Living in a Throwaway Society

PEOPLE in developed lands throw away mountains of trash. Consider, for example, the annual garbage output of the United States. It has been said that “an equivalent weight of water could fill 68,000 Olympic-size pools.” Some years ago, it was estimated that the residents of New York City alone produced enough garbage each year to bury the city’s huge Central Park under 13 feet [4 m] of refuse!a

Little wonder that the United States has been called “a warning example for the rest of the world” when it comes to being “a consumer and throwaway society.” But that country is not alone. It is estimated that the garbage annually produced by the people of Germany could easily fill a freight train extending from the capital, Berlin, to the coast of Africa, some 1,100 miles [1,800 km] away. And in Britain it was once estimated that the average family of four discards six trees’ worth of paper in a year.

Developing lands are not immune to the garbage glut. A noted newsmagazine reports: “The really bad news is that most of the planet’s 6 billion people are just beginning to follow in the trash-filled footsteps of the U.S. and the rest of the developed world.” Yes, like it or not, most of us today are part of a throwaway society.

Of course, people have always had things to throw away. But canned and packaged foods and goods are more widely available now than they were years ago, so disposable packaging is everywhere. The quantity of newspapers, magazines, advertising leaflets, and other printed material has soared as well.

Our highly industrialized and scientific world has also created new kinds of garbage. The German newspaper Die Welt claims that “approximately nine million autos are scrapped in the European Union annually.” Disposing of them is no simple task. Even more problematic is the question, How do you safely dispose of nuclear or chemical wastes? Back in 1991, the United States reportedly had “mountains of hot garbage and no permanent site for storing it.” A million barrels of deadly substances were said to be sitting in temporary storage with an ever-present “danger of loss, theft and environmental damage from mishandling.” In 1999 alone, some 20,000 sources in the United States produced over 40 million tons of hazardous waste.

Another factor is the world population, which has skyrocketed during the past century. More people, more garbage! And much of the population is oriented toward consumerism. The Worldwatch Institute recently concluded: “We have used more goods and services since 1950 than in all the rest of human history.”

Granted, few of those living in developed lands want to do away with all those “goods and services.” For instance, just think of how convenient it is to go to the store and pick up groceries that are already packaged and then bring them home in paper or plastic bags supplied at the store. If people were suddenly deprived of such modern packaging, they might soon realize how deeply they have come to depend on it. And to the extent that it is more hygienic, such packaging contributes, at least indirectly, to better health.

Despite such advantages, though, is there any need for concern that today’s throwaway society might have gone too far? Evidently there is, for various solutions that have been designed to address the garbage glut have barely made a dent in the avalanche of human refuse. What is worse, the attitudes that underlie today’s throwaway society have even more troubling implications.

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Safely disposing of hazardous waste presents serious challenges

Is There a Solution?

WHAT should you do with an unwanted item? “Just throw it away” seems a simple, obvious answer. However, waste disposal is not always so simple. Throw it where? An Italian environmental association estimates that a glass bottle thrown into the sea will take 1,000 years to decompose. In contrast, paper tissues will decompose in only three months. A cigarette butt pollutes the sea for up to 5 years; plastic bags, 10 to 20 years; nylon articles, 30 to 40 years; cans, 500 years; and polystyrene, 1,000 years.

The flow of such refuse has increased enormously. Nowadays the marketplace has plenty to sell, and the advertising world wants us to believe that we need it all. The British newspaper The Guardian says succinctly: “Advertisers help us to answer needs we never knew we had.” Indeed, we are tempted into buying the latest on the market, lest we miss out on something new. And, of course, in advertising terminology “new” means “better and superior,” whereas “old” means “inferior and outdated.”

Thus, we are often urged to buy something new rather than repair something old. It is argued that replacing old things is more practical and economical than repairing them. At times, that is true. Often, however, throwing away the old and replacing it with the new is expensive and unnecessary.

Many products today are designed to be thrown away. They may be difficult to repair​—a point to keep in mind when making purchases. A German consumer magazine noted: “The life span of individual products continues to get shorter. What was ‘in’ yesterday is ‘out’ today and frequently lands in the rubbish. Thus, valuable raw materials daily end up as worthless garbage!”

Does all this unrestrained buying really benefit the consumer? In reality, the beneficiaries are businesses intent on filling their cash registers. The Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche argues: “An economic collapse would be guaranteed if everyone were to use his furniture and his auto for life or even for twice as long as he now does.” An economic collapse is hardly the answer, since this would also put consumers out of work. What, then, are some solutions to the garbage glut?

Throw Away, Recycle, or Reduce?

Some industrialized countries take the easy way out by simply dumping their wastes in developing countries. A report indicates, for example, that “at one notorious site in Nigeria, 3,500 tonnes of toxic chemicals were found to be leaking from over 8,000 rusting and corroding drums, poisoning both soil and groundwater.” Such a method of waste disposal seems to be neither a workable solution nor an admirable way to treat others.

What about recycling unwanted items for further use instead of just throwing them away? Of course, such programs require that consumers separate their refuse into different categories, something already required by law in some localities. Officials may ask that garbage be sorted into such categories as paper, cardboard, metal, glass, and organic wastes. Glass, in turn, may have to be sorted according to color.

Recycling clearly has its advantages. The book 5000 Days to Save the Planet notes that recycling aluminum “saves huge amounts of energy” and can “cut down on the environmental damage caused by strip-mining bauxite.” The book elaborates: “For the same amount of paper produced, recycling uses up only half as much energy, and a tenth of the water. . . . Many waste products can be recovered, recycled and re-used. . . . Even where industries cannot re-use their own wastes, they can sometimes recycle them for others to use . . . In Holland, a waste exchange network has been operating successfully since the early 1970s.”

Rather than searching for ways to dispose of refuse, other authorities are placing more emphasis upon preventing waste in the first place. The aforementioned book warns that “action is urgently needed” if mankind is “to move away from a throwaway economy . . . towards a conserver society that minimizes wastes and reduces its consumption of resources.”

However, those wanting to “move away from a throwaway economy” would have to be willing to use the goods they purchase for as long as possible, throwing them away only when they are beyond repair. Items that are unwanted but still usable must be passed on to others who will use them. The Darmstadt office of the German Öko-Institut (Institute for Applied Ecology) figures that a household adhering consistently to the principle “Use instead of consume” would produce up to 75 percent less garbage than the average household.

But will enough households adhere to such principles? It seems unlikely. Mankind’s garbage problem is merely a symptom of larger issues. In today’s throwaway society, more and more people have adopted what we might call a throwaway mentality. Let us examine that attitude​—and a few of the extremes to which it can lead.

The Dangers of a Throwaway Mentality

A throwaway mentality can easily go beyond minor wastefulness. It can make people unappreciative and thoughtless, so that they casually waste large amounts of untouched food and other resources. Those who are self-centered and governed by fads and trivial likes and dislikes may constantly feel compelled to replace good clothes, furniture, and other items with new ones.

However, the throwaway mentality may extend to more than just things. A German project devoted to the utilization of discarded household goods recently noted: “The way we treat the living room suite, which no longer suits us and is thrown away after five years to be replaced by a new one, is being copied in the way we treat humans. The question is how long our society can tolerate this.” The report explains: “As soon as a person is unable to perform at top efficiency, he is replaced. After all, there are plenty of workers available!”

In his book Earth in the Balance, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore asked the pertinent question: “If we have come to see the things we use as disposable, have we similarly transformed the way we think about our fellow human beings? . . . Have we, in the process, lost an appreciation for the uniqueness of each one?”

People who lose appreciation and respect for others will probably find it easier​—and less blameworthy—​to cast off friends or marriage mates. Commenting on this way of thinking, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung argues: “Twice a year we buy new clothes, every four years a new car, and every ten years a new living room suite; every year we look for a new vacation spot; we change homes, occupations, businesses​—so why not our marriage mate?”

Some people today seem willing to throw away almost anything once it becomes burdensome. In one European country, for example, an estimated 100,000 cats and 96,000 dogs were abandoned during 1999 by their owners. An animal activist there says that her fellow citizens “don’t consider owning a pet a long-term commitment. They’ll buy a puppy in September, abandon it [a year later when they go on vacation] in August.” Worse still, the throwaway mentality extends to human life itself.

A Lack of Respect for Life

Many today seem to think that their own life has little real value. How so? For example, a European magazine recently noted that the readiness of young people to take risks has increased in recent years. This can be seen in their increased willingness to participate in extreme sports. For the sake of a few moments of thrills, they are willing to risk throwing away life itself! Profit-hungry businessmen eagerly take advantage of this trend. A German politician noted that promoters of extreme sports “often consider making money more important than human health and life.”

And what about throwing away unborn human life? The World Health Organization estimates that “worldwide some 75 million children conceived annually are not actually wanted by anyone. For many women abortion is the only solution.” Even after birth, infants are in danger. According to the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, “cases of babies abandoned on the streets are on the increase.” Is this also true in your locality?

All around us in today’s world, we see evidence that human life is often viewed as cheap, worthless, something to be thrown away almost casually. We see this trend in the violence of popular entertainment, with “heroes” slaughtering scores of “bad guys” in a single film or TV program. We see it in the ongoing waves of violent crime sweeping the earth, with thieves killing their victims over a bit of petty change​—or for no reason at all. And we see it in the news in the sickening reports of terrorist acts, ethnic cleansings, and outright genocides, all involving the hard-hearted, wholesale slaughter of humans​—precious lives thrown away like garbage.

We may not be able to avoid living in a throwaway society, but we can avoid adopting a throwaway mentality. The next article will discuss what can help us to cope with today’s throwaway society as well as the undesirable attitudes that come with it.

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In many places recycling is mandatory

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Do changing fads compel you to throw away good clothes and buy new ones?

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The unborn should be cherished, not thrown away

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Index Stock Photography Inc./BSIP Agency

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Life is too precious to risk throwing it away for the sake of thrills

How You Can Cope in a Throwaway Society

“IN NATURE . . . there is no such thing as waste.” That, according to Time magazine, is the opinion of one respected expert on recycling. He was referring to the remarkable way in which dead or discarded material from one part of an ecosystem is always used to benefit other parts. The same expert reportedly feels that “humanity can emulate nature’s garbage-free ways, but it will require innovative technology and a big change in attitude.”

Most of us can probably do little to develop some innovative new technology. But our attitude is something we can control! And the right attitude toward certain basic principles of good conduct will help us to cope better with the problems of living in a throwaway society.

Avoid Being Wasteful

Every fifth person on earth goes to bed at night hungry. Knowing this should impress upon us the need to appreciate food and to avoid wasting it. A couple who returned to Europe after 28 years of missionary work in Africa said that one of their biggest challenges in getting used to their home country again was coping with “the wasteful way people throw away food.”

Wise parents teach their children to put only as much on their plates as they can eat. Doing so reduces garbage and waste. It is better to take small portions at first before asking for seconds. Of course, parents must set the example. Jesus set the example for all of us by showing genuine appreciation for God’s provisions, both physical and spiritual. The Bible indicates that Jesus carefully avoided wasting food​—even though it had been miraculously produced in abundance!​—John 6:11-13.

The principle of avoiding wastefulness may also be applied to clothes, furniture, and machines. Keeping things in good repair and using them as long as it is practical to do so shows that we appreciate what we have. We need not fall victim to the advertising world’s attempts to make us feel dissatisfied with what we have by offering us something bigger, better, faster, stronger. Of course, we may have every right to replace possessions that are still usable. But before doing so, we might want to evaluate our attitudes and motives.

Avoid Greediness

As they traveled through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, the Israelites were given food in the form of manna. According to the Bible report, the manna was supplied in sufficient quantity. The Israelites were warned, however, not to become greedy; they were to take only enough for their immediate needs. Those who disobeyed discovered that greed did not pay, for the leftover manna bred worms and began to stink. (Exodus 16:16-20) In no uncertain terms, the Bible strongly and repeatedly condemns greediness.​—Ephesians 5:3.

The Bible is not alone in making this point. Seneca, for example, a first-century Roman philosopher and playwright, recognized that a greedy person is never satisfied. He observed: “For greed all nature is too little.” Erich Fromm, a philosopher of the 20th century, reached a similar conclusion: “Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” Beyond avoiding greed and wastefulness, there are some positive steps that many have chosen to take.

Learn to Share

Before discarding items still in good condition, consider who might be happy to have them. For example, when children grow out of their clothes, could other children still get much use out of them as hand-me-downs? Could you do something similar with other possessions that still have value but that you no longer use as much as you once did? Share the joy an item gave you by passing it on to another. American author and humorist Mark Twain once wrote: “To get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” Perhaps you have experienced that joy shared is joy doubled. Besides, by sharing in this way, you help counteract the negative effects of a throwaway mentality.

Sharing with others is a virtue that the Bible highly recommends. (Luke 3:11; Romans 12:13; 2 Corinthians 8:14, 15; 1 Timothy 6:18) Indeed, how much better the world would be if all in it were willing to share!

Be Content With Necessities

A contented person is a happy person. This is a universal truth. A Greek proverb says: “Nothing will content him who is not content with a little.” And the Japanese say: “He is poor who does not feel content.” The Bible also speaks in glowing terms of contentment. We read: “To be sure, it is a means of great gain, this godly devotion along with self-sufficiency. For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.”​—1 Timothy 6:6-8; Philippians 4:11.

Of course, being content with what we have may require “a big change in attitude.” A young woman named Susanne recently realized that she needed to make such a change. She said: “I made up my mind that since I couldn’t have everything I wanted, I must learn to want what I have. Now I am happy and content.”

Contentment really does lead to happiness. Professor Argir Hadjihristev, a Bulgarian expert on the subject of aging, says: “The basic evil is, first of all, not being content with the little that a person has.” Referring to the health benefits of being content, he adds: “The person who doesn’t try to live better than his neighbor, who doesn’t always try to have more and more, lives without competition and therefore without stress. And that is good for the nerves.”

Yes, a throwaway society can never bring about true happiness. Even less so a throwaway mentality! It appears that more and more people are getting the message. Are you?

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Children need to learn how to avoid wasting food

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Jesus set a fine example in avoiding wastefulness

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Why not give others what you no longer use instead of throwing it away?