Our throw-away society

by zound 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  cultBgone

  Interesting thread....

  I've had elders make fun of me for recycling...one who made fun of me told me he wouldn't do it because the recycler made money from it. I told him, hey, they do it at Bethel. He shut up. How ridiculous an attitude is that?

  I've been a recycler from the first time I located bins to do it, and a grateful to now live in a community where it is practiced. We used to have to drive our stuff to large public recycling dumpsters, and I was happy to see them. For years any beverage I buy is in glass bottles and I recycle them all. I keep my canvas and hemp shopping bags in my car and carry them into every store...hate the plastic bags that my daughter brings home because she is too lazy to use the nice shopping bags in our garage (she's a pioneer and apparently doesn't think the earth matters since it will be "cleansed" soon™).

  The folks at work make fun of my glass water bottles but oh well...I bring them home to the blue bins anyway.

  Any paper products go in that bin, including all the junk mail and envelopes. It's crazy how much paper normally goes in the trash at y workplace, and how so many people just don't give a...hoot. Remember Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute?

  Have to admit I was impressed when we finally got separate bins for trash and recyclables at the assembly hall. Wish more people took it seriously.
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  crmsicl

  I plan on watching this tomorrow when I can relax. This is something I think about always.
• 

  zound

  Actually when I googled "throw-away society" (for an assignment) a Watchtower article came up as the third hit (probably google spies on my website visits).

  The article from the Awake was pretty laughable - it points the fingers at 'society' as being wasteful and producing things that are only meant to be thrown away (*cough* Watchtowers) - then comments on the cheapness of life (*cough* bloodtransfusions, disfellowshipping) then tells the sheeple to live in poverty, under such paragraph headings as "Avoid Greediness".

  lol - fricken hypocrites.
• 

  LisaRose

  This was very thought provoking. I have been working towards a less wasteful life style, I was already aware of some of these issues, but this really gives the big picture. It's clear that we have turned into a society of buyers, of wastefulness, of more cheap things. It cannot continue, it's obscene. You see people at Ross or TJ Max buying dozens of outfits at a time, it's so cheap you can do that. But what is the true cost of throwing things away after a few wearings? No one needs that many clothes. It's clear that many people have no retirement saving and are deeply in debt because they bought so many things they really didn't need. The average life span of a phone is nine months. Nine months! I have a phone that is two years old, I am trying hard to resist the impulse to upgrade to a smart phone. I have no real need, but everybody has one, I feel left out. It's crazy.

  I already stopped buying bottled water for the most part. I have a reusable drinking bottle. It's not just the bottle that is wasted, but the energy used to transport water from point A to point B. I recycle everything possible, our trash can is tiny, our recycle bin is large, so that encourages recycling. I run bottles and jars through the dishwasher, then use them to store food instead of using plastic bags. I also invested in glass containers for larger amounts. I have some plastic bags that I wash and use over and over. I buy cloth napkins. I am currently trying to get away from paper towels, it saves money and the environment.

  I have made a conscious choice to eat more whole foods, that are as simply processed as possible. I buy few convenience foods, which is healthier, cheaper and less wasteful, foods like that have a lot of packaging. There are so many things that are simple to prepare, I can make them in the time you go to get fast food. It just takes planning and fore thought. I try to buy clothes that are made well, even if they cost more. It's actually cheaper in the long run. I shop thrift stores and have found many good things there, you would be surprised. I go to the reused building supply places and make things out of old wood, Windows, etc. I see these as a small business. It makes me happy to keep things out of the landfill.
• 

  zound

  If you're interested there's a website called 'adbusters' that kind of pushes against this kind of thing - including a campaign "Buy nothing day". Their approach isn't for everyone, but I'm glad they do what they do.
• 

  Xanthippe

  zound, brilliant video. We have less leisure time than when we lived in a feudal society? I laughed at that scene where the guy is exhausted from working long hours so he flops down in front of the TV only to be told 'you suck' by the adverts. So he had to go out and buy new things to make himself feel better and then he has to work longer hours.........

  I remember a TV ad with well known personality Paul Merton on UK TV and the tag line was 'ashamed of your mobile? ' (Cell phone) Who was it who said in the vid we should fill our spiritual needs, our ego needs with consumerism? Can't remember who it was, can you zound?

  Trouble is if you talk about any of this stuff you get labelled a tree-hugger, a save the whale freak, or even worse an environmentalist. Oh I feel so bad, must go shopping!

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/private/278867/2/We-discovered-four-earth-like-planets-hypothetically-who-would-go-where#.U2IZJ_ldWSo
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  zound

  That was Victor Lebow:

  Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption. The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumptive patterns. The very meaning and significance of our lives today expressed in consumptive terms. The greater the pressures upon the individual to conform to safe and accepted social standards, the more does he tend to express his aspirations and his individuality in terms of what he wears, drives, eats- his home, his car, his pattern of food serving, his hobbies.

  These commodities and services must be offered to the consumer with a special urgency. We require not only “forced draft” consumption, but “expensive” consumption as well. We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing pace. We need to have people eat, drink, dress, ride, live, with ever more complicated and, therefore, constantly more expensive consumption. The home power tools and the whole “do-it-yourself” movement are excellent examples of “expensive” consumption.
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  Xanthippe

  Thanks zound I notice on Wiki other people have had the same problem as I'm having here, I can't tell if he's encouraging rampant consumerism or grimly acknowledging its existence.

  Just noticed your question at the beginning. I think we should teach our kids about our throw-away society and what consumerism is about. Teach them about adverts on TV. I used to say to my daughter this is just people trying to sell you stuff, these people are not trying to help you. Teach them that the world is run by corporations and particularly multi-nationals, not governments.

  Teach them to recycle and to support charities that are trying to save our environment, our home. WWF is great, it's not just about animals anymore, it's about keeping the oceans, rivers, air and food safe for all of us.

  They will still want fancy phones but it will help them to see the big picture.
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  Gypsy Sam

  What's wrong with being a treehugger?

  If the photo doesn't attach, just picture Cindy Crawford, shirtless, hugging a tree.

  Seriously, the throwaway cup and utensil concept needs to cease. We can use real items and wash them, at work, too!

  Drinks taste better in glass than styrofoam.