is actually packaging.
Ninety-nine percent of the material used to produce the goods we consume is discarded as trash within six weeks.
Each person in Lancaster County, Neb., creates more than six pounds of trash every day. Collectively, more than 800 tons of waste is disposed in Lincoln’s Bluff Road Landfill daily. That is equivalent to a herd of 1,300 bison.
In one year, Lancaster County residents dispose of enough waste that, if it were compacted and placed in Memorial Stadium, would pile up to over 240 feet.
The landfill is projected to be full by 2022. It will cover 170 acres and contain 19 million cubic yards of waste.
The landfill is projected to be full by 2022. It will cover 170 acres and contain 19 million cubic yards of waste.
Interested in ways to reduce your impact on the planet?
The Center for the New American Dream is a good source for helpful hints and useful information: http://www.newdream.org.
Also, Alan Durning’s classic book “How Much Is Enough?” is an insightful analysis of the relationship between consumption and the world’s natural environment.
Calculate your carbon footprint at http://www.reduceimpact.com.
This article was prepared with the research assistance of Bronwyn Barnes, formerly with National Geographic magazine.
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I think that the fact that we do consume alot is a great thing... it's reflective of the fact that we have a very high standard of living, freeing us from the constraints of inconvenience.
The fact that we can replace worn out or obsolete items and toss them away is a good sign. Look at Cuba today or East Germany in the Iron Curtain days. They had no choice but to drive cars for 30 years or re-use old stuff - and they had an extremely low standard of living no one would envy.
Using a lot of packaging -- while you can go overboard -- is a great thing -- because -- as opposed to say, the 1890s or 1910s when food was NOT packaged, people dropped like flies from diseases, rotting food, etc -- so, I think plastics & overpackaging are in a way, a BLESSING because they add POSITIVELY to human health and sanitary conditions.
Anyone with knowledge of Basic Economics can easily derive the following: the best guide to figure out whether we Should conserve or preserve something is... Price. If something is expensive, that is an indicator that is scarce -- and automatically compels people to preserve/recycle/conserve. If something is CHEAP (like today's packaging, VCRs, paper, plastic, etc...) -- then that is a signal to consumers that this product is Abundant and there is no need or reason to conserve or re-use. In fact, to do so would be illogical and a waste of resources. Additionally, if we truly were running out of landfill space, then the price of garbage hauling would go so high that then THIS would be reflected in the price -- again, thus incentivizing logical consumer behavior. IE, I eat chicken 3 times a week and lobster 3 times a year... because prices guide me to do so. Same principle.
Finally, I would purport that while I greatly respect what your good intentions are here -- I am very wary of Evangelical Religion -- and it almost seems that the tone here -- is dangerously close to a backwoods Baptist preacher sermonizing against the evils of premarital sex, alcohol, or rock and roll. It's almost as if you're simply replacing Christian Morality with Secular Environmental morality, and replacing Biblical Sin with Consumption Sin, and using the same exact template. In general, adults don't like to be scolded and told what to do... either by Environmentalists or Priests -- and the best, most efficient, most seamless system for regulating societal behavior is to let people do what they can afford, and let prices, results, and consequences be their guide.
Thanks!
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