On Waste

We proclaim great unease about global warming, we decry the increasing obliteration of our forests, and we express concerned about the rising costs of just about everything. So what are we doing about it all except wringing our hands?

Paper products: Paper equals trees; the more paper we consume, the more trees we cut down, the more carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere.

• I often get bills with 4 full size sheets of paper, when one is more than enough.
• And why “this page intentionally left blank”? 
• I pay most of my bills by direct deposit, yet invariably, the bill I receive in the mail will have an enclosed envelop – – – which is just scrapped.
• Store sales slips are typically 2-3 times longer than they need be, with info, surveys, etc.  rarely read. 
• I often get items ordered on-line in packaging 4-5 larger than necessary. More waste and unnecessary postage.
• These no doubt add up to thousands of tons of needless waste and the loss of huge forests.

Why? Because it’s cheaper, more convenient for the enterprise – – – & the customer is ultimately paying for it anyway, in the cost of the product. Why aren’t companies more waste-conscious and why aren’t on-line, paperless transactions more rigorously pursued?

Food: 40% of America’s food supply is unsold and uneaten, creating an annual waste of 120 billion pounds, valued at between $250 & $400 billion. (RTS web site)

• This waste consumes valuable farmland, expends energy and water needlessly, ends up in massive landfills, generating enormous greenhouse (methane) gases, some 11% of the total from all other sources. And, by the way, methane is 34 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
• Restaurants typically provide servings way more than a person can – – or should eat  – – – no doubt contributing to an obesity rate in America of over 31% – -and growing. Think about it. Nearly a third of Americans are obese! (BMI over 31)
• According to the World Bank, 685 million people in the world live in poverty. – – – while the food waste we discard is equivalent to 130 billion meals annually.

Water: We are, by far, the most blessed country in the world with our enormous, rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Regrettably we are not very good stewards of this blessing.

• According to the EPA, the average American family wastes up to 180 gallons of water each week, which totals to 9,400 gallons of water waste each year – – maybe 500 billion gallons per year in total.
• While much of our water usage may be discretionary, watering the lawn, washing the car, etc., much is just careless waste, serving no useful purpose.

Energy: I don’t know of a reliable measure of energy wastage, but this I know.

• While probably a matter of taste, I find restaurants, hotel rooms, and many offices much too cool for my comfort, certainly cooler than what it would take for others to be uncomfortable.
• Some 90% of households in the US are air conditioned, with an average consumption of 3000W per hour. Doors left open, cooling the outdoors may be good for the birds, but not for man.
• Another common culprit is lighting. Lights left on when nobody is around is widespread. Using incandescent light bulbs when much more efficient bulbs are available and affordable is another source of waste.

Plastics: Plastics in its many forms have become an important, valuable, and almost indispensable part of life. The good news plastics are durable and nearly indestructible; The bad news plastics are durable and nearly indestructible, and what’s worse, – – – we are pretty poor managers of plastic waste.

• The UN estimates there is about 7 billion tons of plastic waste in the world today, only 10% has been recycled. Currently some 75-200 million tons are in the oceans, adversely impacting the eco system, posing a serious risk to both marine and human life. 
• According to The Guardian the U.S. generated 51 million tons of plastic waste in 2021 (that’s 309 lb./person!), and only 5% was recycled; 95% went into landfills. 

I admit to my own guilt in many wasteful habits. I resolve to do better. While we do take many conservation measures in this country, we can and we must do much more. The benefits to both man and environment are legion.

• – – – Just the view of a common man