From the time you sit down to breakfast this morning until you put away the dinner dishes tonight, a staggering 438,356 tons of garbage will have entered America`s solid waste stream. That daily statistic, provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, makes the country`s collective trash heap one of the biggest and messiest challenges facing us.
Standing in the kitchen looking at a tidy, plastic-lined trash can, it`s hard to comprehend just how much garbage there is out there filling landfills to capacity.
The mountain of garbage is so large, it boggles the mind. For most of us, ecological problems are too abstract and too complex for individuals to tackle. But it doesn`t take a sea of humanity to make a difference-just small swells, according to Joel Makower, author of several books on the environment, most recently ”The Green Consumer Supermarket Handbook” (Penguin, $6.95).
In a recent interview, the former consumer reporter from Washington, D.C., related a saga of positive environmental changes wrought by a handful of people who took the initiative.
”Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers in the country, with about 70 million customers going through their doors weekly. And yet if they get 20 letters about one subject, they will contemplate a course of action,” said Makower. And, he added, their mail and that of many food manufacturers increasingly reflects the greening of America, with queries about packaging and Earth-friendly products.
These voices are being heard by corporate America. As proof, one needs only to look at the return of paper and cardboard packaging at McDonald`s, eliminating the 4 billion polystyrene packages that were discarded annually;
the announcements by Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsi-Cola Co. that they`ll begin using recycled plastic in the roughly 3.5 billion 2-liter pop bottles that are made every year; or recall the changes that came about in the tuna fishing industry last year so dolphins wouldn`t get snared in the process.
”People can be so overwhelmed with the enormity of the problem that they become paralyzed, but the smallest effort can make an incredible difference,” he noted. ”It`s very easy for one person to be involved in a positive, forward thrust.
It can be as simple as one person separating cans from bottles and taking them to recycling centers, one person choosing a particular supermarket product because of its environmental stance as well as its quality and price, one person reusing a paper bag or a plastic container instead of throwing it out.
Recent polls indicate that more than 75 percent of the population is concerned enough about the environment to want to take positive action.
One of the most obvious and easiest places to start is in the kitchen. In its own way, it is the front line in the trash wars, because so much disposable stuff accumulates there-cereal boxes, milk cartons, tuna cans, grocery bags.
As much as two-thirds of all trash from the home flows through the kitchen, according to Makower. But only about 7 percent is food waste. Much of the rest of it consists of things that can be recycled.
The rallying cry is a simple one: ”Reduce, reuse and recycle.” It has been the mantra of Frances Heuvelmans for several years, and it steers her to a course of action she feels is responsible and necessary. Heuvelmans, a health-care worker from Dixon, Ill., makes many buying decisions based on packaging alone and is willing to leave brand loyalty behind when she feels a company falls short.
”Cardboard and paper are best, then aluminum and glass,” she says. ”I can`t buy name brands of some things I like in glass anymore, so I`ve switched to generics and off-brands. I never buy single servings or microwave products that have plastic trays. I won`t shop at the deli because everything comes in plastic.”
Heuvelmans, who consults several books for advice as to which products to buy, adopted her own rigorous philosophy after visiting Europe in the late 1970s. ”I was so impressed with what they did. We`re a throw-away society. They`re not. Since then, every time I buy something, I try to ask myself what impact it will have on the next seven generations.”
How we select products at the market can have an impact: Large sizes versus small; single-wrapped food versus double-wrapped; food packaged in paper rather than plastic.
”It`s a matter of relearning the way we shop, which in and of itself is not a revolution,” explains Makower. ”We`re always fine-tuning the process. Conscientious shopping just adds a new twist. But there are many good choices in every aisle and we can shop our way to environmental health, at least to a degree.”
About 25 percent of all home generated trash starts in the supermarket, says Makower. In his book, he does an aisle-by-aisle survey of more than 3,000 products, from apple juice to yogurt, diapers to detergent. He gives the nod to the best choices and points an accusatory finger at companies that continue to wreak havoc with the environment. His ratings take a number of factors into consideration, including contents, packaging and the manufacturer`s overall environmental stance.
Economics enters into it too. An environmentally minded or ”green”
consumer usually saves money, too. Makower singled out microwavable noodle soup as an example.
”You can buy any of a half dozen soups for the microwave oven, but they`re all packaged the same: in an unrecyclable tub with plastic or foil on the top, usually in in a cardboard sleeve that may be shrink wrapped as well. ”Or you can buy a package of ramen noodle soup that comes in a single, thin plastic wrapper. You have to use your own bowl and add water, but most people have access to these resources. The difference isn`t only a lot of trash. The overpackaged soup sells for three times more than the ramen soup mixes,” Makower noted.
”The supermarket is the front line for winning the hearts and minds of America. But of course, the fate of the Earth doesn`t hinge on a package of macaroni and cheese,” Makower said.
The message that is sent by making environmentally responsible choices can send out ripples in all directions. The ”green revolution” is more of an evolution, a gradual change that starts with one small step forward.
So far, many recycling efforts in Illinois are purely voluntary, exercised by our ethic of conservation rather than by law. Many communities have set up programs for recycling and others will follow soon. The state legislature has a mandate to decrease the amount of trash sent to landfills by 25 percent by 1995. So whether we like it or not, it`s time to start getting used to sorting out throw-aways so they get channeled to a more earth-friendly destination.
”It`s taken centuries to muck up the planet and it will take as long to undo it, but no one should take the burden of the world`s woes on
themselves,” Makower said.
Some one-step-at-a-time strategies:
– Buy fewer disposables. Check out the new concentrated juices, detergents and so on which are reconstituted at home in reusable glass or plastic containers. These smaller packages mean less to throw out. Don`t buy single-serve packages or overwrapped products. Buy foods in bulk.
– Reuse anything you can. Reuse containers and cartons for leftovers. Use the backsides of paper for notes. Re-use paper and plastic bags. Find new uses for plastic bottles.
– Recycle. Estimates go as high as 90 percent for the amount of throw-away stuff that can be recycled. Ken Dunn, founder and head of the Resource Center, a not-for-profit education and recycling organization in Chicago, puts the number higher. ”Short of toxic waste, there`s really nothing we can`t get rid of safely.”
– Aluminum cans can take as long as 100 years to decompose, according to the National Park Service. Recycled, they will live another useful life, likely as new consumer products. And less energy will be used. When a can is made from raw materials, 90 percent more energy is required, according to Alcoa, makers of aluminum products. And someone is making money off those old cans. More than $900 million was paid by recyclers for cans last year, making it a handsome business for can collectors. (Last week cans were going for 29 cents a pound locally.)
– Paper takes up as much as 50 percent of landfill space. While it isn`t harmful to the environment per se, it does take up room. And if it were reused or recycled, less energy would be consumed. About 30 million trees are cut down every year to make grocery bags. Re-use paper bags or better yet, invest in canvas bags to carry things in.
Although it is human nature to try to change habits in just one big leap forward, that`s probably not the best course of action. Makower pointed to a truth that may help make the task seem less daunting.
”Going green should happen in stages. Start small but start somewhere. If all you do is separate and recycle newspapers, it`s a start.”
