{"id":3145,"date":"2008-07-02T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2008-07-02T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=3145"},"modified":"2008-07-02T06:00:11","modified_gmt":"2008-07-02T12:00:11","slug":"disposable-planet-saving-resources-with-reusable-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/disposable-planet-saving-resources-with-reusable-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Disposable Planet: Saving Resources with Reusable Products"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3148\" style=\"float: left\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2008\/06\/800px-_garbage_01_-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/>With Fourth of July just a few days away, I bet that many of you are getting all geared up and stocked up for a celebration of some sort. Be it a barbeque, a trip, a fireworks display, or some other means of declaring your independence from work, the long weekend ahead will likely require gathering adequate provisions to keep the festivities lively and the revelers happy.<\/p>\n<p>With this certain demand, our faithful suppliers are getting geared up and stocked up as well. So as you head down the aisle of your local grocery store or supercenter or what have you, you are sure to encounter lots of possible choices for what to spend your money on. <strong>And I can guarantee that most of them will be disposable.<\/strong> Plastic or paper plates, plastic cups, plastic utensils (including the beloved spork), paper napkins and tissues, plastic garbage and grocery bags, styrofoam or plastic coolers, etc., etc., etc. The list is endless\u2026and this is only for party favors!<\/p>\n<p>I do as much as I can to conserve resources and live sustainably. I remember at one family holiday smorgasbord, I believe it was Thanksgiving, I cunningly hid <em>all<\/em> of the plastic plates, cups, and utensils in a trunk in the closet in order to force my family to use the real, washable ones instead. No one was very happy with me, though I did convince one aunt to play along and stand up in my defense, but by using the normal stuff we reduced the amount of trash that day significantly compared to usual holidays. <strong>(And yes, for you cynics out there, I did indeed help out doing the dishes!)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite my ecological consciousness and consumer conscience, and despite my stratagems to thwart the forces of disposability, I cringe at the many disposable items that I still use in my own home. For example, disposable razors. These oh-so-convenient, many-to-a-pack, everything\u2019s-a-dollar mainstays of male grooming seem rather benign at first glance (unless you nick yourself shaving, of course). Yet each one consists mostly of plastic, which is made from petroleum, and after a few shaves that plastic and the metal goes into the trash\u2026and so on then to a landfill where it sits amidst all the other non-biodegradable garbage into perpetuity.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>As I stare at my face in the mirror to shave (yes, poor me), my hand starts to tremble dangerously when I really <em>reflect<\/em> on the fact that I could just as easily use a razor with replaceable heads. Sure, it would cost a bit more money and convenience, but it would cut out the plastic completely and reduce the volume of waste coming out of my home. Or I could even use a straight razor (which would have the added benefit of letting me end it all quickly should the pain of staring at my reflection finally become unbearable!).<\/p>\n<p>And there are lots of other similar disposable items that can easily be replaced by reusable goods. <strong>Remember the handkerchief, a.k.a. the \u201chanky\u201d?<\/strong> I happen to use one, and with every blow I get a head rush knowing that I am not causing another tree to be felled in some place where it is needed much, much more. <strong>Remember the cloth diaper?<\/strong> Sure, a pile of these things well soiled and fully odoriferous is not the stuff of sweet dreams, but disposable diapers are terrible in planetary terms.<\/p>\n<p>It is so unfortunate that we live in a \u201cthrowaway\u201d economy, where items small and large&#8211;from razors to major appliances&#8211;are designed in order to be used quickly and then tossed\u2026and replaced with another, newer, better version, of course. Recycling helps to cut back on the resources we use, and reusing products is an even better way to take your stand against disposability. Another fantastic development is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mcdonough.com\/cradle_to_cradle.htm\">\u201ccradle-to-cradle\u201d technology<\/a>, which takes reusability to amazing new levels with products you never thought could be reused&#8211;such as carpet and even car parts.<\/p>\n<p>As you stroll down the aisle to get what you need for this Fourth of July, declare your independence from disposability, fight the tyrannous forces of throwaway, and try to use something you can <em>reuse<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n<p>You have the inalienable right to a healthy planet free from mounds of trash so large they require their own zip codes. You have the inalienable right to a healthy life free from toxic waste that approaches immortality in lifespan. Although these rights also bring certain duties&#8211;washing dishes and hankies and soiled diapers among them&#8211;they are <em>your<\/em> rights and the rights of every other living being on our lovely, non-disposable planet Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Have a happy, healthy, sustainable Independence Day!<\/p>\n<p>Notes<br \/>\n<em>Image credit:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:Nino_Barbieri\">Nino Barbieri<\/a> at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Image:-_Garbage_01_-.jpg\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Fourth of July just a few days away, I bet that many of you are getting all geared up and stocked up for a celebration of some sort. Be&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":3148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,79,13],"tags":[912,913,914,915,916,917,918,689],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Disposable Planet: Saving Resources with Reusable Products &#8226; Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/disposable-planet-saving-resources-with-reusable-products\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Disposable Planet: Saving Resources with Reusable Products &#8226; Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Fourth of July just a few days away, I bet that many of you are getting all geared up and stocked up for a celebration of some sort. 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