Blog - 3/29/09 - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce
Consumerism is a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods and it includes the idea that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable. The great turn in consumerism arrived with the Industrial Revolution. While before the norm had been the scarcity of resources, the Industrial Revolution created an unusual situation: for the first time in history products were available in outstanding quantities, at outstandingly low prices, being thus available to virtually everyone. This launched the era of mass consumption in which people began purchasing goods and consuming materials in excess of their basic needs.
People have a tendency to identify strongly with products or services they consume, especially those with commercial brand names and perceived status-symbolism appeal, e.g. a luxury automobile, designer clothing, or expensive jewelry. Many luxuries and unnecessary consumer products may act as social signals allowing people to identify like-minded individuals through the display of similar products, utilizing aspects of status-symbolism to judge socioeconomic status and social stratification. Emulation is when consumers seek to emulate those who are above them on the social hierarchy. The poor strive to imitate the rich and the rich imitate celebrities and other icons. That is why the celebrity endorsement of products is such a successful marketing technique.
Consumerist societies are more prone to damage the environment, contribute to climate change and use up resources at a higher rate than other societies. Made-To-Break products are more beneficial to the producer and marketer and thus the entire market. Planned obsolescence is embedded in the manufacturing and marketing process of many goods and services. It is even more beneficial (for the producer) for the product to be part of a continuously changing fashion market, where items that are new, in good condition, and can last for many years are deemed at need of constant replacement by a conditioned buyer in order to keep in synch with current trends as they are marketed to the consumer's social class and various income level. In this way steady profits are assured for the self-perpetuating system, but consumers are not comfortable or satisfied for a sustainable length of time with what they own. Economic growth built on made-to-break products, planned obsolescence, and fashion is wasteful and not sustainable. It is preferable to have an economy that is based on high quality, long lasting goods and services.
Household waste is full of dangerous chemicals that contaminate the environment such as paints and batteries containing lead; thermometers and lightbulbs containing mercury; electronic goods full of hazardous substances; pesticides from the garden; solvents for cleaning; and used motor oil from the garage, to name a few of the most common. Minimizing the use and by extension, the purchase of these household items, minimizes that amount that winds up in landfills. Since the 1950s, one billion tons of plastic has been discarded and may persist for hundreds or even thousands of years without biodegrading. In some cases, burning plastic can release toxic fumes. Also, the manufacturing of plastics often creates large quantities of chemical pollutants. In 2005 less than 6% of the plastic from America's municipal waste stream was recovered in recycling programs.
Voluntary simplicity - Epicurus, the Athens-based philosopher from the fourth century BC, upheld the untroubled life as the paradigm of happiness, made possible by carefully considered choices and avoidances. Specifically, Epicurus pointed out that troubles entailed by maintaining an extravagant lifestyle tend to outweigh the pleasure of partaking in it. He therefore concluded that what is necessary for happiness, bodily comfort, and life itself should be maintained at minimal cost, while all things beyond what is necessary for these should either be tempered by moderation or completely avoided. Though our society often seeks to buy happiness, materialism very frequently fails to satisfy, and may even increase the level of stress in life. It is helpful to focus more fundamentally on the underlying motivation of buying and consuming.
Reuse
Buy good quality things and fix them when they break instead of throwing them out, i.e., clean the shower curtain well rather than replacing it when it gets moldy. Donate unwanted items to charities that accept used items in good condition for resale such as the Salvation Army. Shop at thrift stores and donate your stuff to them.
The internet has enhanced our ability to reuse items that we have purchased in the past by making it much easier to reach a broader audience of potential buyers of used goods. Ebay, the most popular auction website, is the best place to sell name brand items that are relatively inexpensive to ship. Potential buyers include the entire country. Craigslist, the most popular classified ads website, is geared toward a more regional audience (usually based on your town or county). Craigslist allows up to four digital photographs to be used in the ad. Digital photos are very effective in persuading people viewing the ads to purchase your stuff. Craigslist works will with larger items because people will come to your home and pick them up. Freecycle, a Yahoo group that is also regional, is a message board where you post items to be given away for free. With Freecycle, people come to your home and pick up the stuff you are giving away.
Recycle
America's Environmental Protection Agency estimates that recycling reduced the country's carbon emissions by 49m tons in 2005. Recycling conserves natural resources. It also reduces the amount of waste that is buried or burnt, hardly ideal ways to get rid of the stuff. (Landfills take up valuable space and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas; and although incinerators are not as polluting as they once were, they still produce noxious emissions, so people dislike having them around.) But perhaps the most valuable benefit of recycling is the saving in energy and the reduction in greenhouse gases and pollution that result when scrap materials are substituted for virgin feedstock. If you can use recycled materials, you don't have to mine ores, cut trees and drill for oil as much.
Extracting metals from ore, in particular, is extremely energy-intensive. Recycling aluminum, for example, can reduce energy consumption by as much as 95%. Savings for other materials are lower but still substantial: about 70% for plastics, 60% for steel, 40% for paper and 30% for glass. One of the biggest barriers to more efficient recycling is that most products are not designed with recycling in mind.
It has been estimated that 20% of garbage entering landfills is compostable. Composting of food scraps is growing more popular and helping to ease the burden on landfill capacity.