Ever feel like you’re not being told the whole story? Well you’re not. And you should be grateful for it, because the whole story is way too complicated. You’d hate it. The PR of recycling knows that if you overload people with information they didn’t really care about in the first place, you risk having […]
Entries Tagged as 'Consumer Issues'
How much to tell the public
March 27th, 2014 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Philosophy, Recycling
Tags:educating the public·Master Recycling Program·recycling·Recycling School
The seamy underbelly of Halloween decor
October 12th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decoration Industry, Disposability, Excess of Possessions, Manufacturing
In the summer of 1975 I got a job in a factory that made cardboard Halloween skeletons. My job was to rivet the legs and arms onto the skeletal torso. As the parts came down a conveyor belt, I would grab them furtively and rivet. Then an arm and then a leg and then an […]
Tags:cheaply made goods·decorations·environmental toxins·Halloween·Halloween skeletons·holiday decorations·non-recyclables·party products·polystyrene·saving stuff·seasonal decorations·Styrofoam·too much stuff·toxic waste
New word: Greenwashing
September 29th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Multiple use, Toxic Waste, Trash Disposal
I’ve just found the word — I knew there had to be one — for something we’re all seeing an awful lot of these days. It refers to the attempt to make a product or company look like it’s “green” when it is so very not. Here’s a perfect example: remember checks? or as the Brits […]
Tags:excessive packaging·non-recyclable shipping containers·non-recyclables·wasteful packaging
The daily deluge of coffee cups into the landfills
August 25th, 2013 · 2 Comments · Consumer Issues, Disposability, Recycling, Take-out containers, Trash Disposal
I just got back from a trip. In the airport on the way out of town we got drinks at a Coffee People. Then I had to throw away the cup. Ow! I could hardly do it. But they’re not eligible for reincarnation, so I had to. The rule of thumb is that anything that can […]
Tags:coffee cups·disposable coffee mugs·paper cups·take-out food containers·waste disposal
Avoiding pesky labor laws by sending work abroad
June 24th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Excess of Possessions, Manufacturing, Philosophy, Polystyrene
What was I saying last time? Oh yes — we send our Styrofoam to China and they make it into cheaper plastic products. So what’s wrong with that? If China can recycle polystyrene into a more inert kind of plastic that isn’t going to be breaking up into little particles and flying all over the place, […]
Why we don’t want to be inhaling or swallowing Styrofoam
June 10th, 2013 · No Comments · brain theory, Consumer Issues, Disposability, Trash Disposal
It’s not rocket surgery. All you have to do is watch the surface of any hot liquid in one of those Styrofoam cups to see it forming a slick on your drink. When every cell in my body goes “Ew!” I pay attention. I may not be a scientist, but my body knows a few […]
Tags:disposable·disposable food containers·food containers·garbage problem·landfill·non-recyclable food containers·non-recyclables·polystyrene·Styrofoam·Styrofoam food containers·take-out food containers·throwing stuff out
We’re all eating Styrofoam
June 6th, 2013 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decluttering, Disposability, Packaging, Polystyrene
See the big blocks of Styrofoam cluttering up your garage or basement. Does the thought of taking a big bite out of one of them repulse you? Surprise! — we’re already essentially doing that. Styrofoam, a brand name for polystyrene, takes 500 years to decompose. When we throw it away, it doesn’t break down in […]
Tags:environment·environmental toxins·excessive packaging·garbage problem·making a difference·packaging·polystyrene·Styrofoam·toxic·toxic materials
What about the problem of too many clothes?
May 10th, 2013 · No Comments · brain theory, Consumer Issues
Uh oh. I may have just come up against the limitations of my decluttering blog. I actually don’t have this problem, so I don’t know if I can be of any help in this area. I could tell you that I keep my wardrobe under control by being frugal and organized, and claim to be all zen […]
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Collectivitis combined with the ecological mindset
March 18th, 2013 · 1 Comment · Collecting, Consumer Issues, Disposability, Philosophy, The Packrat Mind, Trash Disposal
You might think it’s dumb that I write about things like pen caps and sock hangers — but that would mean you were missing my larger purpose. My assignment (call it a compulsion if you must) is to scrutinize each and every little item and ask the big questions — go all the way back […]
Tags:cheaply made goods·collecting·collectivitis·disposability·garbage problem·landfill·packrat mentality·throwing stuff out·too much stuff·waste·waste disposal
Just Say NO to STUFF
December 10th, 2012 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decluttering, Trash Disposal
I used to blame myself for being a packrat, but I’ve noticed that every living person I know has this same clutter problem. A lot of dead people I’ve known have this problem too, and the living people around them aren’t at all happy about it. Wait. Maybe I shouldn’t blame myself. At least not […]
Tags:decluttering·excessive packaging·garbage problem·packrat mentality