The Unseen Cost of Convenience: Exploring the Impact of Disposable Culture on our Environment

Content Number: 10
Author Name: Afifa Tahlil
Author I’d: SBPWNC – A10
Educational Institution: Government College Women University Faisalabad
Content Title: The Unseen Cost of Convenience: Exploring the Impact of Disposable Culture on our Environment

Introduction

Our everyday lives are greatly affected by a throwaway economy, shown by things like plastic items we use once and fast food containers. Using disposable products is convenient, but it comes with a big problem that people often overlook: it harms the environment. The study examines wasteful habits, what makes people throw things away, and the serious impact it has on the environment. Additionally, the research focuses on the unforeseen expenses associated with convenience. It shows how people’s ideas about what is normal and their shopping habits create a cycle that leads to waste and pollution, which is harmful to the planet’s health. The practice of throwing away items after just one use is causing significant environmental damage. In this culture, people prefer quick and easy solutions rather than caring for the environment. This can create big problems for the environment, people’s health, and the Earth’s resources over time. Things you throw away, like plastic bags, food wrappers, and single-use forks and spoons, make a lot of garbage. Trash dumps are full, and when people throw away garbage improperly, it can create litter in both cities and the countryside. These substances do not break down and can last for many years, causing pollution on land and in water ecosystems.

We use many plastic items every day. Every year, we use 1.6 million barrels of oil fair to make plastic water bottles. One type of garbage, plastic waste, takes a very long time to break down. Plastic items can take as long as 1000 years to break down completely when thrown away in landfills. The plastic bags that we utilize every day can take between10 to 20 years to completely disappear, and plastic bottles require an astonishing 450 years to break down.

Emergence of Disposable Culture

The idea of disposable/throwaway culture started in the middle of the 1900s when there was a lot of industrial growth, new technology, and more people began buying things in large amounts. Things made for one-time use—like paper cups, plastic bags, and throwaway razors—were sold as new, easy ways to save time and work. People quickly accepted these things, thinking that being convenient meant moving forward. A survey in 2018 revealed that women in the United States, would barely wear clothes a few times before wanting to get rid of them. They pointed out that social media encourages them to change their outfits often. The excessive use of disposable items typically creates problems associated with waste and garbage.

In 2020, about 1. 56 billion facemasks probably ended up in the oceans. At the same time, community scientists worldwide collected 107,219 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) from coastlines.

Single-use coffee pod machines have transformed the coffee industry.  People preferred brewing a single cup of coffee at a time to avoid waste, but this habit resulted in significant plastic pollution that negatively affects rivers and wildlife around the globe. Plastic breaks down into tiny pieces that can contaminate drinking water. Nearly 30,000 coffee pods are thrown away every month, and they take 500 years to break down.

But this change wasn’t just about satisfying what customers wanted. It was motivated by companies wanting to increase their production and make more money. The concept of planned obsolescence involves creating items that are intentionally short-lived. This idea has become a key part of how things are made today. Consequently, individuals adapted to the concept of discarding items, often throwing waste in obscure locations such as landfills and oceans.

Reasons Behind Disposable Culture

Many reasons have caused disposable culture to stick around:

Culture of Consumption

In today’s world, many people see having things like money and nice belongings as a sign of success and importance. People always want new and popular products, which leads to buying and throwing things away a lot. Because of this, reusing and being eco-friendly can feel old-fashioned or too hard.

Globalization and How Economies Work

Global trade has made it easy to get cheap disposable products, especially in areas with low income. By emphasizing affordability rather than excellence, these systems contribute to greater waste in the environment.

Urbanization and Change in People’s Lifestyle

As urban areas expand and people’s lives become more hectic, the significance of convenience increases. People often choose disposable products because they fit busy lives, where saving time is more important than thinking about how they affect the environment in the long run.

The Mindset

Our feelings and thoughts have a big impact on what we buy. “Planned obsolescence” is the idea that makes people buy new products often, even if the old ones still work. Also, being constantly hit with ads and marketing makes people want quick pleasure and focus more on buying things.

Environmental Impacts

The production of disposable items uses significant amounts of natural resources, such as water and fossil fuels, which are limited on our planet. This “throwaway” culture encourages people to not care about the planet’s delicate condition, making it harder for everyone to work together for a sustainable future. The environmental impact of single-use products is huge. Think about this:

• In 2019, the world made over 460 million metric tons of plastic, which is twice as much as what was made in 2000. More than 8 million tons of plastic go into the oceans each year, putting sea life and their homes at risk. Tiny plastic particles are entering the food we eat, which can be harmful to both people and animals.
• Marine life, including fish, seabirds, and other animals, suffers and dies due to plastic pollution. Plastic pollution in the ocean has affected at least 267 species around the world. This encompasses 86% of all species of sea turtles, 44% of seabird species, and 43% of marine mammals. The effects include deaths caused by swallowing things, not getting enough food, choking, infections, drowning, and getting stuck in something. Plastic waste accumulates and transports toxic substances that can infiltrate the food chain and pollute marine life.
• While paper cups may appear to be more environmentally friendly, research conducted in 2023 indicated that they can be just as detrimental to the planet once discarded. Making paper cups harms the environment too. Each year, the creation of 16 billion paper cups leads to the destruction of 6.5 million trees. Making, moving, and throwing away single-use products adds a lot to carbon emissions, making climate change worse.

Suggestions:

To tackle the problems caused by a throwaway mentality, we need to change the way society thinks about convenience and taking care of the environment.

• Implementing circular economy practices, which emphasize the reuse and recycling of materials, can effectively decrease waste and reduce environmental damage. Rules that support extended producer responsibility (EPR) can make companies responsible for their products from start to finish.
•  By promoting awareness and education, we can alter the belief that rapidly eliminating possessions is indicative of progress. Showing the advantages of using reusable products can encourage people to change their habits. Public education campaigns can show how disposable items harm the environment and our health, encouraging people to feel responsible.
• Governments can create rules to reduce the use of disposable items, encourage eco-friendly options, and put money into trash management systems.
• Community-led projects, like zero-waste efforts and local recycling initiatives, can help people learn to adopt eco-friendly habits and create bigger changes in society. Encouraging people to live simply helps cut down on too much buying and waste.
• Using eco-friendly ways to get materials and make products helps the environment. Companies that focus on being green can draw in customers who care about the planet. Stores can cut down on packaging waste by setting up refill stations or programs where customers can return used items.

Previous Blog: Photochemical Smog; Major Environmental Issue

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