Save the turtles…and everything else in the world.
Image from Pixabay.com.Some people might think that our current obsession with climate change marks a new direction in our nation’s consciousness. Those born before 1980, however, know that environmentalism started much earlier. The influx of plastics, the increase in industrialism, and the emergence of a “throwaway” lifestyle surfaced as early as the 1950’s. Ever since, earth-minded people have been begging Americans to step away from the disposables.
It’s interesting to see college students and others even younger singing the same old refrain. About how older folks “ruined” the planet and now everyone else has to live with the fallout. It almost seems like they have a point until you start to think about it.
I doubt, for instance, that any of them will diaper their babies’ butts with cloth. I would be surprised if any of the female complainers own reusable menstrual supplies. What about all the plastic water bottles they have tossed in the trash? The k pods? Never mind all the waste generated from their apple watches, phones, CD’s, and DVD’s. And the Starbucks cups and lids; the vape pens.
We’re All Guilty
When it comes to murdering the planet, everyone has blood on their hands. We all seem happy to blame someone else for what’s wrong but no one seems willing to step away from disposables themselves. According to nationalgeographic.com, more than half of all plastics ever produced “have been made in the last fifteen years.”
And sure, we’ve seen the emergence of metal straws and water bottles but their presence hasn’t cleared plastic ones from the stores. The fast food and beauty supply industries create tons of garbage that, even if biodegradable, will not break down readily in landfills. Add the pet industry with its poop bags and litter boxes to the score and it’s game over. Trash production wins, ten zillion to nothing.
Like so many of our big problems, this one is not going to be easy to solve. There is not much regulation yet regarding plastics, although eight states have banned the use of plastic grocery bags . Until (or if) legislation evolves to force manufacturers to produce less plastic and/or fully recycle what they do make, Mother Earth is stuck with it all. And let’s not forget all of our e-waste. Phones, batteries, and accessories don’t exactly compost. Neither do tablets, lap tops, desk tops, or monitors. It’s depressing.
The News Isn’t All Bad
Strangely enough, however, there are some bright spots out there. And it’s not in the form of big hearted community leaders who claim they care. Neither is it from urban hipsters planting vegetable gardens on rooftops. It’s from industry itself. More new companies are emerging that find ways to use the materials in waste streams. They extract stuff like plastics and metals from refuse and sell it back to manufacturers. In other words, they do some heavy duty recycling. For a profit.
We expect that since recycling sounds “green” and tree-hugging and grass roots that it shouldn’t cost anything. Or that no one should make money from it. After all, we’re just reclaiming garbage, right? Well, yeah, but it’s complicated. The technology and logistics of recycling waste from large (and even small) urban areas is expensive. People who do it have skills and know how that doesn’t come cheap. It’s big business. How could it be otherwise? Have you seen what you throw away?
The fact that recycling isn’t free, however, shouldn’t deter anyone from it. Nor should anyone lament that industry is stepping in to address the issue. We have created a consumer oriented society and its disposable components are affecting our earth and the lives we lead on it. We’re going to have to resign ourselves to paying the price for preserving the planet.
Manufacturers Sometimes Clean Up After Themselves
Maybe the best way to do that is to pay the price up front. Many manufacturers, Keurig and Colgate for example, take back their own used products.
Groundstogrowon.com is Keurig’s response to its own disposable k pods. It charges $69.95 for a set of five collection boxes which can hold one hundred seventy five pods each. Return shipping is included.
Even though it only accepts its own brands (or those it sponsors), it’s still a good alternative to tossing the little buggers. Most curbside programs won’t accept k pods (too many parts). A special campaign like this is all we have right now.
Colgate, on the other hand, lets you print a free return label for any tooth care items you are throwing out. Brushes, floss containers, and the packaging they come in are all included, no matter who the manufacturer is. That (mostly) empty tube of toothpaste you toss into your recycling bin doesn’t go where you think . Knowing that there are programs like Colgate’s means you can truly reduce your throwaways. Not just hope you do.
Local Stores Collect Recyclables
Colgate isn’t the only big name accepting items for recycling at no charge. Almost every grocery store collects plastic bags for recycling. Best Buy accepts limited amounts of e-waste like small appliances, phones, computers, and their cords. They also take back certain copier and other business machine parts (as does Office Depot/Office Max). Even if you didn’t purchase the stuff from them. HP takes back its own printer and copier cartridges as well as some Samsung products. You provide the box and they provide the shipping and the label. Just set up an account and learn how it works.
Since many companies today are starting to clean up their processing, there’s really no excuse for throwing certain things away. Of course, stepping away from disposables is better than recycling. Reusable k pods exist. You can still buy (or make) cloth diapers. Shop cloths (or worn out clothes torn into rags) can replace paper towels. We can purchase more food or produce from farmers’ markets and thereby reduce or eliminate packaging. We don’t have to buy disposable items (we’ll save a lot of money) and we can certainly reduce the amount we buy if nothing else.
Is It Too Little, Too Late?
Stepping away from disposable items may seem like a small step and perhaps it is. After all, even if I convince everyone who reads this to recycle their k pods (or stop using them altogether), bring cloth bags to the grocery store, and ship their dental products back to Colgate, have I really made much of a difference overall?
Logic certainly says no. In the grand scheme of garbage production, several hundred fewer pounds (or even tons) of waste won’t save the earth on its own. But it occurred to me that I need to commit to small steps just as much as I do to big ones. If I know that there’s an alternative to throwing something in the trash then I need to honor that. Even if it is only a few k pods. Or a couple of plastic forks. Or a can of soda. To refuse to take a step because it’s small is a slippery slope.
So I’m going to step away from that slippery slope and its disposables as much as I can. Even if my efforts are small and completely imperceptible to the world. Because it’s the commitment to them that’s really important. And perhaps most effective.