Ok, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic. These sources haven't overhauled my life quite yet, but they have certainly overhauled my thinking. And you have to start with that.
Waste is a huge problem in the world, especially in the US. According to this week's Roseland reading, in 2009 the US "generated 243 million tons of municipal solid waste from residential, commercial, and institutional sources." This equates to 4.34 pounds per person per day (which is a little easier to wrap your head around than 243 million tons...).
The chapter discusses the 3 R's we all know and love: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It introduces a few more R's: Rethink and Redesign. This is akin to the "Cradle to Cradle" movement, the idea that waste should be considered and minimized from the earliest phase of product design.
I like this idea, but it misses one big component of our waste problem: the pure consumption level of many people, in particular Americans. Less consumption would minimize waste without any additional effort. Less planned obsolescence and more emphasis on repairing broken items would also decrease consumption. In many cases, buying something new is cheaper than repairing it (microwaves, toasters, hair appliances, shoes!). Yet, I can attest that shoe cobblers (or repair shops, if you must), are a fantastic resource.
The author of Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson, includes another R in the mix which addresses this issue of consumption and demand for items.
REFUSE.
She encourages refusing many things including but not limited to: freebie handouts, birthday/wedding/shower favors, junk mail, and items generally not essential to your life.
Wait, you might say, why would I turn down FREE stuff? It's FREE!
Here's the thing, every time you take something "free" - a pen with a company name on it, a magnet promoting a business, notepads given out at conferences, etc. - you create demand for that free product. Because the demand for that "free" product exists, companies continue to use our collective, limited resources to produce them. And the kicker is, do you ever even want that "free" stuff? I have random notepads from conferences that I planned to use - still sitting blank in a drawer. Those free pens run out of ink within weeks. How many cheap, advertising magnets can a person own? Ultimately, all this "free" stuff ends up in a landfill and is actually quite costly. Junk mail and favors present the same issue. However, junk mail is notoriously difficult to cancel according to Zero Waste Home followers.
At the end of the Zero Waste Home book, the author discusses an ideal economy of 2nd hand items. This economy would emphasize repairing items, which would require skilled workers. It would consist of used clothes, shoes, appliances, books, etc. I think this sounds like an amazing idea. Honestly, we have enough stuff on the planet to practically last everyone a lifetime. But, let's suppose for a minute that were not the case. I would argue this ideal 2nd hand market cannot possibly exist without a "1st hand" market. Essentially, someone must buy the item from the producer and use it before placing it on the 2nd hand market. In that essence, is it really possible to have an economy relying only on a 2nd hand market? Or maybe we don't need any more "1st hand" items - how do you set up this 2nd hand market to be effective? How do you decrease the emphasis put on fast-fashion, the newest electronic goodies, and people's desire to have the best, the newest, the fastest, etc.?
I'm gonna leave that question up for debate, but in the meantime, I challenge you to start refusing items in your life.
And, if you've never watched this video titled "MAN" by Steve Cutts, you've got to check it out:
(Warning: 'Man' commits violent acts involving a gun!)
Until next time,
Katie
Great blog. I have to admit that I am one of those suckers for new things. You make a good point though, and it was something I never really considered. Accepting free things is akin to buying something new. Your acceptance creates demand for the product and thus new products are made. I think you pointed out something that may be obvious once your think about it, but most people dont think about it. So thank you for pointing that out. In regards to your question about weather 2nd hand markets can exist without 1st hand markets, its hard to say. Inherently, 2nd hand markets need first hand markets to exist. However, I think the answer may be in rethinking the source of materials for 1st hand products. Could it be possible for 1st hand markets to obtain more resources (i.e. materials for their products) from 2nd hand markets. Clothing companies could use material from 2nd hand clothes, plastics manufacturers could use recycled plastic materials. This trend is happening to some extent already, but there is tons of room for growth. In this way, 2nd and 1st hand markets would still exist, but the process would be more of a cycle then a one way path from virgin resources to product to 2nd hand product to trash. Who knows how plausible it is, but it was just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea of connecting the ensuing waste of second hand market items into the production of new items! Like you mentioned, a little bit of this happens now, but it would be amazing if that were the rule for as many materials as possible!
DeleteKatie I would like to respond to your question How do you decrease the emphasis put on fast-fashion, the newest electronic goodies, and people's desire to have the best, the newest, the fastest, etc.? I think we should do this by putting restrictions on advertising. Certain things like billboards would be deemed illegal. There is a perception that people consume the way they do people they really want all these things, but really I believe it is a response to the constant fury of advertising entering our brains. In the early 20th century John Maynard Kenyes predicted that by now we would only be working about 15 hours per week. He is obviously wrong—but why? We have certainly had a massive increase in our standard of living, but yet we continue to work long hours in order to consume more. Technology has brought us increases in labor productivity, yet we still continue to work more. This is party due (among other contradictions of capitalism) to the impact of advertising on individuals and society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteJoseph - you pose some interesting ideas! I did not know Keyes expected us to be working 15 hours a week...it would be amazing if that were the norm!
DeleteI would tend to agree that advertising is pretty out of control. I often feel like I'm above the influence of advertising. I'm pretty sure (though I'm no marketing major), that there is research disproving my belief. But, on a conscious level, I really make a point to not worry about it. While I might occasionally and purposely peruse some clothing websites, I certainly ignore ads on webpages, ads on the radio, and do not watch tv with ads. Do you think this intentional ignoring of ads matters at all? I'm not sure. But as people attempt to cut the advertising out of their lives (Netflix, Sirius & Spotify) I wonder if they tend to purchase less items...someone should do some research. :)
Those free things get me every time... With my personal project, I have really been thinking about what I accept, especially when I have to 'throw it away' at some point. Take plane trips, for example. Yes, they are horrible on the environment, but on each plane trip I was offered a drink, snacks, napkins, and one time a pillow wrapped in plastic (I think I could have gotten a blanket, too). Each of these things is seen as 'part of the price' of the plane ticket, but I refused them and the flight attendant looked at me like I was crazy. I didn't want to lug around the wrappers the entire trip, but I think there must be a better, sustainable (and still sanitary) way to provide comfort and luxury as we pollute our skies...
ReplyDeleteIt's fantastic you refused those items on the plane! Traveling of any type always seems to require more effort to maintain our sustainable efforts. It takes more time (or so it seems) to concern ourselves with alternatives, or plan ahead, or what have you. I was so excited to see a water fountain with a water bottle filler at the Chicago airport back in May. I'm not sure many people realize you can bring an empty water bottle through security and just fill it up! And if there is not a water bottle filling station, well I just used the bathroom sink at the Indy airport :)
DeleteGood questions! I would tend to agree with Joseph in that in order to cut down on peoples endless desire to have the newest, flashiest, fastest gadget would be to reduce advertising. Ads convince us that we need things that we never even knew existed before. Refusing to look at them is helpful but doesn't solve the problem that they have become so invasive into every facet of our lives we are not even conscious of listening to their message anymore. I like your refuse strategy to decrease demand for free stuff, it's always important to do our part to change the system even if sometimes the steps seem insignificant.
ReplyDeleteYep, I totally agree. I like to think I'm less swayed by ads than the average person, but in reality I'm sure this isn't actually true. However, learning about the concepts of sustainability (beyond recycling), really pushed me to re-evaluate my purchasing habits. A few years ago when I was less concerned/aware of some of these issues, I wouldn't think twice about wandering around Target and seeing if there was anything I wanted - new pillows, blankets, vases, decorative items, etc. Today, I don't go looking for those items. I have what I need (plus some), and I really reign in any urges to mindlessly shop.
DeleteHm, I kind of like that...it's kind of like mindfully eating, people should mindfully shop and mindfully make purchases. Like, I said above, I definitely buy things (clothes are probably the worst area), but I do it much more intentionally & mindfully than I have in the past.
In addition to refusing items we don’t really need, I think another important point is not wasting the products we actually buy. There are several figures on this, but the most common one I’ve found is the US wastes about 40% of food produced each year (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/22/40-of-u-s-food-wasted-report-says/). That’s simply a staggering statistic. It’s difficult to imagine the incredible impact we would have if such waste didn’t exist.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you wrote this blog, as I can definitely attest to taking “free” things or buying new products when “I don’t really need a new one of these but this one is kinda old and that one is way cooler”. It’s certainly difficult getting people to recognize this and then to actually change their behavior.
Great blog! I have never seen that documentary, No Impact Man, but it looks so interesting! I'm putting it on the top of my list of movies to see. You make an excellent point about "Refuse" being another R. Not only do we need to refuse excess gifts and free things.. we need to refuse the ideals of society - that everyone needs a car, a tv, etc. To respond to your question about decreasing the new technology - I'm not sure I see that in our future. What I would like to see is higher quality products being produced. Everyone always says "they don't make things like they used to" and I think there is some truth in that. My grandparents still use their appliances from decades ago, but my coffee maker dies on me within a year! Poor quality consumer technologies increase wasteful purchasing and disposing habits. Although, I am probably not helping by purchasing only cheap appliances.
ReplyDeletetight piece. i've always had an intense hatred for those little toys, like in McDonald's Happy Meals. they end up on the floor after a day, maybe two, tops. having little sisters, i'm constantly stepping on them and fuming at how wasteful and uninteresting those stupid toys are. absolutely idiotic. americans really value stuff, they really like things in big quantities. i really don't buy the argument that humans are programed to consume at uncontrollable quantities if those resources are available. it's because we value everything in such large quantities. and you're right, free things don't really count because they're free. but they're free because they are such bad quality. so if that troubles you, as it does me, we all need to rediscover the value of simplicity. no stuff is way too relaxing to turn back, for me at least.
ReplyDelete