Author: Brandon Carbajal
Essay topic: Are We a Throw Away Society?
Strongly influenced by consumerism,
many people say we have developed into a “throw-away society”, and are filling
up our environment with so many disposables, that we cannot fully dispose of
everything. In my opinion, things that are produced from industry and the
consumption of goods are main factors that are contributing to this trend. A few
hundred years ago, we discarded food scraps and coal ash. Most products were
made from natural materials like paper, cloth, leather, and metal and wood were
reused or recycled at the end of their usefulness. Today things are different. They are more
complicated. We mine, clear-cut, and drill resources to make products and
packaging. We make most of the products that we use from natural resources like
trees, minerals, natural gas, and oil, but we drill these resources to make the
products and packages and this disrupts and destroys ecosystems. We buy the
things in their packaging, and when we are finished with them, we put them into
the trash. We have become a throw-away society. Throwing something away after it
has been used once or a few times, or in some cases, not used at all.
The speed at which daily
necessities like food, paper, and clothes are consumed is staggering. According
to statistics from 2006, Americans individually generate an average of 4.6
pounds of garbage every day. This ranges from food waste, to materials that
have been broken down beyond apparent repair, to the things we just abandon in
exchange for the newer more efficient versions. (Tulipano,1). Using something once
and throwing it away is becoming a tendency. Part of this mindset has something
to do with a process for packaging called “cradle to grave”. This process involved
designing, producing, using, and then disposing of most of our products and the
packaging that holds them together and is a linear process. Linear in the sense
that something changes or progresses straight from one stage to another and has
a starting point and an ending point. So, there unfortunately is no cycle. (Upstream,
4) An example could be plastic bags from
grocery stores. These are called one-off plastic bags that consumers put
groceries in and take them from the market to their home. The unrestricted use
of these has resulted in amount of plastic rubbish that can’t be completely
degraded. There are cluttering landfills that have piles of these, they flap
from trees, they float by in the breeze, they clog roadside drains, and
eventually can make their way to the sea, where they can be mistaken for food
by marine mammals. On a larger scale, waste is also being produced from
activities like using aerosols, burning fossil fuels (FFC), and transporting
discarded food and plastics to landfills where it decomposes and releases
methane into our environment.
Our
throw-away society is a combination of an increasing amount of goods that we use
and need every day and industrial activities. People today are encouraged to
throw things away and buy a new one rather than try to repair it. It is more
convenient to do this, and it may even be a cheaper option. However, the cost
that it takes from the environment is not counted, and if things aren’t
regulated sufficiently, the trend could cause serious problems in the future
for the environment and for people living in the environment. The trend that
industrial wastes are accumulating at a speedy rate is difficult to stop.
However, we can help to reverse this costly waste in our own personal ways.
Things like shopping wisely, composing, donating, etc. can reduce waste. It is
important to realize that plastic grocery bags are some of the most reused
items around the house. Many bags are reused as book and lunch bags and trash
can liners. Other steps we can consider include following the directions on how
to; Mine your Fridge (Gunder, 2). Websites such as www.lovefoodhatewaste.com (Wrap,
3.,Charity and Company.) can help you get really creative with recipes to use
up anything you might have that will go bad soon. The good news is that we can reverse the
costly waste trend. Look for tips and choose products wisely. Keep products
that are designed with toxic materials, which pose health threats to wildlife,
and to all of us, out of the environment and the food chain.
Works Cited
- . “America the Wasteful: A Detailed
Look Into Our Throw-Away Society.”
The Twenty-Something’s Guide to Life. GenTwenty, 4 Dec. 2013.
2. Gunders Dana. “Your Scraps Add Up: Reducing food waste can
save money and resources.” Natural
Resources Defense Council, March 2013.
http:/./www.nrdc.org/living/eatingwell/files/foodwaste_2pgr.pdf
- Wrap, a registered Charity, and Company in England and Wales
- UPSTREAM, A National Environmental Organization dedicated to
creating a healthy society.
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