The house never seems to be tidy, these days. There always seem to be pots that need hand washing, because they can't go in the dishwasher for one reason or another. A build up of drinks cans from my husband and father sit on the kitchen side or the coffee table, waiting for the dregs to be emptied so they can be crushed and put in the storage bin outside. Rubbish gets dumped in the tub by the fireplace by those not sure whether it belongs in the waste or can be recycled.
My daughter tells me if I can get on top of it in the first place, then it will be easier to maintain it by washing that stray dish straight after use, instead of leaving it to build up. But then I’d feel guilty about the extra water and detergent that gets used doing each pot individually, instead of several in one wash. So do we want a clean house or to worry about every little bit of water our detergent wasted? After all, few others are worrying about these things. I think my family would rather just see a clean house.
I could save time and keep the house cleaner by just shoving everything in the landfill waste bin. I could clear out clutter much quicker and easier by ordering a skip, rather than finding new homes for things. I could get rid of the animals that provide us with eggs and garden fertiliser and lay fake turf across the gardens, to give me more time in the house to clean. I could cook less from scratch and buy in packaged foods more and wouldn't it make life so much easier, if instead of mending we just binned things and bought a new one? They're cheap enough after all, these days. Then I could go back to work to earn more so we can afford just replace and buy in. I'd spend my time off cooking, likely more pre-made meals, cleaning and of course shopping for convenience.
Could I do that and fight the guilt in the back of my mind? Could I be trying to squeeze the rubbish down in our bin each week to get the lid closed on our waste that we don't have time to sort? Just give in to peer pressure? It would make life so much less stressful, wouldn't it?
When sorting your waste and reducing your waste gets this time consuming, I suppose it's no wonder most people find it too much like hard work and not worth the effort. So often I read rants from people about others not doing enough for the environment and being so wasteful, but trying to guilt trip others isn't really helping much and if they are trying to do something to reduce their environmental impact, it's probably only going to make them feel resentful.
Change isn't easy, even if that change doesn't add to your workload. When the majority of society around you is doing one thing, doing something different goes against the grain and you will feel judged. Much of that judgement centres around perceived cleanliness, or lack thereof, and your perceived image. The practice of keeping up with the Jones's isn't going anywhere any time soon.
The fact is, those with the least environmental impact are the poorest, who have no choice about going without. In first world countries the options often touted are finding options with no packaging or more environmentally friendly packaging, which are often limited and more costly. One could always go without, too, but how many are going to be able to keep up with the Jones's doing that? Use public transport, cycle or walk instead of taking the car, which is more time consuming and too much like hard work for many. Need we even discuss flying? The only answer to that is, don't fly. What other alternatives unless a more renewable fuel or form of powering planes can be found?
When it comes to products, what's really the best approach? Ironically, those people who want to buy organic and chemical free are generally also waste conscious, yet often not that much effort is made by the manufacturers and suppliers of these types of products to provide them in more sustainable packaging. It is improving, but we often still have to choose between organic and our waste impacts.
There's often much discussion on how much responsibility companies should have with regards to waste. Some say it's consumer demand that drives what they supply, yet when no alternatives are offered, how much can we really say that they are supplying a demand. If consumers have only one choice, then that is what they'll get or go without. How can demand be measured from that? The consumer can write to a company and make requests and many do. Yet it doesn't mean they'll cater to those requests and many companies don't. It can be costly to change what they're doing, and its often cheaper and easier to just greenwash; maybe put the price up a bit on those “green” options to get the environmental market.
Yet if companies made the changes to reduce or change packaging, there wouldn't be much protest from those who don't currently make the effort to choose lower waste options. Is anyone really going to complain that the sealed meat packet didn't also have that extra layer of cling film which did nothing anyway? Are they going to complain if something comes in a compostable plastic instead of one that isn't? People don't really care what something comes in, as long as it does the job.
If a food court only served food on compostable cups and plates, with compostable utensils, providing one bin which, the entire contents of which went to a composting facility, then they'll have just closed a waste cycle while still providing the convenience of food on the go. Customers wouldn't even have to go to the effort of separating things into different bins. Okay, maybe there would still be some cans and bottles for a separate bin.
You can't provide people with things that convenience them, make their lives easier or more comfortable, then ask them to choose to deprive themselves of it and expect them to be happy, or altruistic enough, to do that. They're not even going to be happy about it if they have no choice about losing those privileges , but given no other choice they'll adapt.
You aren't going to be able to change human nature, no matter how much you push or force it. It may be better to try and find ways to work with human nature. Can everyone have the luxuries and conveniences we have today without it costing the Earth?
Posted via Marlians.com