I’m going to continue today in the small scale vein again. The reason for this is to build a foundation of small ideas, the cumulative effect and intention of which is the change the way we think and more importantly, how we act.
When I’m petitioning world leaders I’ll adopted a grander scale, more global approach, and substantiate it upon the evidence of large scale changes made from the cumulative small actions of everyday individuals like you and me.
I’m sure y now you’ve all been enjoying the benefits of decent coffee in your favourite mug, rather than one of those flimsy paper cups and unpleasant tasting plastic lids, so now we must move to food.
It is no surprise that western society has become a complete puppet of the marketers; having instilled a values system based upon convenience above all other things. Most advertising slogans work on selling you the benefit of their product (as you will learn in any sales manual) and in the majority of these they emphasise the added convenience their product can bring to your life. Yes this is a great sentiment, IF you were to use that time to develop a stronger family bond, interact with your neighbours, contribute to your local community, improve your personal qualities, enjoy the rich experiences life has to offer, the list goes on.
However, the reality is that we use that time to work late, sit in front of the television (watching more of the offending advertisements), play computer games, and go out to by more products that we don’t need, but are told by the manufacturers that we need.
This is a very round about way of describing the reason why the fast food industry exists – we’re lazy, and we believe we don’t have enough time to cook something decent. I challenge anyone to argue with me on this as we all have 24 hours in a day. Basically the choice comes down to how we prioritise our time.
Anyway back to the point (I’ll deal with the fast food industry in another posting, as it’s a simple misnomer and I could rant for days on that one!) every lunchtime I see thousands of people in food courts and sandwich bars, pie shops and cafes, because “they don’t have the time” or “they can’t be bothered” to make their own food. To change this mindset is not easy and not one I am addressing today.
The problem I want to highlight is the disposable attitude to the packaging, napkins, cutlery, and so on.
Many outlets will give each customer the food in a box, with a plastic knife, fork, spoon, maybe chopsticks too, not to mention a sizeable handful of paper tissues. These are then put in a plastic bag. Within the next 30 minutes the items are emptied from the bag, and the bag is thrown away after one insignificant and potentially needless use.
Next the plastic cutlery is removed from its plastic wrapper, and that is thrown away. The cutlery itself gets its five minutes of glory before being banished to the trash!
Finally the tissues, or maybe just one of the stack you have in the bag, is used (or perhaps not depending on how good your table manners are!). These are then tossed in the bin, to be followed finally by the box or bowl the food came in.
I’ll admit I have been guilty of this, and often feel that I have no other choice than to accept whatever the person serving the food offers me. I was struck by the tremendous volume of waste one day at work when the cleaners didn’t empty my bin, and I had two days of lunch time waste overflowing onto the carpet. After just two meals I had to balance the rubbish in the bin with the skill and concentration of a Jenga master!
The next day I resolved to put a change to this. I kept hold of the knife and fork I was given as well as the unused tissues. I asked the lady making my baked potato to leave them out and a bag would not be necessary. Yes I received a funny look the first could of times, but now they have been educated to just give me the bare minimum.
So not only have I reduced the waste my meal is producing, I’ve saved the vendor a few cents, and now I eat with real stainless steel cutlery on a real plate – and it tastes so much better.
Now I can only spread the word to so many people, but I think the way this message will have real impact is when the food sellers stop giving you all the sundry items automatically, the same way that many retail stores now ask if you want a plastic bag (or even better charge you for one). This will make people more conscious of what they need, and hence what they are more likely to use.
This is such a simple way to employ all stages of the “Reduce – Reuse – Recycle”. What it also brings to the fore is the fact that the majority of this unnecessary packaging ends up in landfill, and is not, or cannot be recycled. Not accepting the product in the first place is a small gesture that can have a massive environmental benefit if we all contribute.
More importantly employing this simple idea individuals will start to realise that it can be just as convenient to reduce your impact on the environment, whilst maintaining or even improving your quality of life.
Just to put the icing on the cake, this would reduce of the food packaging frequently seen littering our streets, which I’m sure you would agree is something we’d all want to see.
Let me know how you get on and what reactions you get when turning down the extra tissues and plastic bags.
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