Becoming An Environmentally Conscious Consumer

Written by Laura Gray

To coin the phrase of the legendary Madonna:  “We are living in a material world”.  More specifically, we are living in a material country!  What is astonishing is that according to a study done by Environmental Canada, “Canadians are often cited as being among the leading per capita producers of solid waste in the world¹”.
 
Yet, we need not be material people.  The problem with materialism is that it has used and will continue to use up our natural limited resources and pollute the environment (i.e. air, land and water).  And what happens to all of the material things that we buy after we are done with them?  They end up in landfills. 

As of 2004, Statistics Canada numbers reveal that 73% of our solid waste is still endingup in landfills.  The other three options to our waste disposal include: incineration, recycling or composting.  The problem:  landfills and incinerators are polluters to both the land and air, so they are not long-term sustainable solutions to our waste management crisis² .  Recycling and composting, although good ideas, are just not up to speed yet, part in parcel to the general public’s resistance to comply with recycling programs.
 
I walk through the grocery store and I see cart after cart filled with cases of bottled water, and people at the check-out still using plastic bags – two seemingly small, yet significant contributions to our waste management crisis, and I think, maybe we just are not getting it.  Thankfully, the message of eco-friendly ‘everything’ is beginning to resonate to each and every one of us and that the ability to alter our materialistic ways is changing.  We can re-write the song to “We are living in a sustainable world”…or something along those lines…by minimizing how much waste we produce, and dispose of.  The goal is to start making small changes in our lives to help reduce the amount of new goods purchased, reduce the amount of packaging on our products and ultimately how much waste ends up in landfills.  Here are some ideas to help you become a “waste-buster”!

1) First and foremost, become an ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS CONSUMER.  This can be accomplished in many ways.  Here are six easy solutions for you:
  
i) Ask yourself this:  Is the packaging recyclable, reusable, biodegradable or made with environmentally friendly materials, such as organics, recycled material or from sustainable resources such as bamboo?  Look for this information on the packaging.  More and more companies are shifting to recycled and recyclable packaging, so if you are faced with two comparable options, choose the one that has the most eco-friendly packaging.  One example is the EcoLogoM mark on goods and services.
 
 This registered mark identifies that the company or product has undergone a third party validation to substantiate that they are environmentally friendly.  You can find many of these products and services in the ‘Ecofinder’ section of your Yellow Pages™ or visit www.terrachoice.com for a list of companies with this certification.  When making large household purchases or changes look for eco-friendly options first – it’s worth the effort for both your health and the environment.
 
ii)  Try to buy products with minimal packaging.  One easy way is to choose your fruits and vegetables that are not wrapped in plastics, and do not put them in plastic bags if you do not have to.  Choose grocery store items that are not packaged two or three times what they need to be in.  Other ways include skipping on the wrapping paper, and opt for a re-usable box or be creative, and wrap your gifts in a tea towel, or the like.

     iii)  Here is one of my favorites:  Invest in bins and re-usable bags for shopping and bring them everywhere with you.They are cheap, you are reducing the amount of plastic bags that end up in landfills (they take as long as 1000 years to degrade), and grocery stores offer money saving incentives by using their bins and bags.
 
iv)  Here is another favorite:  Stop buying disposable, plastic water bottles!  In Toronto, 100 million plastic bottles were collected, of that, 35 million of them ended up in landfills³.  Not to mention the energy and resources used, and pollutants created to make plastic water bottles³.  Add up the cost of paying for those plastic water bottles and re-invest your money in a permanent water filter system, or re-usable water system (water coolers for example) and a convenient stainless steel container to tote around.  It will pay for itself over time, you will be providing yourself and your family with better quality water (bottled water is not always safer than tap water) and VERY IMPORTANTLY, you will be reducing waste in landfills.

v)  Paper, paper, and more paper.  In Canada, over one-third of municipal solid waste is paper and paper products – it is the single largest type of waste^4,5. While recycling of paper waste is getting better, only a quarter of Canada’s waste paper and paperboard is being recycled^4,5.  Moreover, the pulp and paper industry is the third largest industrial polluter of air, water and land in both Canada and the U.S.⁵.
 
There is good news:  The Canadian Pulp and Paper Association states that approximately 71% of the fiber used in making Canadian pulp and paper now comes from recycled fibers that go into landfills, and they are adopting more eco-friendly practices⁶.  Also, every ton of recycled paper saves about 17 trees, and recycled paper uses 60% less energy than manufacturing virgin timber paper.  So, what do you do?  Obviously recycle your paper waste.  In addition, buy either paper made from recycled material or tree alternatives.  Buy chlorine-free paper.  Do not print whenever possible, but if you do, invest in an eco-friendly printer.  Print both sides of the page.  Use scrap paper for note pads and the like.  Okay, this one may be hard….send electronic Christmas cards.  There are many other ideas but the goal is to become aware of how much paper you use and attempt to reduce your share.
   
vi)  Do not buy what you really do not need.  Borrow or lend out your seldom used things such as the weed eater, or a camping tent.  If we eliminate how much we buy, it inevitably will eliminate how much that needs to be manufactured, and what ultimately becomes waste.  Also, garage sales, donations to your local Salvation Army® or Goodwill® for old clothes, books, toys and household items are other great ways to recycle your “waste”.

2)  RECYCLE.  Learn about and use the recycling program in your area.  Although the recycling programs vary fromprovince to province, 93% of the Nation’s households have access to a least one form of recycling program⁴.  The recycling programs available now offer blue boxes for cans, paper, glass and some plastics, a green bin for composting and in some areas plastic bags are included in the program.  The bad news is that 35% of waste that should end up in the blue box or compost is still ending up in your garbage⁷.  The good news about Canada’s recycling program is that approximately 95% of blue box materials go on to be recycled into new materials4.  To find out more information about the recycling programs in your area, visit your city or town’s municipal website and look under ‘waste management programs’ and start participating!     

3)  DISPOSE OF HAZARDOUS WASTE PROPERLY.  This can include old batteries, ink cartridges, toner cartridges, and paints for example.  They do not belong in your regular garbage.  They can be dropped off for safe disposal at your local public hazardous waste depots.  Again, locations are found on your municipal website.  In Toronto, cell phones and printer cartridges can be donated to the ‘food for phones’ project; “The mission of the think food / Phones-for-Food project is to alleviate hunger and divert waste from landfill sites by raising funds for local food banks through the process of recycling used printer cartridges and cell phones.”   Visit www.think-food.com for more information.  Check the website for similar recycling programs outside Toronto or other provinces.

4)  DO NOT LITTER!  This is easy and everyone should know better!  A survey done by Onsurvey for the City of Torontorevealed the number one reason people littered was laziness⁸.  Not good.  Practice and teach your children the value of keeping our community and environment clean.

If we all take the time to think about our wants and needs and to consider the consequences of our material world, our consciousness will be raised and your contribution of a solution will begin.  Each contribution you make to help reduce your impact on the environment will add up to a mass population shift that will help alleviate the burden on our natural resources and help save the plant.  Share knowledge and create positive change.  

References:
1. Environment Canada.  Pollution and Waste.  http://www.ec.gc.ca/education/default.asp?lang=En&n=6072A21C-1
2. Human Activity and the Environment.  Annual Statistics 2005.  Feature Article.  Solid Waste in Canada.  Catalogue no. 16-201-XIE; pgs.5, 12, 14 & 16
3. Environment Canada.  Municipal Solid Waste.  http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Indicator_series/new_issues.cfm?issue_id=13&tech_id=53#graph2
4. Statistics Canada.  Envirostats. Catologue no.: 16-002-XIE.  Summer 2007.  Vol. 1, no. 1.  ISSN: 1913-4320.  http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/16-002-XIE/16-002-XIE2007001.pdf
5.  iD2 Communications.  http://www.id2.ca/downloads/eco-design-paper-facts.pdf
6.  BC Forestry Climate Change Working Group.  http://www.bcclimatechange.ca/chapters/chapter3/pulp-and-paper-products.htm
7.   York Region Blue Box Recycling Program.  http://www.york.ca/Services/Garbage+and+Recycling/Blue+Box+Recycling+Program.htm#facts
8.  Onsurvey.  City of Toronto Litter Research.  2003.  http://www.cpia.ca/files/files/files_onsurvey_presentation.pdf