The Unrealized Impacts of Disposable Stuff

In modern society, we have an obscene number of choices to make as consumers. The shelves at retailers are jam-packed with products, each with various “benefits”, trying to compete with dozens of other brands. and the amount of unnecessary packaging on them is increasing.

Everything from fashion to food is in constant, oscillating demand now. and capitalism accelerates that demand by implementing advertising schemes that make people feel inferior or incomplete without the newest “thing.”

A Brief Origin of Disposable Stuff

Our addiction to stuff really spurred in the 50s and 60s, with the boom of synthetic materials. World War II had forced the rapid expansion of technology, as military power was strongly influenced by industrial progress. Consequently, it became much easier, cheaper, and faster to produce—and buy, and waste—disposable stuff.

According to the Science History Institute, plastic production increased 300% during the war. Plastic was as an inexpensive, safe, sanitary substance that hailed glory because it could be shaped to any man’s desire.

After the Depression and World War, people were jumping to spend money again—and they were eager for ease. Advertisements hooked consumers with bright print colors and promises of convenience. Housewives were particularly attracted to disposables for the sake of reducing their chore times. Not to mention that Tupperware parties became one of the ways for a woman to make money!

The increase of psychologically-driven marketing tactics was only the start, though. Profit-hungry producers also started implementing planned obsolescence so that goods and appliances were intentionally made to “break” early. This is achieved with non-durable materials (e.g. plastics), frequent design changes, and the termination of spare part supply. One modern example is Apple, who is frequently on the flames for high price mark-ups and low serviceability.

Excessive Resource Demand

Here’s the trouble: We’re consuming natural resources beyond ecological capacity. The advent of quick, cheap production birthed a hyper-consumerist culture that forces the planet into ecological overshoot year after year.

In 1971, Ecological Overshoot Day arrived on December 25, just a few days shy of annual harmony. Since, it’s only continued to creep up the calendar. Even amid the economically devastating COVID-19 pandemic, we surpassed earthly capacity on August 1, 2022—nearly 5 months sooner than it was 51 years prior. This year, the date was the same.

The planet can’t pump out an indefinite amount of resources to satiate our addiction to consumption.

Our level of consumption is not the only concern, of course. Accelerated production tends to require the rapid extraction of materials, which is problematic for the health of the earth, water and sky. For instance, heavy metals are often procured by mountaintop removal or through open-pit mines. Both methods are public and environmental hazards—but interestingly, neither gets attention as such. 

Global Distribution of Stuff

With growing globalized markets, the distribution of goods has become problematic, too.

Imagine the amount of transportation that goes into one product. Each material might come from its own country, then get transported to yet another country for product manufacturing and assemblage. In the case of small items, more resources are used to package them.

Eventually, the products reach their destination country, where they are further transported through freight lines and airplanes. Very often, items are palletized, where they’re wrapped in several more layers of disposable plastic wrap.

The amount of pollution, energy use, and material waste that results from transportation alone is extraordinary! 

For those who are interested, it’s worth reading up on food miles. The concept is underlined by my point here; we would benefit from being mindful of how far food has to travel.

The Three Avenues for Stuff Disposal

Regardless, we tend to gobble up products regardless of where they came from or how they came to be. At the end of their “usable” lives, we toss them in the bin and let waste management services cart the once-resources away. 

There are three avenues through which the majority of our products go when they’re disposed of. They are the landfill, incineration, and continuous circulation. 

• LANDFILL[massive in-ground pits designated for waste storage]
  • As waste decomposes in the landfill, it releases carbon dioxide and methane into the air. That’s why there are flames on the hillsides by a landfill. These gasses further add to the greenhouse effect, and therefore climate change.
  • Ground-bound waste mixes with rain water and becomes leachate, a potentially toxic liquid that seeps into the surrounding communities’ groundwater.
  • According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plastics accounted for 27 million tons of landfill waste in 2018—about 18.5% of everything landfilled for the year. Plastics are notorious for taking hundreds of years to decompose; their “removal” from the planet has only just begun.
• INCINERATION [setting our stuff on fire, sometimes with energy recovery]
  • This waste-to-energy system might seem like an appealing option, but it wreaks havoc on the environment. Materials like rubber and plastic spew carcinogenic dioxins, like hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, and furans, into the atmosphere.
• CONTINUOUS CIRCULATION [waste lingers on the streets, in our waters, and… everywhere else]
  • Think about it: our waste is everywhere. There is rubbish on the highway medians. Grocery bags fluttering from tree branches. Soda bottles bobbing with ocean currents. Face masks peppering lawns. The trash problem is so pervasive that we’ve even spread our reach to Mars.
  • Around the world, developing countries are particular victims of continuous circulation. Developed nations willingly pay to dump their leftover waste there, creating literal garbage mountains and islands.

Falsity in “Recycling” Our Stuff

“But recycling!” one might nobly pipe. “We can recycle plastics, cans, metals, and paper!” 

Yes, fair reader, we can indeed recycle. But for plastics in particular, recycling is an over-conceptualized myth. For example, there are so many plastic types that separating them for maximal reuse is both time-consuming and impractical—especially on an industrial level. To offer perspective, in 2018 paper was the most recycled material at 66.54% of all municipal waste, whereas plastics were only at 4.47% (EPA).

Recycling is an admirable ideal for reusing resources, but production materials are not created equal and cannot be infinitely recycled. Both plastics and paper, for example, lose quality each time they are recycled. thus offering a weaker material that has fewer practical uses. 

It’s also important to note that recycling is a downstream solution. What I mean is that recycling should be a last-ditch effort; after all, the saying goes Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. If it was intended to set a priority flow, then we’ve been doing things backwards.

Moreover, our mental reliance on recycling encourages the erroneous justification that once our waste is on the curb, it’s “out of sight, out of mind.”

Our garbage has made it to Mars. It might be out of our consciousness, but in the ultimate scheme of things, our impacts are quite far-reaching.

Consumer Choices to Consider

Our consumerist culture comes with concerns for the health of our bodies, our communities, and the natural world. When this information overwhelms us, it’s easiest to submit, deny, shirk, and even mourn rather than change our habits.

But that very action is how we’ll grow beyond our domineering system of stuff. It’s necessary.

Every day, every choice you make is the difference between stagnation and improvement. This is true not only for the environment’s sake, but also our own. 

To reduce our personal waste impacts, here are some things to ponder:

We Choose The Impacts of Our Stuff

Even if you don’t want to be outspoken, let your actions be your impact. They have the power to flow outward like a stone dropping into a still body of water.

It’s your choice whether that impact contributes to a more sustainable future, or further perpetuates the disorder we’ve already created.

To learn more about the impacts of stuff, and what you can do to become a more conscious consumer, visit The Story of Stuff Project.

⋆.ೃ࿔ :･⚝⭑

Revitalized from The New Leaf Project, a previous blog. Originally posted on 07 June 2022.