Reduce Reuse Recycle

I have grown up learning the "3Rs" and I feel that I have have been doing my part to reduce waste. However the 3R's are not the only way to reduce our waste and are not enough.  The goal is to not produce as much waste in the first place so we don't have the issues of how to dispose of it all.  I was surprised by the fact in Roseland that said "most waste production originates in the manufacturing and distribution phases of production of consumer products. Therefore opportunities for source reduction in municipal solid waste begin before produces are even manufactured." This is one main reason why people need to think more before purchasing items.  Personally I'm all about bargains and sales and tend to shop at thrift shops.  There are many good products that can be bought that are not brand new, we can conserve and reduce our consumption by extending the life of products by reusing then or giving to charity for others to reuse.  Such organizations include Goodwill, Salvation Army, Plato's Closest, and Second-Hand Book stores.  In Bloomington the Hoosier to Hoosier Annual Community Event is a great example of reuse.

Roseland sub-sections the chapter into the ways we can decrease the amount of waste that enter the waste stream to be either sent into land fills or incinerated.  The ways are to Source Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, Recovery, and Composting.  On the idea of composting, many companies now aways are trying to make their products or the packaging of their products bio-deradable.  This is a good idea because then the packaging don't remain in the landfill for all eternity. But it still is filling up the landfills because it takes years for it to fully biodegrade. It is easier to have less packaging in the first place.  I get so aggravated with packaging for many products, they have plastic sealed the product in to well i need more then scissors to get it open!

I thought the Story of Stuff video we watched in class was very eye-opening. This was the first time I had watched it and I was impressed at how much information she packed into a 20 minute video.  I was surprised by the conspiracy theory economists fashioned after WWI that spurred US citizens into being product consuming machines.  Economists say that to boost the US economy people should spend more money so the recommendation for the President was to get people SHOP! With the on-slot of ads we have obeyed and are not consumption addicts.  The video made me think a lot about me spending habits.