Food
Packaging Maniac
Everything
we use, the way we live, the food we eat, the experiences we have, all create
trash. Trash is something that most of
us do not realize is a problem. We throw
away and throw away without consciousness of our actions and the fact that everything
has to go somewhere. The reality is, our
trash is not magically disappearing, it is not vanishing out of thin air; it is
going to the landfill! Packaging that
can be avoided is still being produced.
Just about everything comes in a wrapper. After examining my own trash patterns I
realized that trash related to food as well as convenience is the most common
forms of trash that I create.
This
realization that came to me in this week long period of tracking was simple:
food and convenient products create immense amounts of trash that can be
avoided. It was almost depressing to
learn this very uncomplicated fact after eighteen years of living, eating, and
creating trash. You think I would have
noticed before that all the food wrapping and all of the packaging had to go
somewhere. Just like Humes said, “The
purchases that drive the markets, the products that prove the dream, all come
pack-aged in instant trash (the boxes, wrappers, bags, ties, bottles, caps and
plastic bubbles that contain products).” (Humes 20). I never thought about what
happened to my trash. Now, it is clear
to me as a piece of glass: I’m a convenient product and food trash fiend. Through analyzing my trash journal I noticed
that about ninety percent of my trash was all from food; with the other ten
percent coming from cosmetic products. Every
time I have gone to the store (since I was a little child) I was drawn to the
colorful Peach-O bags, delicious looking pictures of cheese munchies, and ice
creams of all flavors. When looking back at my life-span, I began thinking, if
I spent more time actually making food for myself, or not giving in to the
temptations of delicious packaged food, I could put my trash creation to a
screeching halt.
When we go
to the grocery store and go down the aisle to look for food, we never see the
actual food. We see a picture of what is in the box or plastic wrapping. We see enticing and mouth-watering pictures
of food that make it extremely hard to say no.
Cereals, crackers, chips, frozen T.V. dinners, candies, ice cream,
cheese, cookies, milk, eggs, vitamins, etc.
These are all the products that I normally buy from the grocery
store. All of those products come in a
bag, container, or box that came from a bigger cardboard box. By just purchasing these products I am
creating massive amounts of trash. The
minute I buy all of this food, I am also buying trash. I had no guilt before; I was just buying
food. Who could feel guilty about buying
the most necessary thing to live (food)?
With my typical American mentality, I didn’t realize that my trash does
have to go somewhere. I did not think
about the packaging “protecting the food.”
I only thought about what was inside the packaging. When I eat the food, I don’t think twice
about throwing the trash into the garbage can.
At least I’m throwing it into the garbage can and not littering. I think that most Americans are just like
me. We do not see that throwing trash
away is a horrible thing; some of us even think we are doing the right
thing. I believe my trash production got
to the ridiculous point that it was at because I did not know any better. I did not know any better because nobody ever
told me it was wrong. I was not educated
in trash production and most importantly: landfills. That is where eco-literacy came into my life
like a blessing from heaven itself; it opened my eyes to the world in a way I
never could have imagined before. Which
made me further realize, eco-literacy is something that should be an integral
part of every human beings life because it is so vital to the survival of our
planet and especially, all of its inhabitants.
In our
society, the act of throwing away trash is not seen as a bad thing. It is considered the “normal” thing to
do. Most of us have no regret and feel
no guilt in throwing away tons and tons of trash annually. I think realization through education
(eco-literacy!) is key in the problem of trash.
We do not realize the amount of trash that each of us creates (which is
way more than an average person in a 3rd world country, or even
Europe!). If there was education
provided not only to young children, but especially people of all ages, there could
be national, or even global awareness on the subject of trash. Trash is the reality of the situation, we
just need to come to terms with that reality and act as a country and a planet
to stop our problem. Coming to terms
with this harsh and painful reality is a hard thing to do. Yet educating
everyone about this reality is a realistic goal that can be accomplished. I
think a lot of people are just like how I used to be with my trash problems;
there is no conscious decision in throwing away trash. Creating trash is the “easy” thing to do; it
is the convenient thing to do.
We want the
easy way out with food and other products we buy. Most of the food and other products we buy
from the store that are packaged, or pre-made. Through analyzing the rest of my
trash production besides food, I noticed a good amount of my trash was
packaging from cosmetic items. Shampoo
bottles, makeup, face wash, face wash pads, cotton balls, and nail polish
remover all come in packaging. These are
products that I personally buy, that are very common purchases for millions or
even billions of people. These products
are necessities for “normal life”. The
right thing to do is to create less trash; but how is that possible when the
necessities we need to live comfortably create trash? We would have to make our own shampoo, conditioner,
tooth paste, etc. The issue with that is
it takes a lot of time, which most people either do not have, or are too
lazy. We live in a very dependent
society when relating the dependency on products, all types of products, and
food. To put it simply: we are lazy and
need the easy way. This easy way out
that most people take, is also the way the causes more trash. Comfortable, easy living comes with a cost;
that cost is measured in weight of trash and therefore pollution.
Convenient products and food trash have proven to be my enemies in the life-long fight against trash production. I do not think that I will ever be able to fully and completely stop my addiction to convenience, delicious packaged candy, and munchies. Although I may not ever be able to completely stop this addiction; I am very glad that I’ve taken this week to stop and actually notice what I throw away. I am now consciously aware of the effect my trash has; and I am now consciously going to try to throw away less. The American mentality inside of me may always be there, but at least I am going to try to repress it as much as I possibly can. Education about the issues of trash production has helped me to change my typical trash patterns. Eco-literacy will one day create global education and stop the creation of trash production from the store to the home.
TRASH JOURNAL:
September 24, 2012
(Monday)
-
Jazzman’s cup
-
Sushi packaging
-
Cheese munchies bag
-
Gum wrapper
September 25, 2012
(Tuesday)
-
Big cardboard care package box
-
Lizard drink bottle
-
Gum wrapper
-
Tissues (tissue box)
September 26, 2012
(Wednesday)
-
Winchells doughnut bag
-
Flower wrapping
-
Safeway receipt
-
Shampoo and conditioner bottles
-
Lizard drink bottle
-
Sushi packaging
-
Oatmeal box
September 27, 2012
(Thursday)
-
Chip bag
-
Starbucks cup
-
Hagen Daas Cup
-
Peach O bag
-
Safeway receipts
September 28, 2012
(Friday)
NOTHING!!
September 29, 2012
(Saturday)
-
Ginger ale can
-
Straw
-
Tissue wrapping fries up
-
Pop-tart foil wrapping (x2)
September 30, 2012
(Sunday)
-
Napkin from restaurant
-
Cupcake wrapping
-
2 cotton balls
-
Cardboard box
-
Plastic packaging
-
Walgreen’s receipts
Most of waste has to
do with food **
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